The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-11-20
WINDOW DRESSING
NOW IN PROCESS
Big Interests Want to Make
Good Showing
PLANS OF BULL FACTION
Railroads Not So Sanguine AS to the
Probable Action of the Interstate
Commerce Commission on
Rate Matters
BY W. G. NICHOLAS

recurring features of the market toward
the end of each year. Insurance conf
panies, savings banks and fiduciary in
| situations of all sorts are either heavy
| owners or heavily interested in bonds and
high-class stocks, and they like to make
as good a showing as possible of assets
In their reports which are compiled at
the end of each calendar year. The men
in control of the banking and stock sit
uation are also in control of insurance
companies, savings banks, trust COM
panies, etc. 1t is an association of cap
talists mutually interested in putting
their best foot forward with the public
and bidding for a renewal of popular
confidence in their sagacity and wise
business management of estates and IN
situations. Hence the willingness in the
most influential Wall street quarters to
have the good work so on of marking up
security prices. incidentally to a con-
tinuance of public faith and esteem there
would naturally be a broader bond mar
ket, something which will be greatly
needed IL the railroads are to carry out
their ambitious schemes for next year
schemes which will call for many hum
dreds of millions of dollars of new capi-
tai on fresh output of bonds.
The market has been one very easy to
handle by the syndicates. It has been
kept within restricted range, speculation
has been depressed except in the few spe-
cialties, and no very large amount of
capital has been required to finance the
campaign. Activity has been confined
largely to a handful Of so-called specula
tive favorites, United States Steel COM
mon always leading. This has made the
juggle easy. It is reasonably certain that
good share of the large volume of
trades in Steel, Union Pacific and Read
ing, as well as in copper and shelters,
represents nothing but wash sales, the
origin of both buying and selling being
tho same. OF course, there is no absolute
way to prove this, but the manipulation is
so raw that experienced observers unhes-
itatingly characterize the play as ''laun-
dry work" 1t would be taxing credulity
too far to expect anybody to believe that
these three stocks would average 60 to 70
per cent of the total transactions in d
list of more than 200 issues, and the oper-
atoms be all genuine AS matter OF
fact, manipulation in these three stocks
has been fragrant for weeks and months
past, especially Steel.
1t is an open secret that the important
big banking interests are not entirely
harmonious as to the desirability of car
rying on the bull campaign very much
further in the face of acknowledged
business depression in every direction.
At the same time those who are at heart
against prolongation of the play are for
the moment holding off for the reasons
given in the opening paragraph of this
Ia&f Is he Turin lou
ing" The great interests appear to be
in n state of truce and are for the mo-
ment subordinating their personal feel
ings to the general good of the street.
In the background there is a growing
bearish sentiment and a growing belief
that quotations will work very much
lower before great while-possibly dur
ing the first quarter of 1911. Every year
earnest effort is made to lead the public
to expect a January boom and in three
cases out of four the boom fails to ma
terialize About the only reason to eX-
pect bull movement in stocks after the
first of the year is expectation of a
wholesale rise in freight rates.
In this respect Wall street literature
| from inspired sources continues to ring
the changes on the claims that the in
| terstate commerce commission will sure
| ly grant the demands of the railroads
when they hand down their decisions in
! February and the months Immediately
| following. This line of educational work
| is based on the assumption that suf-
! ficient number of commissioners have
| let their predictions become known to
| make a forecast of official action rea-
sonally safe. The phrase most frequent
| ly used in this connection is that the
| railroads have made a very favorable
| impression on the commissioners. This
statement does not harmonic with
| Washington advices which are coming
| to those who really want to know the
| facts and who have means of ascertain
| Ing the facts The burden of really re-
liable information from Washington is
| that the railroads have distinctly not
| made a good impression, and that
| lie atmosphere about the headquarters
| of the interstate commerce commission
| is not one of unblended friendship for
the carriers. 1t will appear that they
| have prejudiced their case and have been
outgeneraed by the shippers in the pres
entaticn of facts and arguments. There
| may exist some broad reasons of state
| why the railroads should be favored in
their demands, but the other hand
there is strong feeling that the COM
missioners will be influenced to very
considerable extent by the inharmony OF
| raising the cost of transportation when
| every business tendency is for economy
| and restriction and for lower prices.
| Il is very evident that the railroads
| themselves are not feeling at all certain
| of favorable action on their appeals for
| permission to raise the rates. They are
| pursuing hand to mouth policy and are
| holding in allegiance every large project
which may have been tentatively agreed
| upon or be under consideration. Great
| ado is made over the placing of a few
| orders Tor steel rails and columns OF
| space have been consumed in recounting
the details of orders for the week ag-
gregating as much as 5000 tons of rails
| The big Steel corporation alone could fill
that order in four or five days The to-
tai rail capacity of the mills of this coun-
| try Is In excess of 100000 tons per an
mum. The Steel corporation alone has
a capacity for the production of 1900 .00C
| tons or better. 1t is doubtful IL the en-
tire output for 1910 will go much beyond
| 10000 tons.
| An awful lot of tornmyrot is being
| printed these days about the iron and
steel business The publicity bureaus are
trying 10 make 1t appear that the indus
! try is working into better shape when
! in point of fact directly the contrary is
| the case, as everybody in the trade adj
| mlts confidentially. One place where II
| is holding its own Is in the export trade.
To make up for bad business at home,
the larger companies are strainine ever,
effort to sell their products abroad, and
| they are making a fairly good showing,
particularly the Steel trust. OF the sew
eral subsidiaries of the big corporation,
American Wire is making the best rela-
tive showing of net results 1t Is having
a record breaking year and on a pro-
duction of about 100000 tons will con-