The Washington herald., 1910-04-11

New York. April l0.-The financial stu
stion--sentiment in Wall street-was more
cheerfuiIy inclined in the forepart of last
week than it was in the latter part.
In the earlier period a more or less
decided reaction was visible from the
pessimism that in the main prevailed
throughout the week preceding. All OBJ
servers of markets know that the imam
cial cOmmunity-or. at least. the specula-
tive financial community-beeOmes tired
OF gloominess after a short time.
After prices have declined considerably
on forebodings of evil, but with evil still
actually unrealized. and the expected
shock. at any rae. delayed. the natural.
sanguine. American spirit usually esserts
itself. spectators begin to declare them
selves impressed with the underlying
strength of the market. and the discovery
is made not infrequently that the market
itself Is good deal oversold.
Then rally takes place, and If the
situation has much blacker colors than
is warranted. the upward movement may
induce a fairly large amount OF buying
OF securities for investment and take on
the character Of a sustained advance.
Early Advance Lost.
II. however, the result proves that the
rise only represents a buying-in of stocks
sold specuIatively for the decline, and
that investment buying is not coming into
the market, a survey Of conditions then
usually brings once more into prominence
the unfavorable features Of the situation
TO which attention was previously paid.
Whether or not there was an application
OF these Well-known principles last week.
the fact is that the security market,
after being strong in the first three days
OF the week, declined sharply afterward
and more than lost its early advance.
1t has TO be admitted. in all fairness,
that there are also signs that general
business over the country Is shading of
somewhat. The drygoods trade continues
in state of Generalization, as the result
of the high prices and rapid fluctuations
in the prices of cotton. and financial
losses that have been occasioned in the
trade are giving rise to serious discus
sion
Declining Movement Seen.
In the iron and steel lines the leading
trade journalists unite IN the statement
that the declining movement in pig iron
does not yet seem to have touched bot
tom, and that the irregularity in the trade
has now extended 10 finished material,
where, although mills dealing with certain
products are actively employed. other pro-
ducing establishments, notably those
turning out structural steel and various
zinc products. now find themselves with
an excess OF capacity. At the same time,
taken in the aggregate. business condi-
lions can in no way be described as
other than prosperous.
Bank clearlngs and the Ike certainly
do not make poor comparisons with those
OF previous years, and although this ia
vorable statement cannot include the rec
ord failure for the first quarter of the
year, the fact is that the large number
Of business troubles shown in the period
was mostly due TO troubles in Wall street
and among various brokerage concerns.
Among the railway reports quite large
increases in gross earnings are still the
rule. offset in some prominent instances
by such heavily increased expenses as 10
result in either small increases in net or
small net decreases