The Washington times., 1911-11-05


| Indeed, Is the prevailing opinion in
speculative circles, but there was no
Disgusting the fact that the favorable
Interpretation placed by the financial
district on the conciliatory attitude OF
Attorney General Wickersl,am toward
the trust. found no reflection in the
market arising from sources outside OF
Wall Street itself In other words
there was little. II any, enlargement of
public buying and the advance in prices
was due almost entirely to professional
| inaneuvering and short covering.
Activity was very well maintained
throughout the entire trading interval,
but the market was narrow and the dis
tribution of business from the specula-
tive standpoint was poor. In fact nearly
every outward and visible sign pointed
to concerted drive against the short
interest. For instance, on the Ave full
sessions of the week, out Of nearly 400
listed issues. four stocks only: Ameri-
can Smelling and Refining, Reading,
Union Pacific. and United States Steel,
contributed daily from about IS to near
ly 80 per cent of all the business done,
scoring recoveries at the same time OF
from to 9 points. The great majority
of issues remained inert. and though re-
covering in sympathy with the leaders
their average improvement was well .un-
der that Of the speculative favorites.
Active Professional Buying.
Despite the Improvement in prices,
speculative sentiment continued very
mitch mixed during tho week. and It re-
n,ained so at tho close. No doubt. some
rart of this was due to the punishment
administered to the bear traders, which
was very severe, hut elsewhere the opin-
ion was expressed, particularly toward
the last, that possioH the Street had
taken too much for granted In the At
torney Generals argument In the To.
bacco suit, and that 1t would be as well
tc wait for developments and the final
determination Of the court in the mat.
ter. Aside from that, II was made ap-
parent that stock had been freely sup
piled on the upturn In prices and the
belief that this represented the sale by
inpol tant banking interests Of shares
bought to steady the market on the
break last Friday had a somewhat So
bcring influence.
Naturally the technical position OF the
market has been conside rably weakened
by the driving in Of the short interest.
and as the public has not followed up
the advance 1t would surprise no ono
familiar with the present situation In
Wall street to soc some modification in
tf1erei have appeared hgns of a shifting
of activity from the issues which served
the purposes Of the professional bull
that trusts and railway combinations
are unpopular at the present time the
market would doubtless be treated TO
some deal or buying for control
runor. AS II is, about the only one that
q nnsgfhIo a this ffnn uhyI6
some Canadian road. rs. for instance. Il
revival Of the tin ,e-honore6 yarn of the
acquisition OF the Erie road by the
Canadian Pacific. which has dong serv-
ice in Wall Street for twenty years.
Favoring Tobacco Plan.
without question the declarations of
Mr.. wickersham, that he and the Gov
ernment were opposed to a receivership
for the American Tobacco Company:
that he believed a company which con-
trolled no more than 40 per cent Of an
industry was not a monopoly; and, fur
thermore, that in his opinion the disin-
tegration plan Of the Tobacco Company
would restore competitive conditions
within the full intent of the Supreme
Court decree, and that, as such, he
would not oppose the general dissolu-
ton scheme, was great relief to the
financial district. Wall Street, through
inherent, cowardice or for some other
siduously that the Attorney General
was solely responsible for the trust
busting" policy Of the Administration
that 10 was really very much surprised
when 1t found him favoring the COM
pany as against the independents.
1T Is unnecessary to say that no plan.
as yet. has been approved, and that
even If the scheme. as. proposed, does
that it is yet to be determined II the
new companies will work as advantage
ously as before, nor does 1t follow that
The Tobacco plan will become the model
for other trusts. In fact; various per
ton or readjustment plans Of the in
dustrial trusts up to the present give
1t as their opinion that nearly all Of
them present special problems that will
have to be dealt with individually. How
ever, Wall Street, after months and
years Of harassment with the indus
trial trust questions, Is entitled to all
the comfort and announcement that 1t
may extract from the Tobacco plan,
and from the definite and material evil
dence given by the Attorney General
that the Government proposes to deal
fairly with the corporation.
A Continuing Influence.
Unfortunately. no matter how favor
able the outcome may be, an approval
of the Tobacco plan will not finally re-
move the industrial trust question as a
market factor. The case against the
United States Steel Corporation must
linger in the courts for months. perhaps
years, and the Attorney General has
been credited with the statement that
about one hundred corporations in all
We're subject to prosecutions. One finan-
cial publication Is authority for the
statement that no less than thiTty-seven
antitrust actions are now pending In
the courts, In some stage or other, and
a new element will be introduced into
the prosecutions in the near future
when the Government proceeds, crimi-
nally, against the officials of the Ameri-
can Sugar Refining Company, OF the
"Bathtub" trust, and, possibly, against
the Chicago packers.
L is possible that since the Administra-
tion has shown its intention plainly, as, 1t
has in the Steel suit, 10 prosecute each
and every company suspected OF mo-
nopoly and restraint of trade, even
though II be beneficent monopoly, that
the other corporations, or most of them,
may disintegrate voluntarily, and in this
connection the action of the National
City Bank, in deciding to sell its hold
ings in bank stocks and IN abandoning
the proposed National City Company,
which was formed to acquire such
stocks, which the bank could not law
fully hold itself, is highly interesting.
But II Is idle to overlook the fact that
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