Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-28
TOQAY'S TONE HEAVY
Business Volume, However, on
a Fairly Large Scale.
INTEREST Is DIVERSIFIED
Railways Furnished the Features Of
the Market.
READING WEAK AND ACTIVE
Declines From One to Two Points
Not Uncommon in Various Quar-
ters-Tractions Sagged.
INTEREST is DIVERSIFIED
READING WEAK AND ACTIVE
Special Dispatch TO The Star.

special DlsDaUh 10 nc Stdi-
NEW YORK, January 2s-No particu-
larry explicit reasons were proffered TOR
, the generally heavy tone of today's STOCK
market. The volume of business was
maintained upon a fairly large scale and
a general diversification of speculative
interest was exhibited. but there we're few
exceptions to the common drift of prices.
The most noteworthy of these were Den
and Consolidated Gas.
The last named stock enjoyed an ex-
ceptionally extensive maximum rise, and
it Is now the consensus Of opinion that
the last severe break in this security was
caused by circumstances having no rela-
ton to the affairs of the company.
Reading was the weakest and one of the
NEST active features of the railway list.
The pressure upon that stock was osten-
sbIy based on the notion that a decision
unfavorable to the railways in the litiga-
Hepburn act might be handed down by
the Supreme Court next Monday. The
shares of the other coal roads were not,
however. sympathetically affected.
Declines amounting to one and two
points were not uncommon in the vari-
Gus quarters Of the market. The pub
lcation Of the annual statement Of earn
inss of the Southern Pacific Company
Iii tile early OIL lNC AFTERNOON mao
no particular influence upon the course
Of that stock, as the general exhibit had
beer. fairly we'll foreshadowed in the
monthly returns of the company.
Selling Pressure Prominent.
Otherwise, there was little or nothing
to be adduced in connection with the
transactions in any particular stock. In
the railway shares the selling pressure
was most apparent in New York Central
the Hill stocks. Union Pacific, St. Paul
and. as already mentioned, Reading.
The local traction shares. with the ex-
ception of Brooklyn RAPID Transit, sagged
downward with the general market, but
were quite dull.
The industrial and miscellaneous is
sues were likewise heavy. and round de-
clines were scored by American Smelt-
ing, National Lead, Amalgamated Cop
per. General Electric and United States
Steel common. Transactions in this
quarter OF the market were likewise un-
accompanied by real news or gossip of
novelty.
Americans Heavy in London.
1t might be said in a general way
that some little concern appeared to have
been created by the discussion with re-
gard to the affairs Of a stock exchange
: firm which recently announced It's in
tention OF retiring from business, al
though in well-informed quarters 1t is
we'll understood that the incident in
question carried with it no other results
ihan those which have been already wit
messed.
American shares were heavy in the
London stock market, in common with
the other departments there, and for
eign houses continued to sell here upon
small scale. The Bank Of England
discount rate was left unchanged, at 3
per cent, and the banks ratio Of re-
serves to liabilities rose from IS to IS
per cent.
Local money market circumstances
were virtually unaltered, and a further
rise took place in the rates for sterling
exchange. the movement there leading
to discussion with regard to the pros
pect Of further exports Of gold to Eu-
rope.