The Washington herald., 1909-02-19
STEEL Is ATTACKED
Selling Pressure on Common
Stock Breaks Price.
MARKET Says IN SYMPATHY
lsrOss Decline in Steel Common More
Than Two POints-Standard Rail-
way shares stsutIy Resist IafIu-
ence of the Drop-securitfes Are
Not Badly DemOraIIzed.

New York. Feb. l6-The one over
sha6ow;ng feature OF the stock market
to-day was. OF course. the heavy sales OF
United States Steel common stock. The
stock was relatively weaker than the rest
Of the market yesterday and the day
before. but to-day the selling pressure on
the issue set IN with greater vigor than
has been seen al any time IN the recent
months
Offerings Of the stock started IN on a
large scale from the very opening OF bust
ness. and were continued practically
without cessation until the end Of the
session, 50 that transactions in il formed
nearly One-quarter OF the total volume OF
the days trading. and a gross decline Of
more than points was shown IN its
price
A drop Of this sort in such a prominent
stock necessarily unsettled the general
market 10 a greaIer OF less extent, Al
though not 70 the degree that might rea-
sonsbly enough have been expected under
the circumstances. The standard railroad
shares. in fact, stouty resisted during
the greater part OF the day the influence
Of the break in Steel common, bat, never
theless. net declines Of between one and
two points in these stocks were not in
frequently enforced.
One Stock Affects Trading.
Weak as the security market was.
taken as a whole. II was not at all de-
moralized, and seemed TO suffer from
nothing more than the inevitably sympa-
thetic effect Of the liquidation In the one
stock named; and no little attention was
attracted by the decided stubbornness
with which certain stocks stood out
against the declining tendency which
spread through the general list OF securi-
ties.
Il may be said that 50 far as the ex-
pectation OF specific developments in the
near future. 10 account for the weak
ness In the United States Steel common
stock. to-day. was concerned. Wall
streets Imagination appears TO have been
unduly disturbed. The financial district
was filed with stories TO which pub
Lefty w2s given in great length in most
OF the afternoon newspapers Of an i'm
pOrtant and largely attended conference"
Of steel producers al the ofice OF the
Steel Corporation. Al which. it was said,
the critical" depression in the steel trade
vas being destroyed in an exceedingly
serious fashion, and it was generally and
positively asserted in speculative circles
that ar the close OF this meeting an
announcement Of momentOus sort
would be made with reference 10 cuts
IN the prices OF the leading iron and
steel products
No Need for Worry.
The conference at the headquarters OF
the Steel Corporation was only the regu-
lar bimOnthly meeting OF the heads Of
the principal departments Of the com
psny. and there is positive authority for
the statement that the situation in the
iron and steel industry is no more grave
now than it has been for some time past.
nor IS there any more need Of decisive
acton" on the part Of the great steel
producers.
Il Is also a fact that. despite all ale
cations and sensational stories 70 the
contrary price cutting by the so-caHed
Independent steel mills has not been
widely INDUCED IN. and that the whole
and only Characteristic OF such depres-
sion in the trade as exists IS mere out
aud-out duliness OF business. Neither
the United States Steel Corporation nor
its leading independent competitors are
At the moment making large contracts
for the principal articles Of steel pro
duction. for reasons that ought 10 be
sufficiently known.