Evening star., 1909-06-27

tioa which Third Avenue shareholders
might do well to think over.
Nothing apparently can convert the
Wall street professional element from the
gospel of pessimism. To listen to the
gossip in Wall street circles there is real
ly no such thing as American prosperity
1t is all hollow. phantom-like. The crops
are fictitious, industries are all plunging
to the demnition bow-wows, securities are
nothing but engraved falsehoods. actual
ly however ridiculous this may sound,
such are the doctrines preached among
Wall street traders. Any one who ven-
lures to suggest that there Is such
thing as actual American business is
looked upon with pity. How wall street
has got into this state of mind is difhcult
to understand but there it is. And just
SO long as these hallucinations endure,
just SO long shall we have ragged specu-
lative markets. because every time an ad-
vance takes place the bear contingent
cries out: ''Ha, the top at last" and
out.
For quite a time now each and every
speculative bear campaign has come to
disaster. but hope springs eternal IN the
pectation on the part Of Wall street spec
ulators that they will all get rich In the
near future by means of some ,tremen-
dous smash Just how this smash Is TO
come about is not indicated, but that II
must come is tenet Of bear faith. Such
bear tactics would be of little avail If
the public were taking hand in specu-
lative operations. But the public per-
sistently holds aloof There is ample
evidence of investment buying but of
speculative buying there is next to none.
This, of course, permits the violent fitic-
tuations to which we have grown accus-
toned.
Markets Steady Rise.
But it is to be observed that the market
looked at in perspective steadily moves
up-has been doing SO since bottom was
reached in the panic of 19O7-OS. The end
Of each convulsion finds the average of
prices something higher-and this is due
more than to anything else to the con-
slant absorption of securities by the
small individual investor. Commission
houses, while complaining of dearth of
speculation, all report continued shipment
of transferred stocks to points outside of
new York, process which has been go
ing on for long time.
Curious explanation of the slump of last
Monday is afforded by a story which
sounds true. As noted in this review last
week, Gov. Hughes investigating COM
mittee recommended doing speculative
business on not less than 20 per cent mar
gins. 1t seems the stock exchange authOri-
ties welcomed the idea. and nosing around
found prominent commission house not
quite SD tight-wadded in their financial
ldeaS-actually doing business on more
liberal margin scale The house was
promptly notified that they must be good
real gOOd-must make their customers
put up more margin or cut down their
business. The house took fright and sold
out about half the line it was carrying.
| Such is the story.
Just what the customers of the house
| think of it is not related. But just why
| a stock broker should not extend credit
| as he sees fit in the same way as any
other business man does is difficult of
comprehension. Well, there is a heap Of
humbug In this world. of which COM
modify even our Hughes. white-washed
stock exchange keeps a fair supply on
| hand.
Broadly speaking, the immediate future
| OF the security market depends more
upon crop news than upon anything else.
If, as now seems assured average favor
able crop results obtains then nothing can
| stop a big bull movement in stocks. OF
course, we have yet to pass through some
two months Of more or less crop uncer-
| tainty, during which time the security
market may be expected to stay feverish.
| BUT on the other hand, IL the big capi-
talists of the country become convinced
Of good crop outcome they will not wait
until harvest time to take advantage of
| the situation. They like to buy as near
bottom prices as possible, with an eye to
selling as near top as they conveniently
can. w. g. NICHOLAS.