The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-24
SOMEONE MISTAKEN ABOUT BIG. BUYING " ARE HOLDING ON Reports of Heavy Selling Seem Exaggerated Silly Rumor Started About the Colos- sal Lines of Steel Common
 Acquired by Prick Be-
 fore Sailing
By W. G. NICHOLAS

Grubbers for the facts are wondering who has the stocks. They hear on every hand that insiders have sold out on the advance and that there is no public in the market. Now there has to be a
 buyer for every seller and as nobody has
 been buying stocks 1t must be dream,
 this selling we hear about Manifestly
 the 100000 to 60O,000 shares of stock that
 figure in the daily reports of transac-
 tions on the stock exchange must be
 myth or else somebody is mistaken about
 this wholesale and continuous liquida-
 ton of inside shares and the absence of
 a public. It is altogether probable that
 the alleged heavy and stealthy distribu-
 tion for the big interests has been gross .ly exaggerated. The bank statements
 fail to show any very great change in
 the situation and the daily business of
 the brokers and commission houses do
 not confirm stories that are in free cir-
 culation as to the mysterious shifting of
 position on the part of important inter-
 ests.
 As a matter of fact, there is nothing
 in existing conditions to warrant the
 theory of the general flight of the heavy
 
 ulative holdings for the long account.
 There was big buying on the slump in
 Steel which followed the filing of the government suit against, the United States Steel Corporation and there has l-been continuous buying ever since by people who hold confidential relations with the so called banking syndicates and the public has participated to very considerable extent in this buying move ment which has lasted now for month or more. Prices have recedded a few points, from the extreme top quotations that were made quite recently, but there are no indications of a general letdown, although the overwhelming opinion among experienced traders and histo- rians that heavy reaction is due and will surely occur either immediately or
 after the holidays. The tape does not support this theory. The tape registers a prevalent friendly sentiment on the part of the monied interests and the mis- cellaneous investors
 Stocks have not disappeared from earth. They have lodged in the hands of people who appear to be quite willing to stand by their investments and speculative purchases. The daily fluctuations rep resent the frothy, irresolute and mean ingess operations of floor traders and fraction. chasers. Leading interests ap- pear quite willing to stand pat and await developments. The furore incident to the year end revival in the steel industry, has calmed down and the same is true as to copper, although In that speciality | a powerful and energetic manipulative campaign in Copper shares is still in lprogress. Just where the manipulators
 intend to 'get off'' is one of the things ] that Wall street is puzzling itself about and to no avail. Copper stocks appear | f0 1xa fA sr1, but fI,a tot,t | for the gambling syndicates loudly and l necessarily announce that there is | still big further advance ahead. There | have been sales of the metal this week at IA cents a pound and the selling I agencies are trying to make 1t appear | that consumers are dead anxious to make contracts far into the future on that basis for any amount. These statements must not be accepted at their full par value, although there is un- doubtedly very gratifying activity in l that important industry.
 | As for conditions in the steel trade 1t | may be said truthfuly that while there | has been pronounced revival in the plac- | ing of orders for products of the mills the contracts entered into are on a low | price basis and extend well into 1912, a | fact which would seem to indicate a be- 1 lief on the part of manufacturers that l the coming year is not to be one of boom profits. All of the mills seem to be l quite ready to contract to deliver the goods at terms which will yield only | moderate profits, and to agree to do business as far ahead as buyers care to make agreements. 1t must be remem- 1 bered that the producing capacity of the mills is about 40,000,000 tons a year, while the top notch of consumption never passed the 27,00O000 mark. Experts in the | steel trade rather look for record break l ing production during the year 1912, but at prices which will yield only small profit, comparatively speaking, with 10,- l GOO, 900 tons capacity still idle. Until the | limit of production is reached it seems unlikely that the makers of steel will realize anything like the old time fabu- | lous returns on their investment. The Steel Trust is so situated that it can
 make money while the independent competitors will be hardly able to keep | their heads above water. For these and other reasons careful spectators are not enthusiastic over Steel stocks at this
 writing. Enthusiasts continue to feel bullish on United States Steel, believing that under no possible circumstances can it fail to earn enough money to main tain the per cent dividend on the com
 mon although the enormous appropria- tions that have been made in the past for Improvements. as well as the over generous allowance for depreciation, may
 be pinched down into small figures for the next year or two. They are having quite joking time at the expense of MT. Prick, who is re-
 puted to have bought colossal lines of Steel common. taking on all he can and
 being apparently bent on paying the highest possible prices. They have 1t that he is going to Egypt for years
 sojourn and that his anxiety is to take as much of the capital stock as he can carry away with him for fear the mar ket will boom out of sight while he is away from instantaneous communica- ton with Wall street. It would be just like heavy capitalist of the Prick type to go away on protracted vacation, lugging an immense speculative account. Such proceeding would insure a gentle man complete rest from the cares of business, and that is what MT. Prick is going away for. according to his inti- mates. He could rest better in the shadow of the pyramids if he could only take with him three or four trunks full
 of certificates of Steel common and leave behind him a marginal account of million shares or whereabouts. If he has bought anywhere near as much Steel as reputed day by day, he must have at least that much on the books of his brokers.
 It is altogether probable that Mir. Prick
 has been bilboarded too much sbye the
 bull element. When he takes a position
 he is always very strong, but he has
 never been accused of stock market fanatcism upon any, single .proposition It is more than likefly that he is-sone of
 the insiders who has really taken tho selling side on the bulge. having loaded