The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-08
WORLD OF FINANCE
 STILL UNSETTLED
Various Factors Have Caused
 Weakness In Stocks
OUTLOOK IS FAVORABLE
Market Has Been Partially Upset By Change of Presidents, Reduction in Steel Prices and Probable
 Reductions in Wages.

New York, March 7.-The irregular and uncertain movements of last week in the stock market were the reflection of the uniformed speculative sentiment. Dealings were small and were in the hands of professional operators largely. The dis turbing effect of the throwing open of the steel market seemed to have passed to some extent and conditions in that trade were reported to have cleared somewhat, but the prospect had not shaped itself with sufficient defniteness to prompt a new position in the stock market. Price concessions in steel prod ucts were reported to be still in progress and the posting of wage reductions by the Lackawanna Steel company opened up that phase of the process of read justments going on in the steel indus try.
 Wage reductions are considered inevit- able to conform to the lower basis of selling price for the product and anxiety is felt for possible disturbance in ef- fecting the changes The developments In the copper trade have been hard to read and the obscurity and confusion concerning them has served to keep alive the effect of steel trade developments.
 Reports of some large sales in refined copper at prices above the recent aver age and of specifications promising yet larger transactions were circulated in demonstrative manner and market quota tions were marked up in London and New York. Criticism of the advance as manipulated and suspicion cast upon the reports of sales had the effect of caus- ing sharp relapses in the prices of the copper industrials. There followed then reports of a collapse in the copper mar ket and of open market conditions which met with counter criticism and threw the whole situation into confusion
 The labor outlook was elouded by the preparations making for the struggle in the anthracite trade, incident to the ter imitation of the three-year wage adjust ment on March 31. The demands formu- lated on the one hand by the miners and the argument against these claims pub lished by the operators presented the ground of difference. An incident of tho controversy was the circulation of a ru- nor of the intention to shut down the
 
 clement with the miners should be se- cured. The stocks of the anthracite com panies are subject at the same time to the recurring influence of an expected decision on the commodities clause test case.
 The pendency of the commodities case decision is one of the various incidents which directed attention last week to the consideration of the government proceed Ir0 oine The 1ro tion of the new President was studied by Wall street for it's bearings on this sub ject for the most part The determine tion expressed in the inaugural address to adhere to the policies of his prede- cessor in these matters and to perfect the governmental machinery for doing so had been known from series of public ut teranees of the President and offered no surprise to the spectators. The fnan- cial community professes to feel an in surance of more strict regard for legal restrictions on the part of the new Pres dent in the pursuit of his policy than has been the rule and of adaptation to changes which may be in prospect. There is not lacking an undertone of question: ing whether the new policy may not prove a more effective instrument against in corporations than the old.
 The refusal of the New York public service commission to grant the modifi- cations asked for in the terms of per mission of the Erie bond issue was an- other incident showing the new bonds in which corporations acts are held. From the interstate commerce commission came another note in the same tone in the opinion handed down in the so-called Spokane rate case. The rule there laid down for forming conclusions as to the reasonableness of freight rates and the explicit announcement that profits of the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific for recent years has been excessive, opened up a field for conjecture involv- ing the business of all the great trans continental railroad lines.
 The response of the fnencial markets to the changes of the situation in the Balkans gave warning of possible re- curing source of disturbance during the coming months.
 The financial community keeps an at- tentive eye on the crop news and the questionable state of the winter wheat crop is regarded as offering ground for caution in accepting the confident as- sumptions of the future Money rates have hardened again and the ready ab- sorption of new bond issues is still re- ported The lower prices realized for New York city corporate stocks com pared with the preceding sale in No vember, however, was regarded as a doubtful showing of sustained investment demand The bond department at the stock exchange was somewhat less active