The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-09
Alleged Investments Wait
 Decision of Court
IN THE TRUST CASES
Market Is Kept From Utter Stagna- tion By Bobtailed. Pools in Quite a Number of
 Specialties
BY W. G. NICHOLAS


 New York, April s.-(Special.) .)-F rancis Lynd stetson, leading lawyer for J. P. Morgan and his eyndicates, Is being quoted to the effect that the Morgan peo- pie have $57,000,OO0 in cash to invest as soon as the supreme court hands down
 it's decision in the Oil and Tobacco trust cases. The story has not been denied and is generally believed. The Standard Oil party has probably s1ooOoo,o00 in the have also admittedly laid aside large sums for employment as soon as the court acts.
 This immense accumulation of reserve capital represents the attitude of con- trolling financial and industrial interests and explains more than anything else the deadlocked stock market situation. The enormous surplus of funds thus held on tap for emergency purposes may never be needed to protect the stock market in- terests as anticipated by it's owners be- cause very well defined opinion prevails that any evil results which might natur- ally be expected have been discounted by the preparations made to meet them. None the less the Wall street community and the trading and investment public have made up their minds to do as .he big fellows are doing and to hold off un- tii the cue is given by tue great market masters and leaders of finance The Standard Oil people have been talking so persistently about the damage which would follow an adverse decision by the supreme court that they may feel 1t in cumbent upon them to make good the prophecies of evil and engineer a market smash just to be consistent and give m object lesson of their infallibility. It is some such thing as that that the stock market has braced itself against. The market was never in better shape to stand up against an organized raid of the kind suggested. For weeks and months commission houses and brokers have been urging their customers to keep their mar gins we'll protected and the advice has been generally followed. "Shotstring'' speculation is not popular these days and
 meets with open Encouragement from re- sponsble people in the game.
 The market has been kept from utter stagnation by the activity of bobtailed pools in quite a number of specialties, among which may be mentioned National Biscuit, Canadian Pacific, American Can. Tobacco, Bethlehem Steel, Distillers, I.e- high Valley, Peoples Gas, virginia-Caro- lima Chemical, wisconsin Central, Soo and others. The more sober-sd standard stocks have not shared in these little furries and have maintained more than usual stability.
 The sporadic activity in some of these stocks mentioned relieved the monotony, however, and serve a useful purpose. They give the traders something to talk about and to speculate in and about. At the same time the general average of prices Is held within narrow limits and the waiting attitude of the great mass of players continues unchanged. This is about as the big people would like to have 1t and there Is really small pros pect of any variation in the programme until the supreme court acts or until Congress does something worth while.
 Wall street Is in a very complacent state of mind as to the tariff, although reports from all over the country lndi- cate growing unea siness on that sub ject. In the financial district there Is a deepseated feeling that republican Scn- ate will block the House programme for revision and that it can be depended on s to $S a ton the best of the inde- the no action stand that has been taken hereabouts. The best information that comes from Washington, however, Is that the Wall street view is not we'll taken and that the Senate Is more than likely to adopt any moderate revision which may be sent over from the House. On strictly political count there is only a small republican margin in the Senate and it is well known in political circles having access to inside Congress opinion and sentiment that among the re- publicans Is to be found strong feel ing for scaling down of protective duties. This state of facts is generally understood in all the manufacturing and commercial communities and the only place 1t Is ignored Is rght here.
 The stock market may awake to the
 importance of the tariff issue and when
 it does there will be plenty, of disturb ance and uneasiness. Not all of the in- dustrials will suffer from a downward revision of the schedules but most of them will Some of the best friends of revision are to be found among the man ufacturers. For instance, quite a number of the big insiders in the Steel corporation would not be averse to a cut in the metal schedules. That is because the Steel cor poration can afford the cut. It has from to do so; hence the safety and wisdom of rendents in the production of iron and steel goods and can make money while rivals are starving to death
 There has been altogether too much activity among independent iron and steel men in the building of new capactv and from the Steel corporation standpoint it might not be a bad move to discourage further enterprise in that direction until the country builds up and consumpt!os overtakes capacity already provided. The Chicago election gave jolt to Peoples Gas, which has its physical To- cation in the Windy City. Stocks orig mating in Chicago have always been in disfavor in New York and elsewhere. A number of very rotten things have been