The Washington herald., 1911-02-26
WALL STREET NEWS
Generally Firm Tone Rules
in Stock Market.
RATE FURRY QUIETS DOWN
All Railroads Expected to Follow
Lead of Pennsylvania in CancelinS
Proposed Advances-weekIy Bank
Statement Favora bIe-Idle Freight
Cars Show Increase for Fortnight.

New York, Feb "a generally firm
tone prevailed in the stock market to-
day. 1t was shaded somewhat toward
the close, owing to professional selling
of the sort infrequently witnessed at the
close of business on a Saturday after
noon. Still, the stock market, taken as
a whole gave an excellent account OF
~itself after yesterdays shock, and at
tention was particularly attracted by the
strength shown by various special stocks,
such as the Virginia-Carolina Chemical,
American Cotton Oil, and other members
of the fertilizer group, Canadian Pacific,
Consolidated Gas, and the United States
Rubber issues, There was a quteting
down of the late excitement regarding
the Interstate Commerce Commissions
decision in the railway freight rate cases,
and the idea generally entertained was
that all the railroad companies affected
will follow the lead taken by the Penn
sylvania Railroad Company in announc-
ing its determination to consider the mat
ter a closed incident from now on.
New High Records.
Fertilizer stocks and Canadian Pacific
made the most show of strength to-day.
They went to new high records for the
year and held most of the advance
Canadian Pacific is advancing partly be-
cause Of the expectations of reciprocity
with the United States, but chiefly be-
cause the company will soon issue some
new stock on which there will be rights
to the old shareholders. American
Agricultural Chemical and Virginia-Caro-
lima Chemical advanced because of
final agreement that has been reached
with Germany in the potash dispute.
Official announcement in this connection
is expected shortly at Washington.
Idle Freights Increase.
The fortnightly statement of idle freight
/ cars in the country showed another in
crease, but its statement, like those of
recent months, is to be read in the light
OF the fact that since last year 100000
new freight cars have been added to the
countrys railway equipment. The news
that imports at this port last week were
Sl1595, ,O0o, as against $2i,113,OOO in the cor
responding week last year presented fur
ther evidence of the change for the bet
ter that is taking place in the country's
general export trade
The AtchisOns report of earnings for
January gave a record of an increase of
&ri4OG0 in gross and S55S,G00 in net. The
weekly bank statement was again wholly
favorable although it doubtless did not
fully represent the result of Fridays
liquidation in stocks. The average sur
plus reserve of the clearing house inSti-
tutions now stands a $4O,S5S,OO as COM
pared with 50, 7O1, 600 last year, and the
actual reserve at 81, 100000, against
SIS34.O0O last year.
steady Improvement in Progress.
That steady, if slow, improvement is
now in progress, can only be denied by
a stupid and hardened pessimist. The
crop prospect is excellent, declining COM
-nodity prices are cheapening the neces-
stiles of life: the country's export trade
is enlarging, and its imports are diminish
ing: money is easy and the investment
market $ strong. February is usually
the dulleSt month of the year in all
trades and industries and although this
year will doubtless prove the exception
10 the general rule yet the SeaSonable
falling off in the current month has been
= good deal less than is usually the
case.
New orders for iron and steel are, ac-
cording to trustworthy reports. coming
into producing establishments at a rate
only slightly less than that of the pre-
ceding month, and the import trade in
these products is reaching larger and
larger proportions daily.
Ingenuity Offsets Drawbacks.
This is a phase of the situation that
deserves especial attention at this time
because theoretically the higher cost of
living in our country should make it diff
fiCult for US to compete with the low
priced steel making labor of other lands.
But the truth is as developed, that the
labOr-saving devices of Yankee ingenuity
are more than offsetting the disabilities
in commercial sense imposed upon US
10y the higher price paid for the labor
that we employ. This Is not true yet of
all lines of industry in our own country,
but it is holding true in a multitude of
articles manufactured by the United
inrl