The Washington herald., 1911-02-15
WALL STREET NEWS
Further Large Decline in
Cotton Options.
READJUSTMENTs GOING ON
Movement in Commodity Prices Pro-
ceeding in Gratifying Manner.
Professional Operations, Save for
Sharp Advance in Consolidated Gns-

New York, Feb. 1.-THE most interest
ing occurrence in any of the markets
to-day was on the cotton exchange, where
= further large decline took place in the
price of the cotton options.
This was in response to conditions
whose force has really been operative
ever since the first of the year, namely
the continued movement of cotton to in
terror points in the South on such
scale as to indicate that the season. s
crop instead of being H. 100000 bales, as
was estimated by many people last year,
will be at least in the neighborhood Of
100000 bales, and may be considerable
more.
A price of from Is to 151 cents for
cotton under such circumstances is alb
surd, especially inasmuch as it is known
that preparation for planting cotton in
the coming season will be on larger
scale than ever before known. A great,
top-heavy speculation for the rise in the
staple has, therefore, collapsed. and there
are yet no signs that the fall has
touched bottom.
Results Beneficial
The beneficial results of this upon the
money situation. upon the trade in gen.
eral, and especially upon the textile trade,
cannot be over estimated.
1t is also to be noted that the move
nent toward readjustment of all COM
modify prices is going on in a most graf
flying way, and that this is particularly
the case as regards that large class of
food stuffS whose price directly depends
upon the size of the country's yearly
crop of corn. The effects of the 3,1O0,-
100000 bushels of corn last year are now
in nd
stock, and in considerable degree, no
doubt. for eggs and butter
Meanwhile, so far as the stock market
was concerned to-day, it was compare
lively lifeless and utterly given over to
small professional operations, save for
d sharp advance at one time in the
Consolidated Gas shares and for a re-
sumption of that definite accumulation
of Missouri Pacific stock which was in
evidence last week, and which to-day
extended to Denver and Rio Grande and
other so-called Gould stocks. Another
strong quarter of the list was the Cana
dian Pacific group.
See Change in Control.
While no formal statement in any way
explanatory of the advance in Missouri
Pacific and its sister stock was made
during business hours, the cause for it
was universally assigned to the indi-
cations that a change in the control of
these properties was approaching, even
if such change might come as the result
of a conetst therefor.
1t can only be said on this point that
if a contest really is in progress between
the present management of these particu-
lar railway corporations and the indi-
vidualS in the banking and financial
world whose names were to-day men
toned as those who were endeavoring to
wrest these properties from the Gould
interests. public sympathy in support will
surely not be on the side of Mr.. Gould.
In proper hands. the Missouri Pacific
company might be made the nucleus of
one of the great railroad systems of the
country, and it is high time that hands
like these took charge of the property.