The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-27

Nothing, apparently, can convert the Wall street professional element from the gospel of pessmism. To listen to the gossip in Wall street circles there is really no such thing as American pros perity-it is all hollow, phantom-like. The crops are fictitious, industries are all plunging to the demnition bow-wows, se- curities are nothing but engraved false hoods. Actually, however ridiculous this may sound. such are the doctrines preach ed among Wall street traders. Anyone who ventures to suggest that there Is such thing as actual American business is looked upon with pity. How Wall street has got Into this state of mind is difficult to understand, but there 1t is. And just so long as these Authorizations endure just so long shall we have rag ged speculative markets, because every time an advance takes place the bear contingent cries out: Hal the top at lastr' and thereupon floods of short sell ing foam out
 For quite a time now each and every speculative bear campaign has come to disaster, but hope springs eternal in the ursine breast, and there is confident ex- pectation on the part of Wall street spectators that they will all get rich in the near future by means of some tre- mendous smash Just how this smash Is to come about Is not indicated, but that 1t must come Is a tenet of their faith. Such bear tactics would be of little avail if the public were taking a hand in spec ulative operations. But the public per sistently holds aloof. There Is ample ev- idence of investment buying. but of spec ulative buying there is next to none. This, of course permits the violent fluct- nations to which we have grown accus- toned. But it is to be observed that the market looked at in perspective steadily moves up-has been doing so since bot tom was reached in the panic of 1907-08. The end of each convulsion finds the av- craze of prices something higher-and this is due more than to anything else, to the constant absorption of securities by the small individual investor Commits sion houses, while complaining of deartls of speculation. all report continued ship ment of transferred stocks to points out side of New York, a process which has been going on for a long time.
 Curious explanation of the slump of last Monday Is afforded by a story which sounds true. As noted in this review last week. Governor Hughes Investigating committee recommended doing speculat- i've business not less than 20 per cent margins. It seems the stock exchange authorities welcomed the idea and, nos ing around, found a prominent commits sion house not quite so tightwadded in its financial ideas-actually doing busi ness on a more liberal margin scale. The house was promptly notified that 1t must be good-real good-must make its cus- toners put up more margin or cut down its business, The house took fright and sold out about half the line 1t was carry ing. Such is the story. Just what the customers of the house think of 1t is not related. But Just why stock broker should not extend credit as he sees fit in the same way as any other business man does is difficult of comprehension. Well. there Is a heap of humbug in this world, of which commodity even our Hughes whitewashed stock exchange keeps a fair supply on hand.
 Broadly speaking, the immediate fu- ture of the security market depends more upon crop news than upon anything else If as now seems assured, average favor able crop results obtain, then nothing can stop a bull movement in stocks Of course we have yet to pass through some two months of more or less crop uncer- tainty, during which time the security market may be expected to stay feverish But on the other hand, if the big capital ists of the country become convinced Of good crop outcome, they will not wait till harvest time to take advantage of the situation They like to buy as near bottom prices as possible, with an eye to selling as near top as they conven- iently can.