The Washington times., 1909-05-16
MARKET CONDITIONS
RATHER FAVORABLE
Despite Liquidation Indica-
tions Favor Recovery on
Business Situation.
CROP UNCERTAINTY
IMPORTANT PROBLEM
Easy Money, Better Earnings, In
dustriI Prosperity Are
Features of News.

NEW YORK, May IA very pc
culiar situation has Z lseloped during
the last few days. The Street has been
literally loaded with gossip of a favor
able character, while from all sides
the reports that come to the commits
sion and broker age houses are encour-
| aging 10 higher prices. And vet despite
this bundle OF eslcouragement. despite
the clearing horizon OF hssiness in
onstry the couatry oyer. encouraging
reports from commercial agencies ETC.
ad lib, stocks have gone down. stub
oornly, slowly, with plenty of buyers
for the shares put on the market, and
with the reiteration of lust as many
onlish views on the low level as when
tney were AT the very zenith.
Some one, probably some of Che big
operators who bought stocks twenty
live TO fifty points below the current
range tooH the time when stocks were
well supported as opportune for trans
ferring Profits from paper to bank ac-
counts Possibly some Of the big banks
mat took on many stocks of the best
dividend payers found the profit in
viting- Whatever and whoever did the
selling the fact remains that stocks
were sold and that the market took II
reasonably well yielding of a variety
Dut ylelding Jl1Wly and deliberately,
with always she rally in the morning,
and then the feeding of more stocks
with q 5eakening with partial rally on
the covering of the bears who have
been Following on the liquidation with
ali the energy c1 hungry crowd that
has not had much good picking for
some little tlmi At that, many stocks
are higher thfst they were a week ago,
notably Rea6ta., with 5ss net gain, 81
on the secon6 preferred; Rock Island
with gain white Union Pacific is Off
only u of a l)oist
Perhaps this D3cidation has been for
nT ,1Il
lngs that have been held a little weakly,
and again II may have resulted from
the desire to mcVe the market In a pro-
nounced manner in t:.e near future and
interest, something that was impossfble
with the persistent display of strength
shown for weeks past
This weak spell may also be expected
| 70 sharpen the appetite of the public.
tne more, so as the public has been
niobling for some weeks and at the
same time waiting for a reaction
Bull News Plentiful.
BuH pointers are very numerous and
the bear pointers are noticeable only by
thei. absence. Railroad earnings for
the first week OF May show a gross gain
| OF 16-6 per cent over the figures OF a
I year ago. March earnings were 1O9
better. April earnings were over $780,
900 greater.
The bank c:earings for first half Of
I May were larger than for the CORES
ponding half VI any month except Janu-
l airy, when the enormous siisburse-
ments on account of interest and divi-
dend payments sweiled the volume ef
| business enormously. The slearings
this week were 61f per cent greater than
/ for the same week In 1906
The Improvement In the iron and steel
| business has been more pronounced and
all tie heads of the United States
/
] Ghey aye predicting the return 10 full
prosperity IN the comparatively near fu-
! ture.
The jobbing trade of the country is
excellent. The boot and shoe business
is largely increased. Agricultural i'm
plements are moving freely.
| The wes sther Is seaEonable, and from
| all sections of the country come as
surances that the volume OF distribu-
ton is lerge. Last, but rot least, by
| any mesene, Is the glut Of sunds- Bank
ers are e1ying bonds in ce market for
| the employment of their susplus cash
some are buying good dividehd-paying
stocks
The Important Question.
And against all this bull news there
IS the question Of the crops. And it
| is the all important question. But the
Agricultural Department, knowing the
ability Of the American farmer, and
|
tons. is stalking its reputation on the
! size OF the farm Yield OF 1903
Back os the abundance of bull talk
must be seen TIE hand OF Wall Street.
| The professionals and the semi-profes-
! sionals have played the game one way
/ SO long that they would now like the
| assistance of the general public, not the
| seTni-professionai traders that are al
| ways en- hand watching the ticker and
/ the blackboards, taking occasional fly
ers when there is particularly good
strength or pronounced weakness, but
/ the public that took the market away
from the professionals in 1901 and car
| ried Ii to It's widest activity and that
ended in the fight for control OF the
| Great Northern by Hartman vs.. Hill
Morgan@
Waat Public In.
| This public has not been in the mar
ket since that memorable year. Con-
servative investors have been in and
unquestionably hold large quantities Of
securities at this time. And these hold
| ings are not going to con- q out In the
| immediate futuTe-they are held for in
vestment. The great fns france and
| trust companies have been lustling for
| safe and profitable inyestments--with an
| abundance of money in all large cities
and In the country actually puzzling
| bankers and others to make ii earn In
| terest.
Readings action is based on the be-
| lief that the directors will pay larger
4 dividend cn the common stock For the
/ last ten years the earnings have been
/ larger than Of any OF the fo,;s' anthracite
roads, with tie exception OF Lacka-
/ wanna.
Readings fixeo charges in 1893 were
20 per cent of earnings. in 1903 but 45 per
/ cent, and 1909 VII show about the same
/ The preferred stocks are receiving their
/ 4 per cent, the common has received
( since 1895 with per cent earned in
/ 1907 and Sc per cent in 1908 It Is be-
/ lieved that the stock will be placed ON
a per cent basis before long At shat
/ II would yield but about 4 per cent, and
yet there are reports of something ia
/ yorable in evolution for the benefit of
| Reading Shareholders Rock Island has
been feature during the week and
/ may go higher, both on the proposition
/ TO retire the pref srred shares and on the
earnings OF the subsidiary companies.
Recovery Predicted.
II may be that stocks Turing the COM
ing week will seek lower levels. but II
they do, II is next TO a safe thing to
predict rebom.d and recovery, with
! the upturn much faster in pace than
/ the down grade. With all the liouida-
ton of last week. the real market lead
/ er Union Pacific, lost but u OF point