The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-08-05
STANDARD OIL IS
LEADER IN BREAK
GENERAL MARKET Is RAIDED,
CAUSING HEAVY LIQUIDA-
TIoN FOR DAY.
MANY BEARISH REASONS
$ ANDARD MAY BE uSED As \
CLUB FOL BIG INTERESTS TO
TAKE STOCKS AT OWN


NEW YORK. August standard
cline of sis,oo0.g 600 In value for the
day and a decline OF s59.0 900, 600
since Monday. Following this break
the general stock market was raided
causing heavy liquidation that car
ried prices OF standard issues down
about three points from the (gh
Levels of the morning. The lowNt
prices were made at the end CT the
session and the market wac most
active at that time .s.
Owing TO the fact that the stock
market has been SO quiet and has
had such narrow fluctuations for
months the market of to-day and the
day before has created more excite
ment than 1t really ought to create.
The total Of transactions yesterday
was under se0.0 shares and Wall
street has had markets in which a
million shares and more changed
hands many days In succession with
greater fluctuations than those of
to-day without causing any alarm. 1t
is hardly fair. therefore to jump
to the conclusion that the end Of
things has come.
Adjournment OF congress-, which is
expected next week, will mark the
end OF a series of things that have
a depressing influence. The worst
will be known by that time regarding
the action of congress on various
tariffs. The government crop report
Will be in the hands of the public
and the copper producers n the
steel trust will ave made known
the results Of operations for July.
1t is possible 10 account for every
thing that has happened In Wall
street this week on the Theory that
the big interests are gettipk ready
for an active and rising market after
next week and have planned this
shake Gut" to improve the techni-
cal condition OF the list and clean
out stagnant bull accounts. If such
a thing were al the bottom of the
movement II would be most natural
under the circumstance TO use Stand
ard OIL stock as q club.
Merely q Few Clerks
Standard, OH stock H. iWerth he4
less than 500. on actual valuation OF
property assets. leaving out all ac-
count OF good will and good manage
ment. This valuation Ia not a guess,
but is the figure at which the con
Germ could convert itself into actual
cash at forced SAT-. Dissolution Of
the under order OF the SUI
preme court will mean nothing more
than the use Of fifty or n hundred
more clerks and with the business of
that size the cost OF 100 additional
clerks 10 not worth considering. The
widest extravaganza could not In
crease the cost Of conducting the
thirty-three oil companies that will
take the place OF the Standard OIL
Company at a half million dollars a
YEAR and Standard Oil took at $500
is the greatest bargain In Wall street.
There can be no doubt that the
Standard OH people are favoring n
bear operators. They are glad TO get
q bargain in their own took and not
sorry to see the general public in
distress over the result OF political
agitation. But while there is much
politics in the situation. the crops are
proving q bitter disappointment and
the weather IL discounting a bad crop
report from the government next
Wednesday. Although there Il an
average Of all grains this year six
mtluon-kSAaiax than last xesT -the.