The Washington herald., 1909-01-01

advances or nearly llJ per cent above
the lowest figures OF the year. The buy
ing was very active from late October
until the latter part OF November, and
sharp advances were scored In conse-
quence- The rise IN prices in country
hides was accelerated by the fact that
many OF the large dealers accepted Or
ders for more hides than they had on
hand and were obliged TO enter the mar
ket themselves for stock
After the sensational fluctuations and
the extreme range Of call loans from
10 100 per cent IN 1907, the events OF the
past year appear most commonplace. By
the middle OF January the maximum rate
had declined to s per cent, and from the
week ending January q until the second
week Of November call money never
loaned as high as per cent. Toward the
end OF the year there was a slight harden
ing Of rates. but no high figures were
touched, and it IS probable that an aver
age Of ali call money transactions in the
local money market during 1868 would be
less than per cent. This was the logi-
cal result Of the tendency to hoard money
AZ the close OF 1907, together with a con-
traction IN the volume CT business that
reduced the demand for accommodation 70
the lowest point IN years. Meanwhile,
the total amount Of money In circulation
rose above all previous records, and even
with the growth OF population there was
new maximum amount per capita of
S55.6l on February !. and in December the
average was only . cents less. despite
an Increase in the estimated number OF
Inhabitants 20 S 690. .000 Including the
stock OF money in the Treasury, the total
for the country has risen 70 8, ,392. .136, 81.
Money Finally Comes Ont.
After confidence was restored and
boarded money began coming out Of safe
deposit boxes and other hiding places,
funds accumulated in the hanks to a phe-
nomenal extent, especially as require
ments had also fallen 10 the minimum.
On August . the associated banks Of
New York City recorded a surplus re-
serve above the legal limit OF p per cent
cash to total deposits Of ss5. S.s75. and
it was not until the last month OF the
year that the surplus declined below tEe
highest for the corresponding date IN any
year since 1894 The public debt state
ment showed a decline 10 $50. 81. 80
when the per cent certificates Of in
debtedness nlatured, but Panama Canal
bond issues added $30.o900o3 during De
Cember. and further isUes on that ac-
count are 10 be expected from time &c
time
With it's UsUal antlcipatory methods
Wall street proceeded 10 discount the
effect Of all favorable factors, prices ad-
vancins almost without interruption dur
ing most Of the year. No other meas
ures Of Improvement show nearly as
large advances as the average Of the
sixty railway stocks. which rose from
1855 late IN 1907 10 s10412 IN December.
1908 This cain Of over 3S per cent was
facilitated by the abuUTually easy money
market Late in the year some effort 20
liqUidate part cf the long line OF stocks
caused a moderate reaction from best
prices, but the close makes a most strik-
ing comparison with the prices Of a year
previous.
In the following table the highest and
lowest quotations Of the sixty most &c
tive railway shares are given for the past
generation Whenever a security is
dropped from the list. another Of similar
price is added. so that the record re-
mains unbrokeo for thirty-five years
During that time there have occurred
many violent price movements. the low
est being touched al Sass. n 1SS7. and
the highest in 1906. al $124s9- The record
is compiled from the closing quotations
each Gay:
AVERAGE QUOTATIONS. OF SIXTY ACTIVE