The Washington herald., 1911-05-04

New York. May 2-In the first hour of
business this morning, quotations Of the
principal stocks fell below their final
prices OF yesterday. But they fell only
little, and 1t was lear that nobody was
particularly anxious to make sales.
Moreover. while they declined SO many
specialties and not a few prominent
stocks advanced that the market as q
whole actually seemed strong Very lit
tie attention appeared to be paid to vari-
Gus matters in the news Of which, IL Wall
street had been in a pessimistic mood,
doubtless much would have been made.
The unsettled character OF the Mexican
situation doomed up once more Further
gloomy reports were heard from the iron
and steel trade. and there were indica-
tlons that the Democratic House of Rep
resentatives in Washington would ap-
point a number of investigating Commit
tees to look into the affairs Of several
corporations. The fact that security
prices paid no attention to those So
called disturbing factors was a great
disappointment to spectators for the de-
cine, and, in the afternoon, the stock
market again moved upward in buoyant
fashion with a large increase in the
Fclume OF transactions.
Inc greater number of intelligent peo-
PIE In the financial district, and there are
many such, are now coming to see tha,
the one element in business and financial
anairs in the country this year whose
force Will be of greater power than any
other, Is the seasons agricultural results
Io-day a private crop expert whose
views carry great weight in the grain
trade, issued his May report declaring
that during the month of April there have
been almost perfect weather conditions.
bringing the statistical condition of win
ter wheat on May to SIC, as against the
governments figures of S33 on the lst of
April The significance Of these figures
is that during April deterioration in wheat
conditions is almost always witnessed.
To-day the condition is much above the
average for the past ten years. AS re-
CARDS spring wheat. the seeding is as
serted to be practically completed under
exceptional conditions of weather and
e. with the acreage planted increased by
100000 acres over that of last year OF
course. under these circumstances. wheat
declined somewhat to-day. although all
dealings in grain at the moment are tenn
porarily overshadowed by the peculiar
speculative state of affairs attending the
deal in the May wheat option in Chi
cago
lEut cause OF wall street COM
placence over the investigating resolu-
tions, either passed or likely to be passed
by the House of Representatives. is rea-
sonably enough the knowledge that this
action of the House is of purely Fictitious
political character and that neither peo-
pie nor corporations in this country are
deprived of their property without due
process Of law. AS regards the United
States Steel Corporation particularly, It
has been investigated a dozen times in
its history by all sorts of governmental
commissions and special agents. and has
each time emerged from the ordeal un-
scathed. There is no denying that the
statistics of iron production in the coun-
try during April. of which advance sum-
maries were furnished by the Iron Age
to-day, show that the iron and steel busi-
ness declined during the month with a
good deal of rapidity. The output of iron
apparently is now almost as small as In
the fall of last year, but somehow the
cheerfulness with which Wall street is in
clined to look at the situation here carries
with il the possible implication that the
iron and steel trade is on the eve of bet
ter things.