New-York tribune., 1910-01-24
FINANCIAL MARKET
STOCK PRICES DOWN.
Money IN Good Supply Here
and Abroad-Foreign De-
mand Expected.

points from the hlSn ngufeS Oh I3oS'
while in some cases, notably Union Pa
cific, Northern Pacific. Great Northern
and Chicago & Northwestern among the
investment shares. and Rock Island and
Hooking Coal and Iron. of the non-diVl-
dend paying class, the net decline was
far more extensive. In some quarters
of the Street it is believed that further
liquidation will develop before anything
like a sustained upward movement can
be brought about. The public has been
thoroughly frightened by the discredit-
able occurrences in the Rock Island and
Columbus and Hooking Coal and Iron
speculation. several Wall Street houses
have been put into bankruptcy and
other houses have been hard pressed to
make good their obligations. And the
banks and trust companies have become
more cautious in the matter of loans
against speculative commitments, and
apparently are working to discourage
for the present, at least, active bull op-
erations in securities, The factors
named do not tend to induce higher
prices, but they need not alarm investors
or prevent the purchase of sound in
vestment securities, which as result
of the recent decline are selling at level
that gives the buyer a reasonable return
on his money.
The collapse in the Columbus and
Hooking pool came at time when the
Street was extremely nervous. 1t at-
forded bear traders an effective weapon
for a renewed attack upon the general
market and compelled the larger finan-
cial interests to take enormous amounts
of stocks in order to prevent the de-
velopment of actual panic. To people
who have followed the course of affairs
in Wall Street in the last year the in
activity by the Stock Exchange author
tiles in the matter of exercising their
power to prevent dangerous manipula-
tion has been something of a puzzle.
The manipulation in Hooking Coal and
Iron has been going on for upward of a
year, and though the stock has been
known to possess but little intrinsic
value the pool in it has been able to ad-
vance its price from 20 to 921a, practi-
cally without reaction, and in. that time
many public operators have bought the
end. The financial press frequently has
voiced distrust of the security and has
extended words of warning against the
purchase of the stock at inflated prices,
nut the manipulators have been sue
cessful in advancing their campaign,
though many of them have lost consid-
erable sums in the downward move
ment. Responsibility for the Hooking
Coal and Iron gamble is pretty Well
known, and the Stock Exchange gov
erning committee can hardly claim ex-
emption for its failure to upset the
movement in its infancy
Popular criticism of the methods of
trading permitted on the New York
Stock Exchange will not cease until eff
fective steps have been taken to eIimi-
nate the possibility of movements that
tend to injure the interests of the Iegiti-
mate customers of Wall Street houses
The Stock Exchange authorities pun
ished the brokers concerned in the Rock
Island scandal, and they should receive
credit for their action, but they must go
further than mild discipline if they hope
TO correct abuses and ward off drastic
legislation at Albany affecting the buy
ing Of stocks on margin. The Hughes
Investigating committee in its report to
the Governor on Stock Exchange prac-
tices said that in refraining from ad-
vising the Incorporation of the exchange
1t did so in the expectation that the ex-
change would in the future take full ad-
vantage of the powers conferred upon it
by its voluntary organization and would
be active in preventing wrongdoing
such as had occurred in the past And
it added: IF. however, wrongdoing re-
ours, and it should appear to the public
at large that the exchange has been
derelict in exerting its powers and au-
thority to prevent it, we believe that the
public will insist upon the incorporation
CT the exchange and its subsection to
state authority and supervision" This
optimistic report was filed seven months
ago, and in that time two concrete ex-
amples of wrongdoing have come to
light.
The decline in prices on the Stock Ex-
change has not been accompanied by
the development of weakness in the
business situation, though some irregu-
larity incident to this sea son of the wear
is reported in industrial centres. Cen
eral conditions affecting the intrinsic
value of our securities are sound. and
the banks throughout the country are
looking forward to an active mercantile
demand for loan accommodation in the
course Of the next few months. Lower
prices for cotton and breadstuffs are ex-
pected TO bring about an increased ex-
pert inquiry for our staple products
while the lower quotations for solid Sc
curities will, 1t is hoped, attract foreign
investment funds to this centre The
Bank of England reduced its minimum
rate of discount last week to 3B per
cent, and from all indications the money
market at the British capital is com
mitted to condition of ease for an in
definite period, especially as with the re-
turn Of the present ministry to power
problems viii develop that may serve TO
restrict for several months the nations
tend to increase the amount of idle
money in the banks There is only n
I moderate demand at this centre for
money just now, but no reason exists
to modify the opinion frequently ex-
pregsed in this column that the purrapt