The Washington herald., 1910-02-15
WALL STREET NEWS
Security Market WithStandS
Shock of Hysteria.
PART OF THE ADVANCE IS LOST
At End of Business Last Week Up
ward Movement Had Reached 81
for IndustriaIs and So for Rail-
roads-ReRctiOn sweeps Away ThIs
Gain-RecOvery Sets In.

New York, Feb. H-For a time to-day
Il seemed as If the security market was
. about 20 plunge itself once more into
the hysteria which prevailed in the early
part OF last week. On Saturday evening
the President OF the United States made
a speech IN this city In which he re-
stated at length his well-known views
upon the subject OF the regulation OF cor
porations
A large section OF Wall street professed
to consider his treatment OF the matter
as "discouraging mono could tell.
except that certain number OF specula-
tors OF the feather-brained sort managed
TO get themselves into a state Of mind
last Thursday and Friday where they be-
lieved 1t to be possible that the President
in his utterances here on Saturday even
ing might announce q decided change IN
the entire attitude OF the administration
regarding the enforcement Of the anti
trust law.
Are Easily Alarmed.
They We're the same sort Of people ex-
actly as those who are invariably advis-
ing others 10 hurriedly buy or sell stocks
because Lawson IS about to come out with
a statement There was not the slightest
ground for the supposltion referred to.
President TAFT, in his remarks at the Lin
coin dinner. did no more than repeat
what he has said over and over again. be-
lore his election and since that time as
to his construction Of the Sherman law
and as TO what measures should be taken
TO put the law into effect
There was, In other words. nothing In
any way novel in the Presidents decIara-
ton, nor was there any basis for the idea
that novel statement would be made
Nevertheless. there was fairly large
selling OF American stocks In the London
market to-day before the opening OF the
business here. and at the outset OF our
OWN market the principal issues fell from
one to three points below theIr closing
level Friday.
The real reason for this decline was. Of
course. obvious TO every reasoning per-
son. At the end Of business last week. an
advance had been recorded of 81 a share
in the price Of the representative indus
trial stocks, and of nearly So in the rail-
road stocks
Reaction Rs Expected.
It was a matter that was as certain as
anything could be, that within a short
time sharp downward reaction in prices
would occur. In attributing this decline
TO President Taft's speech. Wall street
merely gave another Illustration OF its
curious tendency on many occasions 10
openly attribute as the cause OF either
I downward or an upward movement in
lrices something other than that which
very sensible person knows 10 be the
rue reason for the movement
But to-day the halucination thus de-
ribbed was but short lived. The weak
ass Of the market was confined 20 the
st five or ten minutes Of trading. Prices
llied quickly. and broken only by one
.tef drive by bear operations before the
ldd!e Of the day, moved steadily inward
It'll the end Of the stock exchange ses-
on, and closed with large advances
owing IN almost every every prominent
curity. Doubtless much Of the strength
as due 10 the recovery Of stocks by
IecUlators for the fan who found that
cir early efforts 10 depress the market
as unavailing