The Washington herald., 1908-02-25
MARKET INCLINES UP
LOndon's Heavy Effect Re-
moved in Early Hours.
RALLY IN PRICES ON COPPER
aetaI Brings Better Figures Than for
Some Time Past-FederaI Smelling
Company Passes DfVidend-ReSuIt
Is 10 Drag Market slightly-copper
stocks Lead Markets Activity.

New York. Feb. 2-Less than $4,000
shares of stocks were bought and sold
on the stock exchange to-day, the turn
ovsr forming one of the smallest days
business for the year 10 date: and the
dealings were so utterly professional
changes IN prices so small and the news
events so barren OF Importance, that the
day was one of almost unrelieved tedium
in Wall street commission houses.
In the early Transactions. the market
declined a little for no other reason. as
seemed. than heavier undertone in Lon
don. due possible 10 the approach OF the
fortnightly settlement there. At any rate
London houses here were prompt sellers
Of In the neIghborhood OF 2O,OOO shares Of
stocks and the movement exerted a visi-
bic impression on our own market.
The greater number Of habitual opera
! tors. however. were inclined 70 look for
>higher rather than lower prices. dur
ing the day. in consequence Of a gem
eral impression that the slow upward
movement of last week in the market
had not eliminated and that il had sue
ceeded in bringing into the field GER
tain quantity OF outside buying Of stock
Inclined to Rally
The market. therefore. after the Lon
don selling was over. was strongly in
clined TO rally. and by midday. whatever
early losses had been made were re-
covered and gains extending to point
or more established in the principal
tocks- But with this rise. the advanc-
S bg tendency seemed 10 lose its force. A
&Slow decline began. which ran uninter-
ruptedly until the end Of business hours.
with the result that trivial advances and
recessiOns. mostly the latter, were finally
shown.
At one time during the day the par
teular heaviness OF the steel stocks. or
at least OF the United States Steel pre-
ferred shares, attracted more o. less at
tention. and was connected in current
gossip with reports that the effort on the
part Of the leading steel producing COM
panies 10 maintain prices had proved in
effective and that price cutting by some
'of the smaller companies had begun.
An announcement that the Federal
Mining and smelting Company. corpor-
alton controlled by the larger smelling
and refining company. had passed
Aue quarterly dividend on its common
stock did not serve to prevent marked
strength in the early part OF the dav in
the American Smelling shares. and a ru-
NOR Of the moment is that new and pow
artul financial interests have allied them
selves with the American Smelling and
refining concern.
Dividends Doubtful.
In the present depressed state OF the
metal industry. however. the question of
1-cS maintenance OF dividends at the rate
Formerly paid by any smelling or mining
j company is manifestiy n matter OF doubt.
The copper stocks. both here and in
Boston, were. along with the American
Smelling and Refining shares, the leaders
Of the market In the mornings activity.
The rise in copper prices was due doubt
less 10 the now admitted fact that one
Of the most prominent metal agencies
made large sale OF copper TO foreign
buyers when the price OF the commodity
Aell below 10 cents a pound.
But il is thS current belief in the cop
pen trade that this copper was bought
by spectators rather than consumers,
and that, I'm a broad sense, it still hangs
over the market