New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-10-28
HEAVY BREAK IN STEEL
Common Drops 8H2 Points on
News of Government Suit.
GENERAL LIST DECLINES
Brokers in Wild Rush to Sell at
Opening-Total Transactions
About $4,000 Shares.

! ABOUT i, oOO,U UO OuuiC co.
United States Steel common broke heay-
ilye in yesterdays stock market, as was to
| have been expected, it's maximum loss be-
! ing Sls points. on the news that the gov
eminent had begun suit for the dissolution
! of the Steel Corporation. The general list
/ declined in sympathy with II, the market
making little or no recovery until late In
the afternoon.
The recent announcement that the Steel
I Corporation had decided to terminate at
the earliest possible day It's lease of the
Great Northern ore properties, an an
nouncement which was confirmed on
Thursday afternoon by formal action of
the directors, had been widely taken as
meaning that there would probably be no
government suit. as it had been In its OK
tensive control of ore lands that the Com
missioner of Corporations had found the
Steel Corporation to have monopolistic
feature. The fling of the governments
bill, word Of which did not reach the
Street until after the close Of the market
on Thursday afternoon, caused widespread
apprehension all over the United States
and among stockholders in many other
countries.
Steel common fell sharply on the London
exchange before the New York openlh6
part Of the selling probably having been
on New York orders The opening here
was excited Selling orders had been re-
celved overnight from everywhere and the
crowd OF brokers assembled to execute
these orders was 80 great as to extend FAR
beyond the immediate region OF the trad
ing post at which transactions In this
stock are ordinarily conducted. y roar not
often surpassed in volume in the Stock
Exchange board room greeted the sound
ing Of the bell which marked the begin
ming Of business, each Of the massed
brokers in the Steel crowd striving 10
make himself heard above the din TO which
all alike were contributing. while in other
parts of the room there were energetic OF
fers Of many other issues.
The opening in Steel common was wide
with simultaneous sales of $4,000 shares al
prices ranging between 80 and 1914. when
compared with Thursdays last price of
5Sia. Support was apparently attempted
for the price advanced to 54&4 IN a few
transactions, but the volume OF the selling
by timid investors. by holders OF weakly
margined speculative accounts and by oper-
ators for the decline was too great to be
resisted successfully. and by noon the price
had fallen to 500, and in the early after
noon to so, its low for this year.
The preferred opened at 1O4, AS points
down from Thursday night, touched It's low
Of the day, 1913, on the next sale, ana shot
I'D TO 1O4Ib on the third transaction AT
noon il was selling at 1885, the smallest
trading fraction above its low level. The
sinking fund bonds opened at 10O%, against
1921, as the final price Of the preceding
day, and ruled al around that figure during
the session. moving within range OF Z
point between 1902 and 101, the close be-
ing unchanged from the opening price.
The standard railway stocks opened from
u to ia points down, and declined further
as the session advanced. Union PACING at
fits lowest showed loss Of 3as points from
Thursdays close. and Reading points
while more serious declines were recorded
I'm some of the leading industrials, among
them points in International Harvester
Az in General Electric and 49a In American
Smelling and Refining common.
At the low levels there was heavy cover
ing of short contracts. and the rally was
assisted bv commission house buying on a
large scale and by the execution Of large
number of odd lot buying orders, pur-
Of fhnnSapdg of shares of
Steel common being made also for account
Of London, which had been heavy seller
of the stock I'm the morning.
There was some profit taking and re-
newed short selling toward the end OF the
session, but final prices were well above
the lowest, Steel common closed at 02is'
n net loss of 62s points, and Steel preferred
at lO3at "A net loss OF Az. Among the other
net declines were 3i2 points In American
Smelling and Refining, 2is in Amalga-
mated Copper, 23s in Reading. 2is in Union
Pacific. / point each in Southern Pacific,
ST Paul and Westinghouse, Sis In Inter
national Harvester. $9s in General Electric
and 2ia In Republic Iron and Steel pre-
ferred
Total transactions were about l,3j3VJ
shares. or a million shares greater than on
Thursday The sales OF Steel common were
$4,000 shares. "A single days total for this
issue surpassed only by the 1850 shares
traded in on September y, In the market
break which followed the publication Of
the interview In which Attorney General
Wickersham was made TO say that the
United States Steel Corporation was
plainly combination In violation of the
law" ON the Consolidated Stock Exchange
there were sold 5000 shares Of Steel COM
mon. the largest single days business i'm
any one stock in the history OF the institu-
ton