The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-20
STOCKS UNMOVED
 BY ROGERS DEATH Recent Anxiety Is Shown to Be
 Without Foundation PRICES BECOME STRONG A Decline Is Felt In AmaIeamated Copper, Consolidated Gas and
 St. Paul But Other Stocks
 Show Decided Strength.
PRICES BECOME STRONG

New York, May 1s.-The stock market has rarely met the death of a capitalist of foremost prominence with as little dis turbance as was caused by the passing of H. H. Rogers this morning. It was concluded from this that there was It. tie ground for the anxiety professed for several days past that the speculative po- sition had become unstable and vulner- able.
 From passive resistance to depression the tone rose to positive strength. The demonstration of resisting power could not well have had other conseouence since the fear of over speculation and a top-heavy condition of values which might lead to violent relapse in case of accident, had been the sole unfavor- able factor which could be pointed out in the situation.
 Prices have suffered more serious set- backs often on rumors of MT. Roger S death or serious illness than happened to- day following his actual death. Mir. Rog- CTS has represented to the Wall street supposition as much as any one man. the central figure of the vaguely defined Standard Oil group" which Is the most potent of all the dimly apprehended forces which mark concealed from view and supposedly armed with the most par ticular knowledge of conditions and con- Strol over their regular. The sudden re- mova1 of such a force may have dis astrous consequences to a speculative po- , stion as in the case of the sudden death Df ex-Governor Flower in the crisis of an excessive speculation in stocks when he had been the controlling figure. Even where there IS known to be mo heavy speculative commitments in the stock market decided depression is sometimes caused by the death of a man of the
 ast property interests and administrative activity of MT Rogers. The extreme effect today was measured by a decline of 1ss in the price of shares of Amal- gamated Copper, of which company he was president, and of 2hs in Consolidated Gas and in St. Paul, of which he was a director. His engrossment with his pet project of the Virginian railway diverted all his attention Furthermore 1t was be- lieved that the state of his health since an attack in 1907 had induced his re- tlrement from many former activities and the placing of his affairs in order to guard against the event of today.
 The impression of the strong under lying condition of the stock market po- sition was not the less marked on ac- count of these explanations of the re- sistance shown. Factors of encourage . ment in the outlook which have been in Q abeyance for several days came into play 6 again. United States Steel, of which MT. afRogers was af director, was conspicu- pusly strong, rising through It's previous record price of 5Sa4 to 59%.
 Chesapeake and Ohio at 80 also touched a price never reached before by that stock The movement in steel was at tributed to the restoration of wages by the independent steel companies and the inferences drawn from that action as to the returning profits of the industry even al the lowered prices at which the re- cent heavy orders have been booked. News from the copper trade continued