The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-23
AMAZING STRENGTH SHOWN IN MARKET Rogers Death Created Scarcely
 a Ripple SOUTH IS IN THE SADDLE Southern Industries Show Most Strength and Outlook Is Brighter Than in Any Other Sec
 ton of Nation.
IS IN THE SADDLE
By W. G. NICHOLAS.

day, the announcement of the unexpected
 death of MT. H. H. Rogers caused noth-
 ing more marketwise, than temporary
 decline of about point in Amalgamated
 Copper. which was quickly recovered All i old-timers in Wall street will certify to
 the statement that in years gone by such
 a catastrophe would have meant a con- l certed slump. But times are changed. The security market of today Is under the absolute control and guidance of the | biggest financial interests In the country
 and these interests stand ready at any
 and all times to safeguard values. No
 more Illustrative episode could have been furnished than this sudden removal of MT. Rogers.
 Conspicuous in market movement is the
 sustained strength of the Hartman Pa
 cifics. MT Hartman Is scheduled to leave for Europe on June 1. Despite con- trary reports MT. Hartman is not going
 abroad for his health His main objective
 purpose is to float profitably certain bond Issues running into hundreds of millions of dollars of his pet railroads. Mir ETar-
 rtman, on the highest authority, is pro- claimed to be practical man" He cer-
 tainly Is. He Is going across the pond to
 borrow money and to borrow it upon
 flrst-class collateral. What Is the natural
 programme that he will cause to be fol- lowed? A borrower desires to put before
 lender the best possible front. Hence 1t would seem to be certain that. market
 circumstances permitting, the highest at-
 tainable quotations for the Hartman is-
 sues will come out before, during or after
 MT. Harriman's Argonautio voyage. It
 would seem to be one of the simplest pos sible propositions that Hartman stocks are booked for a swift advance. Of course all market movements are at all times at
 the mercy of unexpected disaster; but speculator ignore remote contingencies of this character.
 Incidental to such discussion there Is
 significance in the recent trips through
 southern territory, extending beyond the
 Mexican border of MT. Hartman and his
 associates and MT. Edwin Hawley and
 his partners. Speculative attention turns southward with eager eyes The wonder
 ful growth of southern prosperity not
 unaided by the political attitude of Pres ident Taft. attracts serious consideration from American capitalists. Undoubtedly
 another good cotton crop to be sold at profitable prices will mean another great step forward for the south. It Is, there fore, not surprising to find such stocks | as Chesapeake and Ohio Southern Rail | way and Rock Island attracting specula-
 tive consideration From the agricultural
 and industrial point of view the south is
 in the saddle, and seems certain to stay
 there indefinitely.
 The speculative situation Is still con- 1 fused. What Wall street terms the pub
 lic'' is not taking any great part in cur
 rent transactions. Speculation Is largely | in the hands of professional traders and | for the moment traders are almost uni versally bearish. A certain group of big
 operators who took the bull side some
 months ago, saw fit to take their profits | within the last week, and 1t Is estimated 1 that from 300,0O0 to 500.00o shares of stock were sold at handsome pronls. And these sellers, not content with their profits, put out in addition quite a considerable line
 of short contracts. The impressive fact
 is that at no time did such profit reali-
 zation depress the market more than one
 to three points, and more impressive still Is the fact that such declines are now all practically recovered The group of operators who took this action probably could not replace their holdings in the current market without advancing quota tions from five to ten points. The inter
 esting question Is, who bought the stock sold? Commission houses to some extent
 answer this query. For the last two or three weeks there have been larger ship
 ments of transferred certificates of stock
 than at any time since the panic of 1907,
 when odd-lot buying appeared in such
 amazing fashion. The American public
 at large is not speculating, but 1t is buy
 ing and salting down good dividend pay
 Ing stocks, which is evidence of the Amer
 ican publics horse sense. Disregarding Wall street fantasies, deaf to bear rhet-
 oric, the plain everyday American citi-
 zen in buying what he conciders good in vestments. This is the mainstay of the
 market.
 Of course just so long as Wall street
 professionals remain opposed to any up-
 ward movement, just so long must swift and more or less important fluctuations
 appear; but these are not serious to the
 investor; they are nothing but the sur
 face ripples above the flowing tide. Last week in this column reference was
 made to the crop situation. That situa-
 tion distinctly improves. Where winter
 wheat has been killed natural conditions
 permit the sowing of other crops profit able to the farmer and the area of spring ! wheat will this year probably surpass all
 previous records. Of course all crops are still more or less al the mercy of weather
 conditions. but there Is no reason to an
 tcpate any other final result than large accretion to agricultural wealth. And in the long run agricultural wealth is the sure foundation of national prosperity. Given national prosperity, security market appreciation must ensue. This crop situ- alton must be taken into consideration in very earnest fashion in any consideration of stock market probabilities. It Is much ulOIe OI governing laclOf tndn WndC this or that Wall street operator may chance to think of market possibilities. Indeed take the very group of specua- | tors written of above-they are very de- sirous now of reinstating their market | positions; they cannot do 1t except by | paying high prices.
 The monetary condition is favorable to 1 bull speculation. Fairly heavy gold ex- | ports do not in any way impair the strong | position of our associated banks and trust | companies. Whatever gold goes abroad | goes at profit to American shippers. Ihe | demand is unnatural and the foreigner | must pay d premium to get possession of our supplies of the yellow metal. Any | how this gold movement Is good deal | of a fetich. The actual movement of l coin no longer represents settlements of | indebtedness, but rather transfers of | credit, which movement could easily be | abolished under some sane international l clearing house system. Wall street has been educated to cheer gold imports and
 shudder at gold exports; it Is time that ! such nonsense should cease.
 l Daniel G. Reid is back in New York and that means something doing in Rock | Island It is fairly certain that dividends | on Rock Island preferred will be re- stored during this year and that addition | al voting power will be given to Rock Is- l land common The physical condition oi | the Rock Island system has been brought l up to a high standard and this great l property is now fully In shape to rear | the benefits of long years of waiting | The territory through which Rock Island runs is of the richest. The natural