Evening star., 1909-02-21
bt!hIt N h|rrltS
Current Movements of Stock
Market Not Violent.
BUSY BELOW THE SURFACE
Near Generalization, Particularly in
Iron Trade.
INDEPENDENTS CUT PRICES
Congress Expected to Hurry Tariff
Legislation-Erie to Be Given
Another Chance.
BUSY BELOW THE SURFACE
INDEPENDENTS CUT PRICES
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK. February V.-Until
Thursday afternoon the current move
ments of the stock market were as gen
tie as the ripples on an island sea. but 1t
now looks very much as though the ac-
tive forces were getting busy below the
surface and that something is likely to
happen to liven up the situation 6usi-
ness conditions throughout the country
especially in the manufacturing branches,
are not satisfactory. There is no galnsay-
ing that statement. In the iron trade
particularly the situation is one very
nearly that of decentralization. The inde-
pendents in their anxiety to get business
are cutting prices right and left.
The iron manufacturers have got very
good line on what the House ways and
means committee will put into the IRON
and steel schedule. They have 1t from
sources known to be reliable that 1t mas
already been written into the House bill
that the duty on rails will be cut about
81 1-3 per cent, and that the same SLASH
will be made in structural iron. Other
productions in this division OF industry
will be cut from 20 to 80 per cent. Rails
and structural material comprise about
one-half of the products of the mills
1t is understood that the rank ana ME
of manufacturers. affected adversely by
ton provided in the forthcoming House
measure If the Senate does not add to
the burden they will be satisfied.
To Hurry Tariff Legislation.
It comes from Washington direct to the
big Wall street interests that Congress
is likely to yield to the clamor of the
nd na
of unemployed men and hurry through
legislation on the tariff. Many OF the
best friends of protection would like to see
more care given to the measure before 1t
becomes a law than will be possible under
the whoopla program. as they would
like to have law hat would stand for
years impregnabie 20 successtui atiack
andsone that would not be shot full OF
holes by the board of general appraisers
and the courts as the Dingley law has
been.
The House committee will offer a very
much better bill, however. than seemed
possible up to a few weeks ago. 1t has
| the best of expert counsel and will be
able to correct most of the 1mperfect1ons
and defects in the existing law. That
| work has been greatly simpllfed ana the
insiders here are advised that under the
direction of Chairman Payne and Mr..
Dalzell a really creditable bill will be
| offered for Congress digestion. The high
protection party which pivots around the
Headquarters of the big industrials are
somewhat worried over the probable COM
| pleXion of the next Senate finance COM
mittee. 1t will have three new members.
and four if Hopkins of Illinois Is knocked
out. The retiring members will be Platt
| of New York, Hansbrough of North Da-
| kota and Hopkins of Illinois, with Ali-
son of Iowa. deceased. Mr.. Hale, himself
a member of the committee, will probably
be chairman of the caucus, in which ca
att ho xrytn 1,n x-dY inf Ne
| ing the new members, who are likely
to be Dolliver of Iowa, Carter Of Mon
tana, Nelson of Minnesota and kean OF
New Jersey. With the exception of Nell
son these new men would be unObject1on-
able to the high tariff phalanX. Gallinger
| of New Hampshire could have one of the
places, but refuses in advance to allow his
name to be considered.
Altogether the outlook is for speedy
action and for reasonably early Senate
! acquiescence in whatever program the
administration and Congress leaders may
agree upon.
The stockholders of New York Central
are reconciled to the departure OF w. X.
Vanderbilt and the prospects of his being
| absent for at least six mouths. Accord
| ing to the critics Of the New York Cen
| trail inside management, the one thing
| worse for the road than Mr.. Vanderbilts 8
absence is his personal presence on the
| job here in New York. By way of cheer
| full mention is the report that the Wander
bilt family has sold to the New York Cen
| trail system five-and-a-half-mile link or
road connecting the real terminal Of that
| line at Spuyten Duyvil with the Manhat-
tan section at the north end of the bridge
| between Manhattan Island and the Bronx.
| This is one of the little links in the sys-
! tenn owned by the Vanderbilt family per-
sonally which has always been a bar to
| outside interests coming in and buying
| the majority control of the company. 1t
| looks now as though the Vanderbilts were
/ q -1-
| ct borough possessions and pave the way
| to a new control. The Gould system has
been for years handicapped by Gould fam
| lily ownership of indispensable sections
Another Chance for Erie.
| Erie is going to be given another chance
| for it's life. 1t has been granted permis-
| sion to borrow $50 100000, part of which
| is to go to pay off floating debt due Mr..
Hartman and others and part to COM
| plete improvements and terminals. The
road is already waterlogged with a huge
bonded Indebtedness on which 1t has not
been able for a year Or more to pay In
| terest. Part Of the collateral for the new
$50. .OOO, 600 issue. is the unpaid coupons of
| the Erie Company. totaling something
| like $11 900, ,OOO-1ueer collateral from an
! investment or banking standpoint.
The annual report Of the Pressed Steel
| Car Company illustrates in a most brutal
way the terrific shrinkage in the business
| OF the railroad equipment companies. me
report shows that in 1903 gross earnings
| were SS,5S9.OOO against $36, ,443, ,OO0 the
year preceding and $36. 6.14S.OO0 in 1905.
The report shows deficit on the year OF
$4,000 after paying dividends on pre-
ferred stock. Ordinarily. report of this
kind would have smashed the stock clear
down through the ground. On this occa-
| sion it hardly made an impression on
| prices. The exhibit was not unexpected
and then everybody knows that when
good times revive equipment companies
will be first to feel them and that they
will have more business than they can
attend to.