The Washington herald., 1909-05-14
STOCKS ARE QUIET
Trading Irregular in Many
of the Issues.
HARD COAL SHARES STRONG
Extraordinary Rise that Has Taken
Place in Reading Stock in Recent
Months Leads Some to Suspect a
Corner, bat Grounds for Such Sup
position Seem TO Be Lacking.

New York, Nay 12-To-day's stock
lsrket was OF pretty much the same
Sort as it was on Wednesday, with the
exception that transactions to-day were
less and the market was. therefore,
quieter. sA3
An irregular movement in prices IN gen
eral, coupled with a display OF distinct.
not to say extreme. strength in certain
quarters. was the feature OF business Just
as Il has been through the greater pOr-
ton OF the present week.
The stocks in which this strength was
shown we're again to-day some OF the
hard coal issues. principally the Reading
and Delaware and Hudson shares There
were no further developments, however.
regarding reasons for this movement. and
stock exchange gossip had 10 content
rltseH with the explanation ia the one
instance that a possible larger dividend
rate on Reading common stock may be
impending, and in the other. that the for
nation OF a holding company 10 take
over the Delaware and Hudson's coal
lands may be meditated.
Some Suspect Corner.
The extraordinary rise that has taken
place in Reading stock during recent
months has induced in The minds Of Ger
tain ultra-speculatve people in Wan
street the thought that something re-
sembling a corner" in Reading com
!. mon stock may exist But grounds for
supposition seem TO be entirely
cking.
Every one knows that the floating sup
pi9 OF Reading in the market is at all
times comparatively small. owing TO the
great quantity OF the stock locked Up in
railroad treasures, and that sudden and
violent fluctuations In the quotations Of
5Ee security may, and do. easily take
PLACE
AS TO the matter Of book value. no one
can dispute that Reading common stocks
may be worth a price even double that
which now rules. The immense equities
n the property Go not readily lend them
selves 10 calculation. However this may
be. no such borrowing rate for Reading
revaiis on the stock exchange as 70 point
e. all 20 the probability OF a corner in It
Neither IS the sUpposition a. all Illogical.
+. as concerns Delaware and Hudson and
other companies, that the formation Of
holding companies 10 take over the So
called banking assets OF these railroad
corporations should result in a market
valuation for certain stocks very con-
siderably higher than those now quoted
Decline at Close.
In the afternoon to-day the comparative
dullness Of the market and the seeming
Unwillingness on the part Of large fnan-
cial powers 70 engineer q further all
around advance in prices al the moment
made SPECTATORS who ha5itualIy operate
for the fan inclined 70 make sales Of
sstocks. and under this pressure the mar
pet exhibited a declining tendency IN the
st4osing hours Of business
But the final record Of prices showed
2 miscellaneous scattering Of advances
and declines, and, Il anything. with ad-
vances more numerous Besides the great
gains made IN the hard coal stocks, most
OF which were retained until the close,
there was a continuation Of yesterdays
interest in all the Rock Island issues and
specific strength was shown by the Allis-
Chalmers, Twin City Rapid Transit, Kan
sas City Southern. Louisville and Nash
Vile, and Consolidated Gas, and Brooklyn
Union Gas, not 10 mention many others.