Evening star., 1909-05-30
PROFESSIONALS BUSY
Behind the Stock Market
Movements lust Now.
BECKON THE OUTSIDERS
Small Spectators Profting by the
Manipulations.
FINANCIAL KINGS IN HARMONY
FINANCIAL KINGS IN HARMONY
q. S. Steel Common a Weeks Losing
Game for the Traders-Indus-
trials Feature of Market.
,ecial Correspondence OF The Star,

NEW YORK, May %, 1906?
| The security market continues to move
within a narrow range. while speculation
! does not broaden. Professional trans
actions are entirely responsible for the
| small up and down fluctuations which
| are the order OF the day. At the close
| of the week dullness was still further
caused by the approach OF triple holi-
| day. But it must be said that under
| lying strength continues to govern market
movements Basic facts are SO strong
| that it seems idle to expect any .sensa-
tional results from bear raiding. The
| crop situation is satisfactory enough from
either the point of view of yield or grain
| prices. The Industrial situation grows
better and better every day. In the com
| mercial world, if responsible mercantile
agencies are to be trusted, there is very
general recuperation going on. The situa-
| ton seems safe enough for the investor
and the investor is no doubt taking ad-
vantage of it.
| Commission houses report heavy trans
actions In small cash lots and say that
| they are shipping out of town a much
| larger quantity of transferred certificates
! than usual at this time of the year. Why
| the public stays away from the specu a
tive game is a Wall street connundrum
1t may be case of the burnt child dread
| ing the fire. or it may be that outside
ventures. such as those in real estate and
| wheat, command speculative attention. Be
| that as it may. the public does not come
| to swell the Golfers of commission brokers'
| and the game is left entirely in profess
slonal hands.
This situation, while doleful for the
broker. is by no means without its ad-
vantages. There is no horde of small
spectators subject TO call for margin on
any point or two recession, hence it is
| difficult, with the most energetic bear
| tactics. to create anything remotely re-
sembling scare.
Public Bound to Come On.
Oldtime observers say that this state
| of affairs cannot continue-that If prices
| hold go up little more the public is
| sure to appear. Judging from the past
records, this would seem to be the nat
| ural human nature course. Certainly,
advices going out every night from
house after house of standing and repute
urging former customers to re-enter the
speculative arena. and certainly the col
umns of the daily press are crowded with
| developing facts which warrant a good
deal of enthusiasm on the bull side. But
| real bull market is quite impossible
| without public participation
A striking development of the time is
| the return to the community of inter-
| est idea. Baimy peace regns among the
| lords of finance. Animosities are forgot
| ten, wrongs forgiven, the hatchet buried.
| Or at least, SO they say. Mr.. Hartman
and Mr.. Hill get together in charming
| love feast ending a of years. Per-
| haps. The immediate published result is
| that Union Pacific and Northern Pacific
are to use jointly the 40 miles of North
ern Pa cific trackage between South Da-
kota and Vancouver and the bridges over
the Columbia river are to be used jointly.
| This sounds insignificant enough in itself,
but is taken sign that warfare is
/
petitive building in the northwest.
Mr.. Hartman sails for Europe June l.
apparently with all squabbles pacified and
ready to perform a gigantic borrowing
act in Paris and London. Well. they have
| the money there and will no doubt be
| glad to lend it to him az due profit.
/ Meanwhile the willy Mr.. Hartman may
! be expected to show his foreign friends
pretty good quotations in New York for
| his Union and Southern Pacific pets.
Harmony in Steel Trust.
/ Further testimony to halcyon harmony
/ Is the election of J. p. Morgan, jr.. to
succeed the late H. H. Rogers as direc-
tor and member of the finance commit
| tee of the United States Steel Corpora
| ton. This is taken to mean probably
with justice that Standard Oil and Nor
| gan interests are pulling together. Il
| seems certain that the Morgan people
have largely increased their holdings of
| United States Steel common and at an
average considerably below prevailing
prices, which, by the way. are the highest
ever scored for the stock. 1t is getting
to be the daily program to make a new
| high record for Steel common Profess
| sional Wall street has not taken kindly
| to this and has amused itself right along
by going short of Steel common on every
! advance. Up to date this has been a
sadly losing game for the traders: In
| fact. there seems to be real merit In the
! position of Steel common.
| AS before pointed out In this review,
| the stock must be the ultimate heir Of all
profits over and above those needed to
defray fixed charges and preferred divi-
| dends. With fairly liberal return of
prosperity in the steel business, not earn
ings must soon vastly exceed require
ments for fixed charges and preferred
dividends. There are pretty good rumors
emanating from inside circles that Steel
common will get back to per cent
dividend basis before the year is over or
early next year.
Reading acts capriciously-up and down
in really bewldering fashion. but still
maintaining pretty high level. One
story has it that II. G. Frick has been
selling his holdings because he could not
induce his fellow-drectors to increase
Readings dividend-a story to be taken
with many grains of salt Reading is
strongly and closely held, and ii would be
quite possible for the insiders without
| great effort TO rush 1T up sharply. The
temptation to do SO may arise If the
traders insist on keeping short of the
stock
Railways Playing Second Fiddle.
Railroads are playing second fiddle TO
| industrias just now Tine street is full
Of tips TO buy Amalgamated. Anaconda,
Smelters, Locomotive, Colorado Fuel and
Iron. Railway Steel Spring, and National
Lead. That any or all of these can ad-
vance goes without saying, but prudence
would dictate waiting for further develop
ments before sailing I'm on merely blind
tips. National Lead, however, is an eN-
ceptionally safe thing to buy. There are
| pools operating in Colorado Fuel and Iron
and International Steel Pump, with Strong
| financial backing behind it. Other in
| dustrials of which one hears good deal
| Of falkland talk all one way, upward
include Dstillers' Securities, American
Malt, Corn Products and American Beet
| Sugar.
| Ii is freely and openly stated by Erie
insiders that Erie, stocks going to be
given a Whirl whenever the present mar
ket inertia comes to An end. 1t may so
| happen. but bulins Erie has been quix-
otto performance for some time. 1t vii!
take a good deal of general buoyancy TO
| enable the water-logged securities to lift
their heads above the waves.
! Has Hartman got Wabash? Such is
the tale. Kuhn, Loeb & Co have been
rbuying Wabash stocks freely and it Is
| said that they or some else has
| offered 80 for controlling block OF the
| preferred stock. 1t is also said that this
| offer has been refused. which does not
sound very likely. Another story is that