Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-03-15
Little Belief that : .a1 Delays Can
Be Avoided.
TWO DEGREES WITHOUT EFFECT
AcauIttaI of standard OIL Company
Of Indiana aud setting Aside
Missouri Rate Law DO Not
Disturb Prices.

NEW YORK, March 1.-THE stock mar
ket the last week composed itself into an
attitude OF waiting upon the more definite
shaping Of future events, and was dis
tinguished chiefly by its unimpressionablc
character. Tile testing operations of the
professional element, which made up nearly
tie whole OF the dealings proved unavail-
ing TO uncover any extended orders, either
IN the way of liquidation or OF covering
outstanding short accounts Professional
Operations themselves dwindled under these
discouraging circumstances and brought
the rate of activity in the market down
to level compar rabie with the dullness Of
last summer in the period before the ma
tional conventions had acted. On July 3
last year before the democratic convention
met in Denver. the decreasing dealings in
stocks ran down To a total OF only 1900
shares dealt In at the stock exchange, a
record for dullness not equaled in the an
nails OF the stock exchange in modern
ilnes Thursdays dealings last week
barely turned the 3OO,0O0 share figure, thus
recording smaller days business than for
any day since before the national cleo
tlous
waiting for New Tariff.
The period OF the Inauguration OF the
now president having passed without the
hoped-for revival in interest, stock market
interests, apparently resigned themselves
70 await the definite shaping or the tariff
revision now In progress at Washington.
The outcome OF the tariff revision seems
TO be unusually uncertain. and the check
on business activity is expected to be COR
respondingly great. It is an influence on
general trade activity that speculative SEN
timent is most concerned with the tariff
question. Satisfaction is felt with the ef-
forts making to expedite the determna-
tiop of Inc matter. but confidence in the
stock market circles is not very great. that
the usual delays will be prevented The
POSSIBLE term of the uncertainty perhaps
has much TO do with the suppression of
cyeculatiyc activity, as have prospective
changes n the duties on imposts.
rwo JudiciaI DEGREES.
judicial docrces on several subjects of
far rcnching importance to corporations
were handed down during the week. That
to which greatest public interest attached
was tile ncquittal OF the Standard Oil COM
pany Of Indiana IN the rotrial OF the case
in which il was fined S29,OO0OO0 on the
tirst trial. but the final disposition of the
cas0 in favor of the corporation caused
scarcely n ripple on the stock market. OF
almost as little effect was the injunction
issued 10y the United States district court
against ;io Missouri law regulating freight
and passenger rates of railroads. There
VAS 1ispt sition to infer from the out
come OF the Standard OH case an aban-
dunment by the government of similar
cases stu pcndias. The Missouri rate
cases also suggested widespread move
ment 10 contest similar laws in other
states and good hopes of success by TIA,
railroads were assumed.
Eyes on Labor Outlook,
ere lab,r outlook is kept in view by
TIE cute In wages in various departments
% the steel trade and by the confer
cacc bstwcen anthracite operators ant
miners for now agree ment to take th'
place OF tle one expiring on April first
Tho extension Of this movement over
wide tield Is looked for and mixed conse
uucnces are looked upon as inevitable. i
is considered promising feature of tn,
outlook that immigration statistics show
a pronounced shift in the current again
with an increase in arrivals since tn,
first OF tho year. of 7L00O. and decreas,
!n departures OF 90 1000, compared with las
year, when there was a homeward rush o
foreigners.
The inauguration OF gold exports to Lon
don MAS wholly ignored as stock marke
Influence IN view of the abundance o
loanabe funds in the money market.