Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-23
AWFUL THINGS PREDICTED
Pessimists Say All Will Be Lost if
Trusts Are Sentenced.
SOME COMFORT TO BROKERS
Trading of Any Kind Welcomed
After Long Period Of Inactivity.
Laugh on Big Bankers.
By w. G. Nicholas.
Corresnondence Of The Star

NEW YORK, April %, 1911.
1t looked for time this week as though
the stock market would split wide open I'M
der the pressure Of bad news and exhausted
patience. Everybody was weary beyond en-
diurance over delayed court decisions and
apparently changing attitude on the part
of the banking interests, a more forbid
ding front to Mexican affairs and in
s.reasing assurances from Washington
that the democratic intention was to
start in upon tariff revision in deadly
earnest.
Nobody cares much what becomes of
the reciprocity treaty with Canada ex-
cept that there is g. general feeling the
deal will go through without much fric-
ton or delay. Trade, mercantile and In
dustrial conditions throughout the coun-
try are still reactionary. according to the
almost unanimous reports received from
every city in the country and from all
classes of correspondents.
Attention, as usual, is directed pri-
marily to the iron and steel industry. and
in that quarter small comfort Is to be
found. New business is coming in very
slowly. and there are already signs OF
impending price cutting among the manu-
facturers of all kinds Of steel products. TIC
such an acute pass is the i'll feeling COM
ing that another one of those remarkable
Gary dinners has been ordered, to which
all the iron and steel men in the country
are invited. Assurances are given that
the functiOn-Which Is scheduled for May
and 0-will be purely social and that
such thing as business will not be dis
cussed. This announcement is made with
every appearance of grave earnestness
and everybody who hands it out and who
hears it makes an effort to keep a
straight face and refrain from winking
the other eye
Tendency to Sell.
These various things have not been con-
ducive to stock market enthusiasm, and
the tendency has been to sell stuff. There
has now been quite a reaction from the
highest prices established early in the
first quarter Of the year, and it must be
admitted that there is very little in the
situation at this moment to induce fresh
buying. 1t is being made plain that the
leading financiers and representatives of
important interests are not looking for an
immediate business revival. This is
shown by the continual growth of de-
posts in banks and by the anxiety of
custodians of the surplus cash to loan 1t
out at almost any price they can get for
it.
A large loan was made by q city insti-
tuition this week for four months at q
rate of "a per cent. Any amount Of
money can be borrowed by the right kind
Of people on the right kind Of collateral
at per cent for four to six months. The
ability Of responsible people to borrow
money on such easy terms Is a tempta-
ton to buy dividend paying stocks which
is very hard to resist, and despite the
general appearance Of weakness an i'm
mense amount of that kind OF capital is
being kept in the stock market.
The public is evincing a disposition to
Tighten it's load and there has been con-
siderable scattered liquidation Of small
accounts for the last week or two. On
the active days this week some good
sized blocks Of long stock bought for
speculation went over. The decline on
the weak days was helped along by
liberal sales for short accounts and in
some of the inactive specialties the shorts
found it impossible to borrow stocks with
which to make deliveries. There was no
floating supply and messengers scurried
around from office to Office trying to get
hold of the certificates. In some cases
brokers had to ask two days grace in
order to dig up the goods. There were
very few stocks which were in at all
liberal supply. These were Steel, Read
ing, Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific.
1t was always easy to get these.