The Washington herald., 1911-03-04
WALL STREET NEWS
Market Prices Are Practically
at a Standstill.
EXTRA SESSION IS DISCOUNTED
Stocks Do Not Decline Further, but
No Satisfactory RaIIying Tendency
Laying LOw-Price Changes Gem
orally at Close Are Small.

New York, March S-Talk of an extra
session of Congress was again the only
influence in the stock market to-day.
Discussion of the probabilities pro and
con, however, resulted practically in
a stationary market.
When the stock exchange opened this
morning it was known that an agreement
had been made in the United States SEN
ate to take vote on one of the impor-
tant measures that was engaging atten-
tion there, and blocking consideration of
the Canadian reciprocity measure upon
which the fate of an extra session de-
pended; and when business hours were
over this afternoon it looked as X the
business on the legislative list ahead of
the reciprocity bill might be concluded in
time tomorrow to take a vote on the
reciprocity measure, II there was any
urgent desire to do so. Nevertheless, all
news dispatches from Washington
seemed to unite in the declaration that
it was practically settled that the reci-
procity measure would fail auj that
an extra session would be called.
The best that could be said of the stock
market, in view of all this. was that
it did not decune further, but on the
other hand, had betrayed no strong or
even satisfactory ralIying tendency, and
it remained an open question in the minds
of professional spectators whether II
had or had not discounted the unfavora-
Bile influence of an extra session itself.
Probably one reason for the uncertainty
upon the subject to-day and the conse-
quent stationary character of the stock
market was that it was impossible for
any one to predict at this time just what
course debate and Congressional &C
tion on the tariff question would take in a
special legislative session.
Large Interests Inactive.
1t is, of course, conceded that a radical
auti-tariff bill could not pass. inasmuch
as the President would not sign it
Neither can any one tell exactly what
would be the fate in the United States
Senate of House bill reducing the tariff
duties on several important products A
fair supposition, therefore. seems to be
in making a species of net balance of
the entire matter that no bill will pass
in the near future that causes any gen.
eral upset of the general tariff laws,
even if a measure might become a law
making a pretty decided cut in the tariff
schedules on one or two important COM
modities. such, for instance, as wool or
woolen goods.
The only thing that could be said about
the matter, however, from a stock mar
ket point of view, was that the large
interests were disinclined to either sell
or buy stocks at the present level of
quotations until the advisability of action
in either direction was more clearly de-
fined than it is at present
The general diagnosis of yesterdays
fall in the stock market was that it
represented a tumbling down Of a spec
ulatiOn for the rise in the market on
the part Of few large operators not
d:ssimilar to that which has happened
On two or three occasions since prices
touched their low point in July of last
year.
At the end of the day price changes
in all except a few stocks were small