The Washington times., 1911-03-19

/ NEW YORK, March l9.-The true
story of Wall Streets business week
| cannot be made an exciting narrative
| The entire course of the trading was
| one monotonous round of limited trans
| actions, chiefly professional, and OF lr-
| regular price changes, usually conhned
! within fractional limits; but then II Is
| we'll to bear in mind that worse Things
| than dullness can happen to a security
| market and on this occasion, II the IN
| terval was unrelieved by stimulating in
| f1uences, nothing occurred to force de-
| clines, and the Wall Street situation Is
| certainly no worse at the end OF the
| week than it was at the beginning, and
| prices closed strong, and with an up
| ward tendency.
| In fact if one looks beneath the sur
| face, there were a number of encourag-
| ing developments. The present, to be
| sure, is between-season period. Little
! or nothing is known actually of early
| crop conditions, but Judge r. S. Lovett,
president of the Union Pacific road just
back from an extensive inspection trip
over the Hartman lines, asserts that
| the western half of the country has had
| a sufficient precipitation to insure the
crops with adequate moisture at the
outset of their growth and the impor-
| tance of a good start can never be over
estimated when one comes to consider
| the harvests.
The Favorable Features.
Speculative Wall street does not give
much attention to features of this char
acter so far in advance, but neverthe-
less the conditions preliminary to crop
nF la
and it is gratifying to learn from a care
full and experienced observer that they
are highly satisfactory over an extern
| sive area of the country at this time.
| And another matter of great import
ance, though not necessarily of a char
| acter TO stimulate a speculative mar
| ket, is the remarkable showing made in
| the Governments trade statement for
| February, which gives every indication
that the country is reClaiming its old
time position in the worlds exchanges,
and Is piling up an enormous credit bal
| ence in Europe.
The complete statement Of foreign
! trade for last month is remarka BILE
| exhibit. The total volume of exports in
| January ran beyond any similar month
| IN the country's history, with the ex-
ception of 1905, when We were sIaShing
| merchandise prices and dumping goods
| abroad to relieve the situation forced
upon us by the panic. The export total
for February, however, breaks all lcc-
ordS for that month. Aggregate ship
| ments were $l15, 1885, f67, while total i'm
ports were 1921, ,7G6,2Si. The excess Of
exports, $54, 1S3 is not as great as in
, February. 1903, because we imported less
merchandise in that year, but the ex-
cess exports, s54,220, 1873. compare with
excess imports of s.. 5.559, $50 last year.
An Expanding Credit Balance.
For the eight months of the present
fiscal year excess exports are S4IS 155,
Contrasted with excess exports of but
SlS1, ,9G3c3, 80 for the same period in 1910,
and with but two exceptions, 1903 and
1901, the excess exports for the last
eight months are the largest in the ma
tiOn's history. Things may not be all
rosy and bright throughout this country
At the present time, but we are GER
tainly laying the foundation for a
hcalthful recovery, and probably it is in
recognition of this strength Of the fund
amental situation and of the future
proba abilities that one finds an entire alb
sence of liquidation in securities, de-
spite the unpleasant Mexican situation,
the impending special session of Con-
gress, and numerous other unsettling
features.
Although admittedly the present situa-
ton does not invite confident speculative
undertakings, it is not ,unfaVorable TO
discriminating investment operations.
In the first nl9rg iS nd
stocks are not high. That is a great
sustaining force and an incentive to in
VeStment. If one looks beyond the pres
ent temporary disturbances, the future
is promising. Industry is proceeding
along conservative lines, and stocks OF
merChadiSe are low, a process of re-
adjustment Is in progress everywhere
with commodity prices and to some eX-
tent with labor, and we are aCCumulat-
ing a great surplus abroad. II the crops
bear out their early promise. these are
conditions that pave the way for i'm
provement notwithstanding Supreme
Court decisions, tariff tink ering. and
other unsettlinS features.
Wall Streets Dull Days.
Without doubt, to the speculative ele-
ment, the prevailing dull and dragging
market is a sore trial and bitter dis
appointment, and, in some instances,
probably, it is even a more serious mat
ter, for expenses continue in Wall
Street, though business is practically at
a standstill Some of the suffering en-
tailed upon brokers is indicated. in part.
by the sale during the current week of
two exchange seats at $6S,O00, a decline
of 5000 from the last preceding sale.
Not much more than a year ago
Stock Exchange seat sold at $4,000, so
that at present there is a shTi1kage of
sos OOO which, applied to LOO seats, fig
ures out a money loss of $50, 500, 900,
which falls on Stock Exchange mem
berS alone.
II is small wonder that brokers as a
class are depressed over the situation,
but it is a long lane that haseno turn
ing, and thingse are not going to con-
| tinTle forever in a languishing condition.
In fact. the intense, ,dullness of the last
two weeks, with the significant price
changes, indicates that the stock mar
Lot iS at dead center, and it Is most un-
nSuaI for a market to remain long in
s,Ich condition when once it is
reached Something always comes along
to give securities an impetus and start
The wheels in motion. The market may
he aWak ened by note OIL encourdge-
ment or by a kick as when one arouses
a sleening dog but encouraging note
d Iiclt n is almost certain to get be-
fore long.
The Court Decision.
ALWAYS at about this season OF the
vear one hears the old statement, some
t;,,es credited to Jay Gould and some
times to Daniel Drewy and sometimes
to Jacob Little, who was the hrst OF
WI, streets plunging operators back