Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-31
MARKET STILL INVITING
Only the Spectators Anxious fol
Low Cash Rates.
TO DISCOURAGE THE RECKLESS
Iron and Steel Business Strong
Stock Factor-Amal. Copper Tip.
N. Y. Central's Record.
Special Correspondence Of Tho Star

Special Correspondence OF Inc star
NEW YORK. October 80. 1900.
Wise" opinion in Wall street got alto
gether TOO unanimous on the money sit
uation. Everybody you talk to-that is,
everybody who speculates in stocks
worked into a state of more or less acute
distress over the prospects of tight money
They are full of profound views as to the
effect this impending tight money period
is going to have Oh the stock market. a
majority Of those who talk most and
lOudest on the subject turn out to be sold
out bulls or else professional bears who
are always gloomy and who can never
look at anything except through blue
glasses. Both of these elements are work
Ing for lower prices. the bears seeking
place To cover their shorts at n profit ana
the bulls after a place in which to buy
back their lines.
Now, as a matter of fact. money is not
light. nor Is II scarce particularly. II is
No iher as plentiful Or an cheap as IL was
last summer or as 1t ruled during the
whole of 1905 We are not likely to see
any such money again for a long time
ahead, not until the next big industr. al
and commercial depression. Money is not
dear at 4 and y pc. cent. Legitimate
JUS ness can afford pay that. Specuia-
.orS would like to see II down to / and
per cent again SO that they might borrow
money with which to buy stocks and
make big margin of profit between the
cost of capital SO obtained and the re-
-urns thereon from dividend paying secur-
ties.
The market is still full Of good things
and people with credit have no trouble IN
40. rowing all the money they want TO buy
with. Earnings of railroads aid a ma jor-
ity of industrials are all that could be
askedsand should satisfy the expectations
uf reasonable men. Some things look
very high and the purely speculative class
stocks like Union Pacific. Delaware and
Hudson, Reading. Canadian Pacific and u.s.
sues of that sort. They are getting into
the rich mans class Only men of money
time find their place In the st. ong boxes
Of investors and will be traded in upon
The stock exchanges in very much less
volume. Speculative interest will natur-
ally and inevitably turn to lower priced
stocks Steel is likely to continue to be a
popular favOrite for a long time. There is
larger volume of it than anything else
On the list, and 1t is selling at a price
very attractive TO those who are infiu-
enced by statements of earnings.
One Bankers Views.
l was talking a day or two ago with
a very prominent international banker
whose sources Of information are the
best and whose judgment has won for
him the respect of everybody with whom
he has business relations. This man has
very live and personal interest in
the placing of enormous sums of money
and Is in touch with every business and
Industrial development and condition. His
views. which were given to me semi
commercially as a personal favor, were
In striking contrast to the general ex-
preston of opinion now so freely heard
on every hand. He said. In substance:
I'VE are skeptical about these stories
of abnormally heavy American borrow
ings In London. No doubt a good deal
OF money was obtained there by our cap
itaiists because they found it very easy
to get accommodations. New York is
the greatest stock market in the world
today and the ease with which secu-
rites can be marketed here makes our
standard stocks very attractive collateral
in London. 1t is quite possible, indeed
altogether probable. that our capitalists
borrowed a somewhat larger aggregate
sum In that market than is usual but
nothing to the extent many people seem
TO think. 1t Is true, however, that
London overextended itself I'm loans
made 10 borrowers all over the world
and there came time when the gold pO-
sition of the Bank OF England became
endangered. Gold had been drawn al
most stealthily from every part of the
world. and when the Bank of England
awoke to sudden realization of the sItua-
ton 1t had TO adopt the very drastic
plan Of jumping it's rate from "a to )
per cent in three weeks as measure of
self-protection.
I'm order to cover its indiscretion i'm
permitting itself to be so jeOpardized, it
allowed the impression to go out that
the furry might be due TO alarming poiit-
ical complications abroad. This alarmed
nervous people into thinking there might
be war ahead. To have corrected this
idea too sharply would have called at
tention In an unpleasant and humiliat-
ing way to the fact that the Bank of
England had gone asleep and allowed
too much gold to be drawn from it's re-
serves. In the hurried readjustment of
credits. which has been going on the
last two or three weeks New York has
been called upon to take over in pre-
cipitate fashion quite its share of the
London burden. 1t would not surprise
me ii New York did not lose considerable
gold before the operation of readjust-
ment is completed. But what of it? We
have the gold to spare and It will not
hurt us if We lose some.
IL do not believe We are going to have
anything remotely approximating tight
money in New York, not even an I'M
comfortable situation Money will be
uation. but nothing more. Nothing can
occur that will in the slightest interfere
with the. progress of our prosperity or
that will interfere with legitimate bust
ness.
Another Financier's Opinion.
Another finarcier equally well informed
but of rather more cautious ;enpera-
ment said that while there would no
doubt be plenty of money 10 go round
he was quite convinced that within the
next ten DAYS or two weeks large
volume of stocks sold by Europe would
De delivered in New York and payment
therefor eXacted. He said he had every
reason 20 believe that a great many
stocks are on their way here and that
in taking care OF them the New York
money market would be subjected to a
severe strain. The bulk OF these stocks.
he said, had been bought by European
investors during panic times, and were