The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-20
STOCK MARKET IS
 VERY SLUGGISH Prices Drag In a Day of Very
 Light Business SOME STOCKS ARE ACTIVE A Few Railroad Stocks Show Improve ment for the Day, But Prices
 Drift to the Lowest In
 the Afternoon.
SOME STOCKS ARE ACTIVE

New York, March 19.-The stock market became extremely apathetic today as the realization became stronger that the burst of activity on the two previous days might be taken to show interest stirred by the introduction of the tariff bill in Congress. Professional operators were disposed to close up outstanding con- tracts, the small prospects of an early &C., tivity in the market, but showed little inclination to enter on new commitments When prices sagged a demand developed which was taken to indicate that uncov- cred shorts still had some necessities to provide for. Their professional brethren thereupon bid up prices on them.
 drive against the market was helped by acute weakness in Interborough Metro politan stocks on account of reports of new bidders for the construction of sub ways under the eastern portion of the city. The conjecture of powerful railroad backing for this new project gave it force although the rumor that the New York, New Haven and Hartford was em- parked in the enterprise was without foundation. The Hill railroads and Chesa- peake and Ohio were the principal feat ures on the other side of the movement the former rising to the highest price of its history
 Prices drifted back to the. lowest in the neglect of the afternoon. News was little regarded, although a rise in copper prices at the New York Metal exchange and London market may have had some steadying effect upon Amalgamated Cop per. A similar effect on United States Steel was due possibly to a statement credited to Charles M. Schwab that a s10,0Oo,OOO battleship order had been placed with the Bethlehem Steamship company for large government, and revival of the steel trade might be expected to re- suit The heavy taking of gold coin for shipment to London tomorrow, reaching a total of s, 3OO,OOO, aroused calculations as to the effect on the money market
 Time loans were firmer today. The weeks outgo of gold seems to, be more than offset by the gains by the banks of sub-treasury operations and the balance of receipts on the interior movement of currency. The sub-treasury gains, how ever, are due largely to national bank reQempIlOnS, anu Nlile tHSoC VIII oc taken up again by the issuing banks, the current redemption serves in the mean while to drain the treasury of it's seanty supply of gold holdings. With the banks also taking out large sums of gold from the sub-treasury for export to London the depletion of the treasury gold holdings is aggravated
 Government revenue collections are showing great improvement owing to heavy payments on the large imports go- ing on, so that the excess of expenditures over receipts for IS days of the current month Is less than s1,0OO,000, whereas in the corresponding period of last year tl'> excess of expenditures was $5,5O/0. While this favorable turn in the treasury receipts relieves the cash balance of the demands of running deficit, there is nothing operating to relieve the special drain on the treasury gold supplies. The market was free from depression from abroad and some buying of option on American stocks Is reported to the London market.
 Bonds were irregular. Total sales. par value, S3,162,0O0.
 United States bonds were unchanged on call.