Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-03
MANY EAGER TO BUY
Bull Market Reaches the
Freak Stage.
TRADERS REAP PROFITS
Steel Common Continues to Hold the
Leadership.
TOP NOTCH RAILWAY EARNING
Brokers Find "I-Told-You-So" Sc
quence in Oklahoma Bank Failure.
Baer's Coal Trust Bomb.
TOP NOTCH RAILWAY EARNING
Special Correspondence Of The Star.


NEW YORK, OCTOBER 2. 1909
The bull market certainly reached the
freak stage. 1t has arrived at the point
where every tip to buy any old thing
makes good. One of the most consplc-
uous operators in the market confessed
a day or to ago to a friend that he was
rapidly being driven to frenzy by the
flood of advice pouring in upon him from
every quarter to buy. buy. buy. IF
bought everything that was tipped off to
me- he exclaimed, 1.-The Bank of Eng
land wouldn't have money enough to pay
the commissions. Everybody seems to
have gone crazy. The worst Of 1t Is
everybody who knows me seems to think
1 must have gone crazy. too. That
about expresses the situation. Not that
the general level of prices might not be
justified, but it can be said with all
truthfulness. chat in large measure
existing quotations represent the full
fruition of hopes and expectations upon
which the bull campaign was carried on.
The market anticipated the prosperity
which has come upon us In the tremen-
dous advance, which has taken place. In
other words. the lofty range of prices
now established has unQueSt1onaoIy Qls-
counted. in a great measure, most OF &he
good things that have occurred and that
are Immediately ahead of U.S. 1t IS also
true that many of the more important
interests. which have been active IN the
bull campaign, and which have prohted
hugely thereby, have realized upon their
speculative lines within the last month
or six weeks. Some Of them have prob
ably gone back into the market again,
but the bulk of the buying now being
witnessed is by the outside public.
1t is the public that is carrying the
bulk of the floating supply. Upon that
point there is substantial agreement
among those whose observation and juds-
ment make their opinion of real value.
The presence of hundreds of thousands
of visitors in New York has contributed
largely to the market activity of the past
ten days. Among the strangers within
the gates of New York there are doubt
less tens Of thousands who took little
flyers in the stock market to pay the
expenses of the trip. The enthusiasm
occasioned by this new buying was IN
fictitious and communicated itself to the
seasoned element of Wall street. 1t gave
to the market an appearance OF genuine
ness which carried the rank and file OF
traders off their feet for the moment.
Steel Common the Leader.
Steel common has been the leader
through all this latter-day excitement. Its
right TO leadership seems to be generally
accepted. There are more stockholders IN
Steel than in any other corporation and
a wider public interest in the affairs OF
the company. Not even the Hartman
stocks can approach Steel. United States
Steel has the further advantage Of en-
tering upon period OF tremendous pros
perity, the size and extent OF which are
measurable by ordinary rules of cal
culation which anybody and everybody
ca understand. The forecast Is for $780,
100000 earnings next year on business
of approximately 100000 tons. The total
may easily reach 15,OOO,OOO. Once before
in It's history the Steel trust earned close
to $4,000 900 in one quarter. Earnings
for the quarter ending with September
will approximate $40.O0O.OOO Earnings
for the last quarter of the year should be
record of earnings was made before the
trust owned Tennessee Coal and Iron,
which has a present capacity Of 100000
tons, and also before Gary was started
So clearly defined seems to be the future
of Steel. common that not few OF iron
and steel specialists are selling their Steel
preferred and Steel bonds and putting
the money into the junior issues. This
gives to the preferred and bonds an ap-
pearance of weakness which is puzzling
to some Of the historians in the street
who are engaged in struggle to show
that common is too high and is being al
t.ficially doomed.
Railroad earnings, gross and common,
are dDOul tOpHOlCii, ~ ooi
that the operation of railroad properties
represents a higher degree of labor and
administration efficiency than ever before.
This is reflected in the generally larger
increase in the percentage Of net than of
gross. 1t Is also reflected In the better
and cleaner handling OF traffic. Nowhere
else is this situation illustrated to bet
ter advantage than in the Pittsburg dis
trict, which originates more tonnage than
any other point in the United States. Or
dinarily with the tonnage now handled In
that district there would be a condition
Of hopeless car congestion. AS 1t is, there
is comparatively little clogging in the
movement Of business. The same Is true
gard to the great crop-moving system of
the west.
What Important Interests Want.
A prominent railroad traffic manager
made the statement to the writer that two
years or three years ago at least 100000
more cars than are now in use would be
required to handle tonnage now offered
and taken care of. With the large bust
ness now moved and the probable sub
stantial increase over this total during
the next fifteen months arises the need OF
increased equipment and continual invest
ment for maintenance and Improvement,
on property. This will call for heavy out
lays and for a corresponding enlargement
of stock and bond capitalization. Happily
the railroads are N excellent shape to
bear this increased burde.l Upon their re-
sources, and there is nothing in sight upon
reactions in the security market.
rea1lv fpon0rtanf interests