The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-08-07
NO SENSATIONS ON
Street THIS WEEK
Leaders Getting Ready for Bull
Campaign
HAVE IT ALL ARRANGED
Bearish News, However, Continues to
BE Given Out BY the Big Press
Bureaus-Hawley situation
Arouses Interest
BY w. G. NICHOLAS

|
New York, August 6.-(Speciai.)-A few
more cripples were killed and laid away,
but otherwise the stock market has been
comparatively free from startling sensa-
| tons this week. After such a slaughter
| of the innocence as attended the IRE
movap' of the Farquhar syn
dictate, it was only to be expected that
there would be other casualties of i'm
portance. The one which has made the
most talk during the last few days was
the quiet elimination of two members of
the so-called Hawley syndicate, a group
of capitalists who were identified with
that magnate in some of his ambitious
plans for the taking over of railroads
and the organization of one or more large
systems, the most important of which
was the creation of a. trunk line between
Chicago and Newport News, together
with branches and collateral lines. 1t
does not appear that Mr.. Hawley's
plans are seriously jeopardized on ac-
count of the falling by the wayside of
some of his speculative side-partners.
At least the inspired word that goes to
the various Wall street news agencies
is to. that effect
Great pains have been taken to make
It appear that the Hawiey position Is
impregnable and that he is very rich
man with financial backing of the strong
est sort The names of Mrs Coils P.
Huntington, J. P. Morgan & Co.. and
Kuhn Loeb & Co., were specifically
mentioned as being of the Hawley party.
Wall street gossip has been very free
with the use of Mr. Hawleys name dur
ing the last three months and he has
been mentioned as one of the parties
the big banking combinations might have
been cunning for. It now appears that
this was all a mistake, which may or
may not be In partial confirmation of the
theory held In some quarters that Haw-
ley and his more intimate associates sold
theirs at top prices early last spring.
This theory would be further supported
by the frequent announcements of cuts
in dividends of the minor Hawley COM
panies. However. the inside will proba-
bly, never be fully known, at least not
from the Hawley publicity bureau. which
at times is quite energetic.
Commission houses are still complain
ing that there is no public in the stock
market and they are wondering why 1t
Is. They do not have to go further than
to look right around home for the cause
The public and large outside capitalists
have been ruthlessly handled during
the last eight or nine months. The at
titude of the controlling powers of Wall
street has been either openly hostile to
the market or covertly so all through
the long decline. The strongest men In
the street have been grouchy and they
have been at no pains to conceal the fact
from the world at large. They were dis
satisfied with political conditions and
with the drift of court decisions affect
ing corporation matters and antitrust
laws To make their attitude plain and
to convey to the public an idea of what
1t meant to antagonize them, market
values were sacrificed to the extent of
thousands of millions of dollars In the
aggregate. The demonstration in Wall
street shook confidence and contributed
in highly important degree to the in
dustrial and trade reaction from which
the country had been suffering and under
which 1t is still suffering. Whether or
not they are yet ready to change their
frown into a permanent smile Is one of
the questions upon which the trading
public-is earnestly debating.
There are many reasons for believing
that the great money combinations of
Wall street are changing front and that
they have been accommodating stocks for
| some time past SO as to be In a position
to make a huge killing in a bull cam
paign of greater or less duration. The
| cards seem to be stacked for that sort
| of q movement and the word may be
given any day. Stocks have been pass
ing from weak into strong hands all
through the month of July and thus far
in the month of August. Upon that point
there is no ground for controversy.
These great interests do not buy mill
| lions of shares of stock to paper the
walls with or to lie dormant in the
vaults. They buy them with the expec-
| tation of making market for them at
| higher prices. AS a means to that end
| 1t will be necessary to definitely check
distrust and convert Decentralization into
hope and faith. Apparently they are not
yet quite ready to move. They seeming
ly have not secured as large lines as they
would like.
Hence it is that the financial reporters
in and about Wall street still find it very
easy to get bear news. Avenues of in
formation accessible to inquiring mem
| bers of the press continue to pour out
gloomy stuff, but 1t is noted by market
observers that this somber talk is not
| followed by the selling Of stocks in in
fuential quarters. The effort at present
is to talk the market down, or at least
| d
apathy without losing stocks That is
according to the time honored custom in
Wall street just prior to the launching
of bull campaign of consequence
| After the panic of 1907 the public got in
ahead of most of the big insiders and
professional manipulators and under the
lead of Mr. Hartman made great deal
Of money Mr.. Hartman is dead and
that mistake is not likely 20 be repeated.
On this occasion the insiders have their
grip on the situation and the public
will be permitted to take hold when prices
are 10 to 20 points higher
The only additional development of in
terest in connection with the Pearson
Farquhar syndicate collapse Is found in
some of the details being quietly told in
the Offices 1t would appear that in sew
eral cases the men who persuaded the
managers of the syndicate to take on big
lines of stock in the several railroads
that struck their fancy kindly helped
the buyers to place their loans. 1t was
made very easy for them in this way to
overload themselves with stocks. They
were deceived by this into thinking that
their pathway would always be strewn
with roses Unfortunately they neglected
to make provision for renewals and
when the time came to secure exten~
sions on loans not only did the bankers
get cold feet, but the gentlemen who had
been influential in making the first ar
rangements were either out of the coun-
try or Indifferent. 1t Is related that Far
quhar went abroad to enlist the help Oh
very dear friend who had sold him an
immense block Of stock and found 1t I'M
possible to SO much as secure an inter-
,iau, olthou-h thew had been as close