Evening star., 1909-06-20
HES|TATING MARKET
Hating Tendencies Mark the
Street Dealings.
BEARS BUSY WITH CANARDS
Hughes Commissions Report Raises
Smokers.
READING TALE PUNCTURED
Very Little Participation of the Pub
BEARS BUSY WITH CANARDS
READING TALE PUNCTURED
Very Little Participation of the Pub
lie in the Stock Game-In-
vestors Chary.
BY W. G.. NICOLAS.
OF The Star.


NEW YORK, June 10. 1909
The security market is passing through
a period of halt and hesitation. Topics of
discussion occupying Wall street attention
for the last week have included as main
items the listing Of Steel in Paris, the
expected publication of the report of Gov
Hughes committee on the investigation
Of the stock exchange, the dividend ac-
ton on Reading and. of course. the out
look for crops.
Concerning the listing of Steel there Is
still a certain amount of confusion.
French steel manufacturers do not seem
to like the appearance in their own mar
ket of the shares of the great American
corporation and are apparently striving
to the best of their ability to hamper Off
cial listing. Some anirnus is also evil
dent in France because of our proposed
new tariff restrictions on the importation
of French wines and other products But
however this may be there can be no
doubt that ]. P. Morgan & Co. have not
gone as far as they have without due
warrant. That there has actually oc-
Cured an important sale of United States
Steel stocks to a French syndicate is
beyond question. Now as to the technical
operation of the dealing in these stocks in
Paris, there can be no serious Quandary.
If not admitted to the innermost circles
Of French finance, way will be found
to give them full free play in market
transactions. J. P. Morgan is not going
TO take back seat because Of technicall-
ties. Meanwhile the effect in our market
has been decline of over points in
Steel common. Many purchasers have
taken profits and many bears have been
emboldened to put out short contracts.
The situation is interesting, but there
seems to be only one final outcome-the
ultimate approximation of market quota
tions for Steel to the potential value
which the stock represents
Canards About Hartman.
Another curio canard which the bears
are working for all it is worth consists
Of daily bulletins concerning the health
of E. H. Hartman, who is now in Paris
Mr.. Harrimans health does not seem to
be a subject of any worriment to his
family or friends That he is in Paris for
serious business purposes Is beyond doubt
That he will accomplish what he has set
out to do can be safely predicted upon
his past successful record. But for the
moment it is a pleasure, even a JOY, for
the bear contingent to get short OF Harri-
man stocks. They will probably have to
be very nimble to secure paper profits.
From the business point of view the
Hartman roads are wonderfully prosper
ing. Earnings of both Union and South
ern Pacific continue to reveal net profits
far and away In excess of any current
dividend distribution. And Mr.. Hartman
is particularly enthusiastic about the fu-
ture of the extension of his lines into
Mexican territory He foresees a vast
northwestern continental system which
will build up immense prosperity for the
roads for which he is sponsor Those
who pin their faith to Hartman will not
hesitate to load up when his stocks are
manipulatively sold down.
Of hn Hylp cfn ny
change committee is in a certain way
astonishing. For the first time in some
years a body of intelligent men does not
find that Wall street is sink Of in
iquity. They actually do not discover
that the stock exchange is the unholy
of unholies. They even discover that the
gentle art of short selling has it's ad
vantages. They do make some recon-
mendations which arouse expert smiles.
For example, they draw a distinction be-
tween persons of means and expert
ence' and persons without those quail
fications. The former are serious-minded
spectators. The latter are gamblers.
similar to those infatuated persons who
patronize the roulette wheel This is
somewhat confusing. How is a person
to acquire means and experienced"
There are quite a number of members
of the stock exchange who are gradu
ates from the Consolidated Stock Ex-
change. where they acquired their "ex-
perience' as we'll as their means. Are
such evolutions in future to be banned?
Is the piker to be forbidden to become
the plunger? Quite an interesting
conundrum.
Hughes Commission Astonishes.
Another rather astonishing comment
of the committee is their criticism on
branch Offices" Their main horror seems
to be that IN these branch offices liquor
is served. The demon rum must not be
trified with. But what proof is there
that this same demon does not exercise
his wiles in main offices we'll as branch
Offices? And If all business is to be
suppressed where this lurid fiend takes a
hand where are we going to stop? The
private bottle of the bank president or
the drygoods merchant or the insurance.
officer IS known to exist. Must these
gentlemen quit business or join the
Women's Christian Temperance Union?
Surely a burning question. Then this
committee thinks that no speculative con-
tracts should be entered into unless a
margin of % per cent is put up. Why?
In what does the speculative operation
differ whether the margin be twenty
points or five points? OF course at the
larger amount the speculator can lose
more, but in what other way the opera
ton Is essentially different is difficult
to COMPREHEND Wall street was shiver-
ing last week about the Hughes commit
tee report. Today shivers disappear and
mild mirth replaces them.
Another matter which excited specula-
tion in recent transactions was the
dividend declaration on Reading No
body with any common sense expected
that at this juncture the Reading Com
pany would change its dividend policy.
But all sorts of fairy tales were scat
tered broadcast-the dividend was to be
increased, valuable rights We're to be
conferred upon common stockholders,
large-sized melons were to be cut. OF
course nothing of the kind came to light.
The dividend declaration, announced last
Wednesday, was of the usual orderly
character, and another Wall street
bubble was pricked. Everybody knows
that Reading is valuable property. that
the company has immense valuable as
ton that in times which reflect gradual
recovery from panic conditions any body
Of financers will begin to fling premiums
at stockholders. So the Reading episode
passes away for another six months.
Basic Conditions Strong.
It may well be that speculation will
continue in a state Of confusion. There
is next to no public participation in the
Wall street game. Thus immediate fluc-
tuations are largely at the mercy Of the
streets speculative sentiment. and further
decline is by no means improbable. But
the basic conditions which create and
govern security markets remain extreme
ly strong. 1t is quite plain from the gov
ernment reports. well as from private