The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-18
STOCK DEALERS
MAKE BIG BLUFF
Securities Marked Up Vigor-
ously in Wall Street
MAINE ELECTION dope"
Wise Men Are Unable to Analize Turn
of Affairs in Republican Ranks.
Farm Mortgages Are In
Greater Favor
MAINE ELECTION dope"
BY w. G. NICHOLAS

VI Whlcn was the ignoring of
roosevelt and all kinds of politics. In
tne carrying out of this determination
STOCKS were marked up vigorously and
the leaders even went so far as to cele-
pirate the democratic triumph in Maine
py particularly energetic uplift in
quotations. The demonstration was so
earnest on its face that a good many
bears turned tail incontinently and be-
ean covering their shorts. This was a.
valuable aid to the plan and for a time
fooled the public into the belief that
. there was real substantial basis for the
advance and for the apparent change in
sentiment from benumbed Indifference
TO a genuine hoopla bull movement.
strangely and with entire inconsistence
the market leaders, while processing to
ignore politics. gave politics as the chief
excuse for changing front and whooping
Things up. On Wednesday it was dis
covered that while the chorus was loudly
singing and the band playing, insiders
were quietly unloading.
They succeeded in getting rid of com
Portable lines of stocks before the mass
of professionals and semi-professionls
got on to what was being done Mean
brokerage houses were sending out bull
lish literature and advising clients that
the time had arrived when they could
safely buy securities
The public was slow in taking the hint
however, and although there was in
creased activity on the exchange the
great bulk of the orders originated from
inside sources and looked very much like
q mechanical effort to stimulate interest
a hrAn L. Nf aIr 1,4.
Wednesday afternoon filled the street
with suspicion that all might not be as
II looked on the surface, and that in
tending buyers might save money by
holding off a little longer.
The more they tried to analyze the
Maine election the more the wise men
and philosophers of Wall street failed to
get anywhere. The best they can do is
to become involved In a state of mental
4 confusion. No two opinions agree as to
= what the thing means-whether it is a
rebuff to Roosevelt radicalsm or an en-
dorsement of advance political views and
a manifestation of discomfort over the
failure of the republican administration
to bring peace to the business world. |
= The concensus of revised judgment is |
that the very evident political unrest is
widespread and that it spells continued
political agitation of the most disturbing
kind.
Trouble is experienced in reconciling
this view of the situation with the an
nounced bulish impulse in the stock
market. With everybody stirred up and
nobody quite sure of the business and po-
1itical outlook the rank and file of in
svestors and Spectators are again inclin-
ing to the theory that possibly the rally
In prices was prerna ture
At the same time the admission is free
~ made that it is entirely within the
power of the banking syndicates and
combinations to put stocks up several
points further and give themselves and
their friends a chance to distribute
stocks to better advantage than would
have been possible if the attempt had
been made to unload while the market
remained In a state of stagnation and
trading was within unusually restricted
limits. That is the situation as it is
found today
- The one bright feature is the as
surance of bountiful agricultural pro-
: duction, although even in that respect
the country is not wholly out of the
I woods. The season is two to three
, weeks late and considerable percent
age of corn and cotton is still in dan
{ ger of impairment. not enough to cut
down the total a very great deal but
sufficient to be live factor and to
s command the attention of dealers In
securities and also the people in the
background who have the money to in
vest or to withhold as the mood seizes
them.
Western and southern railroads are
very busy moving the forward end OF
the crops, but so far as can be seen
this early rush movement is to trans
fer carving charges from the farmers
10 the spectators and this latter class
IS already beginning to get cold feet
over the prospect Strange to say, spec
1flatiye capital is already shying at the
doubtful honor of paying these carry
ing charges on warehouse stocks taken
over from the farmers at current hlgh
prices. This feeling is finding reflec-
Non in declining commodity prices at
- big primary markets.
With general business slowing down
everywhere and employers in practical
Nv every line of industry discharging
men and shortening hours of work,
there comes a certainty of reduced buy
ing power and a long period of en-
forced ecopomies ahead-the outlook
Tor sustained high prices for commod-
tiles is not generally regarded as gilt
! edeed. What there is in all this to
1ustify advancing stock markets is
something which is not clear to the
zcommon understanding, or rather to
! the understanding of common people.
That is the fly in the ointment.
The publicity bureaus are trying to
make it appear that the railroads have
been making a great hit before the
Interstate commerce commission and
that there is now almost a certainty
that they will obtain permission to in
crease freight rates.
AS matter of fact, directly the OPP
posite is the case. The railroads have
made a poor impression with their tes-
timony and explanations and under the
direct and embarrassing cross exam
fnatfon of attorneys for shippers as
well as representatives of the govern
ment the railroad officials have eX-
posed many weak points in their con-
tention for higher rates. Admissions
have been repeatedly made on the wit
ness stand that the existing schedule
Of rates, both east and west and south,
are full of inequalities and that trusts
and large industrials are grossly ia
yored at the expense of the general
public.
The point has been made frequent
Nv that the proposed new rates In no
manner remedy these inequalities but
rather emphasize them. 1t has 1ur-
thermore been shown throughout the
entire inquiry that there is radical need
OF a general scaling down of short
haul charges which carry the burden
of the tax on tonnage. The long hauls
are where the trusts get the best OF
the common people and these charges
are not to be very seriously changed,