Evening star., 1909-02-28
RISE MARKS CLOSING
Stocks Advance Despite Pres
sure on Reading.
BEAR CAPAIGN OVERCOME
Charged With Selling That Led to
Drop in Prices.
HELP TO GENERAL MARKET
Enormous Execution of Orders for
Odd Lots by Small Investors
Cleared the Situation.
HELP TO GENERAL MARKET

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 21.-Inere was
evident instructive desire on the part
of the stock market today to continue
its advancing move Of yesterday, the
only break upon this being weakness and
n display Of exceedingly nervous price
varia tions in Reading common stock.
AS regarded Reading, of course, there
was Il renewal of speculative apprehen-
sion regarding the possibility of an ad-
verse decision in the commodities clause
case by the Supreme Court Monday, but
conservative opinion on this point was.
as it all along has been. that although
decision in the case one way or the
other may be announced Monday. too
short "A time has elapsed since the ar
gument to cause reasonable anticipa
tion of a pronouncement by the courts
on tho first day of next week.
The court may hand down its decision
Monday. and it may not for weeks or
months. hence the seeming proba abili-
ties favoring longer delay. Consider
ing this fact and also that the relation
Of the Reading company to the case now
before the Supreme Court seems at the
most remote, there are not few OBJ
servers who maintain that the partlcu-
lar heaviness of, Reading recently, the
stock being one that has shown less
resiliency than any leading issue in its
recovery from Tue HldThcl ocIfici
Tuesday. is due to other causes than
those in anyway connected with legal
proceedings
II is well known that the coal busi-
ness. both in the anthracite and bitumin-
Gus industries, has been particularly de-
pressed this winter, and it would sur
prise nobody. although no official or
semi official intimation Of the adoption
Of such A policy have been afforded, II
the Reading management should take
70 CT the -nrO6UctlOn OF coal
that is now manifestly in progress. such
an act might also abate somewhat the
feeling of the coal miners that the pres
ent is an advantageous time to force an
issue with their employees April 1 upon
the questions of higher wage scales,
shorter hours of labor and the like.
Nevertheless today. despite the pressure
upon Reading. the general market, with
only two or three exceptions, closed at
an advance and the buying was rather
commonly attributed to the further re-
trement of what is now conceded to be
an extended short interest in the mar
ket that was created earlier in the week.
There was no news of consequence be-
yond the weekly bank statement, which
was distinctly of the class known as
better than expected.
Clearing House Statement.
AS against yesterdays prevailing esti
mate of loss In cash of $S.OOO,OO0. ow-
ing to the governments call for return
of deposits the clearing house institutions
exhibited neither by that actual nor
average figures of the return a loss of
over S5nOO.OOW the average figures in
deed showing loss Of less than ST.
100000.
Bank loans decreased rather less than
il was thought they would in view of the
| stock market liquidation in the last few
days. that the bank surplus under
| went no material change.
The break in the stock marke; this
week was concentrated In the first bus
mess day OF the week and since that
time the tendency of prices has been in
| the main upward. 1t was obvious that a
great deal of the selling which had made
| the violent drop in prices was due to
bear operations and the week passed
a sentiment slowly gained ground that
the campaign of this nature had been
overdone.
The impression was also formed that
| the technical position of the market had
| been helped through the removal Of a
| large quantity of stocks from the finan-
| cidl district by means of investment pur-
! chases made upon the scaled buying or
| ders in the course of the decline and it
| was definitely known that Tuesday there
| was enormous execution of orders for
odd lots of stocks by small investors.
Iron and Steel Action.
AS the week ended. too. it seemed as
if light was breaking upon the iron and
steel situation to this extent that the sur
| prisingly large reductions in prices made
| by the United States Steel Corporation
had had the effect of driving many of
! the small steel-producing concerns out
/ of the market. If this is true it means
| that whatever warfare in the trade has
| existed is at an end pretty nearly SO.
! The question still remains to be settled.
however, how much new business will be
created by the cuts in prices made and
how industry not only in the steel trade,
| but over the country in general will be
! affected by possible reduction of the
wages of employees that may have to be
| made by the iron and steel producing con-
| Germs. There is naturally much discus
sion concerning the wisdom of the policy
of the steel corporation In maintaining
| prices so long at fixed figures, but many
of the criticisms of the steel corporation
| that have been heard are in the nature
| of that "hindsight " which is often SO
wise on such occasions as the present.
| The question is at best an academic
| one. just as the inquiry of what would
have been the effect upon the trade six
months ago if the steel corporation at
! that time had adopted a policy of grad
ual reduction Of prices.
Trade Affected
| There are many who think that the pur-
suance of the last named course would
have resulted in greater trade demoraliza-
| ton than the course actually followed.
One matter that complicated the market
situation last week was the renewal of
| tension III Europe over affairs in the Bal
kans, that trouble taking the form at this
time of the prospect of a struggle between
! Austria and Servia, but at the end of the
| week il seemed as if the efforts of the
! buyers to adjust the matter had been
| successful
| Trade and business in the country as a
whole this week was undoubtedly affected
sympathetically in some degree by the
upset in steel. Nevertheless, the railroads
| continue to report very favorable state
ments of weekly earnings. and these