Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-19
WISE PUBLIC BUYS
GobbIes Up Stocks When They
Are at L0W-Water Mark.
NO LONGER "EASY MARK"
Wall Street Beaten in Game It For
merly Played.
KEEPS EYE ON WASHINGTON
Game of National Politics Now of
Vital interest tn Financial World
KEEPS EYE ON WASHINGTON
Game of National Politics Now of
Vital Interest to Financial World.
Public Not Worrying.

| Public Not Worrying.
BY W. G. NICHOLAS.
| Special Correspondent, of The Star.
| NEW YORK, November IS 1911
! The pace was too fast. but that did not
prevent the market from having a week
end CONFUSION and then increasing speed
on the up grade. Just prior to the sudden
| upheaval on Friday the market had enter
ed upon reactionary stage as almost
| every body expected. boom of 10 to
II points on merely a happy change in
sentiment was about all that could be
looked for or hoped for under the circum-
stances.
| The public came in on the earlier stages
of the advance. but turned cold as the
| boom approached a climax. More cor
rectly speaking, the public did the bulk
of It's buying on the decline which car
ried steel down to 10 and the other
speculative leaders to the low quotations
| of the year. Oh, that wise old public!
1t has ceased being the easy mark of
| previous years. 1t has become educated
| to avoid the snares and pitfalls that for
| SO long enabled the bankers and brokers
| and gamblers of Wall street to maintain
| yachts and indulge In the luxury of mil
| lion-dollar cottages at fashionable sea-
| side and mountain resorts. 1t is buying
a few yachts itself and adding to its own
bank account. Anyhow. the public real
! lied before Wall street did that the de-
| cline had been allowed to go too far and
| that when tried and seasoned railroad
and industrial stocks could be bought on
an income paying basis of to s per cent
| 1t was time to invest 1t didn't seem to
| make much difference to the miscel-
| laneous investors whether the banking
combinations and trust magnateS enjoyed
the new experience of being summarily
compelled to obey the law and conduct
corporate affairs as directed in the
statutes and in compliance with recog-
| niZed business ethics and common
honesty. 1t was understood in whole
| sale and wholesome way that the country
| would be benefited instead of injured by
| the reconstruction and readjustment which
| is in progress and that stocks would not
| be likely to suffer more than temporarily
while the process is going on. That was
why there was heavy investment by the
| rank and file of large and small capital
lists outside of the immediate influence of
| the New York Stock Exchange.
Collateral Melting Away.
The so-called large interests Of Wall
street were naturally interested in check
and in developing an upward tendency in
prices. Their concern was largely due
to the fact that their banks and trust
companies were loaded down with col
laterals whose value was being threat
ened by the growth Of pessimism and con-
tinuous market raids by bearishly trained
professional spectators.
A great many of the Wall street mag
mates would personally like to see the de-
cline go further. and thereby give the
politicians an object lesson of ruin
which might be wrought by political agi-
tation, but the risk was too great. Their
own pockets were being affected by the
imL afrment of properties upon whose
stocks they had loaned their own funds
and those of their depositors. To have
permitted Generalization would have
been a case of cutting off their noses to
have revenge on their faces. The cost
would have ben too great for the salts
faction that could be gained by encour-
aging disaster.
On the great recovery several special
ties made new high records for the year,
but the average on the list as an entirety
did not come within to 10 points of
the high record made In July last. The
present average is only little above mid
way between the high quotations OF July
and the low prices that were made about
three weeks ago. The current range is
not unreasonable, although at the moment
the general situation is not such as to
induce new buying on a large scale.
Neither is it such as to cause a wide
spread shakeout or liquidation of stocks
bought on the decline or during the ini-
tial big days of the recovery. The bust
ness outlook is not getting any worse
at any spot. while in several quarters
Improvement is noticed. The steel in
dustry, for instance, is looking better.
All of the steel and iron manufao turing
centers are sending in reports Of an in
creased volume Of orders. and there
seems to be fair assurance of considera BILE
4r~
things are quite as likely to improve as to
retrOgrade.
Business at Price Concessions.
It is quite likely that in a great ma
jority Of cases new business has been OBJ
tanned at concessions in prices, but this
is one of the penalties of sharp competi-
ton, such as is now being witnessed not
only In the steel industry, but in practi-
cally every other branch and division of
trade. The main thing in times of de-
preston is to get enough to do to keep
the great army of employees busy on the
best terms possible and without actual
loss in manufacture or production. 1t is
a compromising factor that at the present
time the cost of manufacture in the steel
and other industries IS lower than ever be-
fore. This is true also in its application
to railroads. The cost of transportation
has undergone considerable reduction in
spite Of the added tax due to the in
creased wages of employees. Had 1t not
been for this increase. railroads would be
making so much money that the whole
country would be agita ting for reduction
in freight rates and passenger service.
This is one of the things the railroad
companies may find comfort in thinking
about.
Wall street attention is now concen-
trating on Washington. The activities at
that center of political unrest are again
becoming a disturbing influence on stock
market values. Nothing is heard from of
Washington origin that does not con-
tain suggestions of trouble for Wall
street. The whole Washington situation
is loaded with trouble. The wise men of
the street who. down to very recent
date, were talking In lordly and pat
ronizing way about how they were
going to have Congress extract the teeth
and claws from the Sherman law and
otherwise modify legislation so as to
smooth the path of big business. have
stopped that kind of chatter and are now
wondering what they can do to soften
the fell purpose of the lawmakers. The
street was slow to realize the force and
intent of an overwhelming majority of
| the people of the United States to fur
Their restrict and control the power of the
1 ~