Evening star., 1909-05-16
BROKERS WAIT ON PUBLIC
Cheap Cash Holdings Being Trans
ferred Rapidly.
THE CROP OUTLOOK
Big Operators Oh the Street, But
Their Stocks Keep Strong
and Active.
pecial Correspondence Of The Star.

1 Inc uncertainty AL tiiO iIi0I hOS AZ GO ~
whether the public will step in and take
the stocks as the big people who are now
carrying them, largely on cheap money
borrowed from banks, gradually work out
of their holdings. This process is now GO
ing on and has been for some time. II
will continue to go on, and very hkely
at more rapid rate than heretofore, as
money begins to be needed for general
business purposes at advancing rates OF
interest John ]. Mitchell, the great Chi
cago banker, goes on record with the
prophecy that by fall money will be up
| to s per cent This view Is being indorsed
| by q good many Of the more Important
bankers of New York, who have their
hands on the pulse OF business and feel
| the situation hardening and improving
| every day.
1t goes almost without saying that as
| the volume of money required for general
business becomes larger. there Will be less
| for Wall street use. That means less
| for speculation. AS has been mentioned
in this correspondence many times OF late,
great sums of money are employed III
the stock market for the scalp between
the borrowing rates and the amount re-
allied from dividends, the scalp ranging
| from to 4 per cent, enough TO mount
up into big figures while conditions re-
main as they are. 1t was not so sa1e TO
indulge in this line of operations feW
months ago as it is now, for the. reason
that neither banks nor borrowers felt that
abounding sense Of general solvency tnat
has been prevailing since the presidential
election last fall That seems now 10
have been the definite 4urning point from
uncertainty to certainty. 1t is easy to see
just where the new era of returned con-
fidence began.
The gamble is as to whether the mis-
LIB hn rNlo
the concentrated capital now under the
stock market as the readjustment pro-
ceeds. In the opinion of many expert
enced people in Wall street there VIII
follow quite an important decline in stock
quotations as a result Of the shifting OF
the load. At this writing there Is very
general famine of stocks in commission
house hands. The floating supply Is un-
usually small. This does not, as many
people believe, prove that the great mass
| Of stocks have gone into investment
hands 1t does show, however, that the
stocks are being carried directly by banks
and trust companies for account or lnl-
portant interests and for large and faVor-
ed customers. To such an extent nave
the dividend-paying stocks been thus tax
| en- out of commission houses and virtual
| ly out OF the street that speculation Is
perforce turned into the seml-specuiatlVe
and wholly speculative issues the latter
including a long list Of ''cats" and dogs =
i
issues of doubtful value are at the pres
ent time selling for more than they are
worth At the same time. the really
good things are so high and SO hard to
get at that they have lost their attractive
ness. and spectators let them alone.
They are afraid to sell short and do not
want to buy. 1t will not be surprising.
however. if from day to day these good
things reappear in the street in increasing
volume AS stated in the first paragraph
Of this dispatch, distribution is going on.
Apparently, this is no time for the Jere-
miahs to intrude themselves into view
but there is none the less a we'll defined
fear that the market may be on the edge
took the lead in a recovery OF business
confidence, and is now far. far ahead of
the procession Either business will have
to bound forward with great jumps to
catch up or stock market prices will have
to settle back. They are startlingly out
Of line.
Keeping Tab on the Crops.
| This is the time of the year when
wise men are keeping a close watch OF
| farming conditions. The crop outlook in
the lower half of the country, taken as
q whole, is not considered up to the
average. In the northwest 1t was bad
up to a short time ago. but within the
last few days there has been decided
Improvement, especially in the CANADIAN
prospects. Advices from the Canadian
northwest are coming in unusually fine.
AS the agricultural authorities have been
saying for many years past, the country
| Is getting SO big and farming carried
on with such high intelligence that we
| have no longer reason to ever fear dis
astrous crop results. Deficient yields IN
localities may and do occur every year,
but the aggregate production In quantity
| and value has been holding up with re-
markable regularity for more tnan @ de-
cade, a fact which goes far to prove the
correctness of the claim that we have
passed the point of danger of great crop
disasters in the United States. This does
not prevent people who like to keep well
informed from getting hold of every
scrap of reliable news from the field bear
| ing on all the important crops.
One feature of the financial district
| which does not find place In the current
daily records is the renewed activity in
a large way of international syndicates.
There are many of these representing i'm
mense capital, whose business 1t Is to
back enterprise and get behind and under
great variety of exploitation projects.
These are or Of great eay taa xarei
everything-mining. railroad censtruc-
| tion, development of water power
and the application of invention and
scientific processes. Large sums have
been invested lately by some of these
tered into involving development work
for many years ahead. Little Is heard
about these enterprises. as negotiations
are carried on quietly-in fact. almost
entirely without newspaper notoriety. Ad-
vertising Is the one thing they seek to
avoid.
There are not many of the big market
leaders personally present on the stage
OF Wall street. So many of them are
away that it seems strange to the un-
initiated that the stocks in which they
are known to be interested can keep so
strong and active. Mr.. Morgan gives no
sign Of returning from Europe. and
neither does Mr.. Schiff. William Rookie
feller and James Stillman are abroad,
and Mr.. Hartman Is soon to join them.
John w. Gates. too, intends to sail soon.
Mr. D. G. Reid has just returned, and
since he got back there has been great
activity in the Rock Island issues and
Can. which are recognized as his pets.
n. B. Ream says he Is getting ready to
quit active business Thomas r. Ryan
has been saying the same thing for a
couple of years, but he Is one of the men
who will never quit until the undertaken
carries him to his last home. Mr.. Ryan
just now Is doing the background deep
sea work incident to the amalgamation
Of the traction interests Of New York.
Mr.. Hawley Is one of the men who stays
right here on the job. and his stocks are
among the live things In the market.
H. C. F'rtck also keeps himself within
the reach of the ticker, and his market
interests are supposed to be very heavy.