Evening star., 1909-05-02
PUBLIC KEEPS WARY
Big Interests Keeping Up the
Stock Tone. p
PLAN PROFITABLE UNLOAD
Present Market Helped by Easy
Money Conditions.
IRON AND STEEL MEN HAPPY
Upgrade Movement Betokens Per-
manency and Improved
Trade.
pecial Correspondence Of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
NEW YORK, May /, 1909.
There is only gleam of comfort fol
the bears and short-sellers in stocks Oc-
casionaly they have an inning. but 1t is
short lived as rule. and isNolloWed by
a season of grief. All the time the mar
ket creeps up. 1t is not the public that
is buying, for the complaint among the
commission men IS almost universal that
there is famine Of outside orders
Somebody is manifestly buying, however
and IL 1t isn't the public or the rank
and file Of professionals it must be the
big interests. Shorts. of course, con-
tribute their part to the rallies, but there
is not that huge, unwieldy short interest
in stocks which is sometimes observable
The traders as general thing are
wary and do not commit themselves
heavily to the side they really favor.
They have been taught in the school OF
bitter experience that it does not pay to
go against the movements directed by
the important interests. Their reading
of the tape tells them that there is very
little liquidation of securities and that
the evident wish of the market masters
is to slowly work quotations higher.
They are not rampageous in their mar
ket action but all the time they en-
deavor to make it plain that the purpose
is to move UP the general level.
Among the wise ones on the exchange
and in the offices the commonly accepted
theory is that the great market leaders.
backed by the banking combinations. are
getting the market situation into such q
shape that when the tariff bill is passed
and signed and the crop conditions are
fairly well defined the country will draw
d long breath of relief. and as pre-
liminary to the grand whoop-up go into
the stock market to get a little spending
money. 1t Is upon such occasions that
down proceed to unload and take their
profits. Some such entertainment seems
to be In store. The public, which is
doing little or nothing now, is relied upon
to come in freely later on, when quota
uons get five to fifteen points higher.
Then when they get the stocks they will
have the pleasure of Juggling the load
until they get tired.
Other Uses for Their Money Later.
The big fellows. having made their
killing, will have other use for their
money besides supporting stocks.
This beautiful view is the one which
is held by majority of experienced peo-
pie in the street. They recognize the fu-
tility OF going against the machine, yet
they have no real faith in the merit Of
important further advance. Conse-
quently they chart the future for a fur
ther general rise, followed by serious re-
action, to come, singularly enough, at
the very time when the industries of the
country are beginning to stir into
activity.
The market is helped by continuance of
easy and cheap money. The leading
railroads and the majority of the bank
ing element are not looking for marked
revival In business until late autumn, or
possibly after the turn Of the year. The
railroads show this by their reluctance
to make contracts for supplies. new rails
or new equipment. Bankers evidence
the same feeling by their entire willing
ness to put their loanable funds out on
six months or longer to any people of
good credit they can induce to borrow.
Meantime, the corporations are going
ahead serenely with their plans for Is
suing and floating new bonds for i'm
provement and construction later on, and
in making provision for maturing obli-
cations.
A railroad management will be a poor
excuse that has a floating debt at the end
of the year which by any possibility
can be extinguished. At the rate of
bond issue for the first four months of
the calendar year it looks as though the