The sun., 1909-06-28
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.

Weatnor 10 get warmer ana lot inc btoch
market to 60 down. The decline In the
market chiefly took place in the fore part
Of the week and did not amount to much
at most. Indeed just as the cold snap q
little while ago proved to be prelude
to the hot wave that soon followed 1t
30 the drop in the market that occurred
last Monday seemed only to prepare the
way for a renewal OF the advance. A
good many people In the financial district
thought that the decline would 60 further
than 1t did and no doubt many more hoped
that it would. There is large party OF
investors and speoulators who have been
all along in the last three months pro-
foundly "bullish' at heart and anxiously
awaiting an opportunity to make pur-
chases but to whom this opportunity in
the way Of recession in prices has never
presented itself. These people therefore
have hailed with delight the more hesi-
tating attitude which the market has dis
played throughout the present month and
they would like very much to see prices
fall materially further. But the truth Is
that the market gave pretty plain signs
last week that 1t was not in a mood to be
overoomplaisant in the way described.
II was market which became 'oversold'
in a surprisingly short space OF time. On
two or three occasions speculators for
the fall who endeavored to depress prices
found that they lost stock very easily
and that when they sought to close their
contracts no one seemed anxious to make
the operation easy for them. The market
has already suffered pretty fair decline.
A recession OF 3s points has occurred IN
the average prices, this meaning OF
course that q much larger fall has take
place in the case OF many individual
stocks. Reading has declined over 10
points, United States Steel common
nearly 9, and so on. and with conditions
favoring prosperity so tremendously as
they do and with the money market 80
easy those who are looking for any great
further drop in values during the present
period OF market waiting may very likely
find themselves disappointed. 1t Is not
improbable that the market will keep
step for some time to come with the de-
velopments concerning the crops. These
are the most important Of any develop
ments that can occur. The tarih debate,
the corporation tax measure, the propo-
sition to list the Steel shares in Paris and
the like are all trivial matters compared
with the daily unfolding OF the prospects
for the seasons harvest. '
IL is therefore with deli ght that 1t IL
noted tha. the last week was again highly
favorable in an agricultural sense. Hot
weather ruled all over the country from
the Mississippi Valley eastward. From
all classes Of critics and observers, the
casual travellers. the crop experts, the
railway authorities and the numerous
travelling statesmen for the Western n,er-
camille and manufacturing houses. part
OF whose business ii is tn inform their
firms regarding crop conditions, and from
n great variety OF other sources comes
consensus as to the splendor Of the present
crop outlook II is regarded as prao-
tically certain that the Government crop
report OF growing conditions as Of July
1 will, when it appears. place all the crops
on a considerably higher average than
month ago; and the most convincing
testimony as to this that has yet been
offered was the Kansas State crop report.
is .ue last week. which indicated winter
wheat harvest 10 the state this year fully
as large as tha. OF q year ago and placed
the corn crop condition az high as II was
in 1902, tire year OF the 1900 ,Ooo. mo bushei
crop, and the acreage Of the corn crop
larger than Mt any time since 1899. 70
these conditions are typical Of the general
situation the promise is Ms 1t stands for
a s.50o. 600 900 corn croD this year. SO too
the record Is still Of improving general
business. The railroad earnings keep
up and the iron and steel business may be
said to be fairly rushing. Railroad orders
are the feature Of transactions here. and
the tendency in Ill lines Is toward an in
crease OF specifications upon old orders.
whose beginning. observed several
weeks ago. is now becoming pronounced.
According to all present data the iron
and steel mills will be onerated through
the usual summer vacation season this
year to an extent rarely II ever known
before. 1t is trustworthy said that the
unitei States Steel Corporation is now
operating SO rer cent of it's capacity, which
cans a much larger output than the
same figures would have indicated year
ago; and attention must be called at this
time to y statistical summary OF the
p-eeen: and prospective status Of the
Steel Corporation that has recently been
issued ty prominent firm in the financial
district. The document has been Tor
some time in priva.e circulation among
the larger people downtown, and even
now No attempt Is made to give it widor
publicity. 1t is well understood. however
that the showing has I aenii-ofIicisl origin.
and it is altogether the most note
worthy treatise upon the Affairs OF the
Steel Corporation, aside from the annual
report. Of the big concern, that has ever
been presented for financial considera-
tioa. Although much emphsais has been
laid upon the progress made by the Steel
; Corpor alton since its organization the
results as disclosed in the present exhibit
are astounding. Since 1907 the normal
gross receipts OF the corporation have
increased 70 per cent. the aracity OF
output l0l.5 per cent. in brass products,
si.i ner cent. in steel ingots and 67.2 per
cent in finished products, while the coal
and iron reserves Of the corporation are
from two to three tines greater than
formerly. All this immense expansion
has been made possible by an expendi-
ture taken out Of earnings OF nearly
$500 cco. 600 and by addition to capital
obligations OF but s5j,oo0,ooo. The
great now plant at Gary can be COM
pleted without making any more ap-
preparations from earnings should
this be necessary and the net