The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-24
STORY OF THE STOCK
 : MARKET FOR YEAR 1911.
Expert Anazes Eventfu Year in Affairs of Big Business
 Factors Entering Into Situation
By ". G. NICHOLAS

month of May closed with general break in the stock market.
 During June the government began a large number of new trust suits. They were initiated at many points. The trend of the market continued downward throughout a large part of June. Up to this time crop prospects had not cut much of figure in stocks, but during the latter part of June and July blistering weather and severe drouth throughout the west, northwest and southwest turned a brilliant crop outlook into period of fear of national disaster. A ruling by the interstate commerce commission was handed down directing readjustment Of the short and long haul rates on the intermountain roads of the northwest. which would result in a heavy loss of revenue for the trans-continental lines. This ruling was modified subsequently and the work of readjusting the rates is still on.
 In spite of these manifest handicaps the market advanced strongly during the latter part of June and all of July. High prices of the year were made in these months with few exceptions. Steel, for instance, which had sold at S2ss in Feb ruary only got up to 70 in the midsum- mer rise. Union Pacific rose to 1928, Reading to 161B, Atchison to 1165s, New York Central to 1151A, Baltimore and Ohio to 109ss and Pennsylvania to 130s. The months of August and September wit messed liquidation on a colossal scale. All support was withdrawn and the mar ket went to pieces. It was not only tech nically weak on account of the absence of a short interest but it was intrinsically weak by reason of important impairment to western crops and there was widespread disappointment over the failure of hopes and prophecies. To complicate the situa- tion, railroads were threatened with strikes from the Atlantic to the Pacifc. There were also labor strikes in Great Britain and diplomatic troubles and actual wars abroad.
 In September began the Presidents long speaking tour which did not end until No Vember. This was also the month in which Attorney General Wickersham's in terview appeared with threats of new suits against trusts and a general war by the administration against "big interests" These interviews were afterwards modi- fled but they left a bad taste in the mouth of the street. It was in Septem- Der that Canada repudiated the reciprocity treaty, further humiliating the admins traitor in Washington. A strike of me-
 
 roads was inaugurated.
 More important than any of these fea- lures, from a localized stock market viewpoint, was renewed gossip about suit to be brought by the government for the dissolution of the United States Steel cor poration which up to this time had been looked upon as immune from that sort of thing-as a sort of sacred white elephant a a111an or fIa fr1tc tr tnn arf Il nd for, strongly entrenched to be touched. Con- firmaton of government action against the Steel trust brought the slump in the stock market to a climax during the last days of September. Low prices of the year were made in a great majority of active issues. although in the case of United States Steel bottom was not reached until late in october when the dissolution suit was actually filed. On the day after the beginning of this suit, Steel common struck 50 and Steel preferred went below 104. The general market had recovered substantially from the panicky slump which occurred during the latter days of September and it sympathized only to moderate extent with the harsh slump in Steel october 26,
 The defiant attitude taken by the big interests and a growing conviction that the actual process of dissolving the great
 
 real reform and would only load down the combinations with few bookkeeping complications tended to restore confidence. Business was not going to be seriously interfered with after all and the mere mat ter of size was not to be classified as crime. That fact was made plain in the utterances of Attorney General Wicker sham, and the President himself. In fact, the point was amplified in the Presidents to m the cODVpOi0P of that body in December. The "big in- terests," however, are still far from be- ing satisfied with the attitude of the po- litical parties and are not convinced that they will be free from new forms of prosecution-they call 1t persecution.
 The public, however takes a very op- timistic view of the broad situation and throughout the month of December gave support to the stock market, causing substantial advance in prices. The up- ward movement was ably assisted by the market machinery under control of the banking syndcates and heavyweight in- dividual speculators. The wise men of the street are almost unanimously of the opinion that the important syndicates and speculators liquidated heavily on the advance and that big reaction is cer- tain to occur. This opinion does not seem to be shared by the populace as a rule and the absorption of securities by an arniy of miscellaneous investors gave to stocks a background of stability which could not have been attained in any other way. Dividends and interest to the amount of about $225,0OO0 GOO willsb dis tributed in the early days of January any there has been considerable anticipa- tory renvestment of these funds
 As the end of the year approaches it is found that the average of prices both for railroads and industrias Is only a very few points under the average of the high prices established in January and early February The recovery from the low range of September 26 has carried prices at least two-thirds of the way up to the very top. Exceptions to this rule are St. Paul and the Gould stocks, Lehigh Val ley, Illinois Central, American Can pre- ferred and National Biscuit made. top in December. Industrial conditions are be- lieved to be showing decided improvement at this writing.
 mandates to yield to the inevitable. The reforms and readjustments that are now going on are coming from the inside. There is more "self busting among H. legal trade and manufacturing combina- tions than is generally understood. It is going on everywhere. Combines real ize that they are mighty unpopular and that they had better get in out of the