The Washington herald., 1911-01-30

new Hork, Jan. J.-lt was stated III
! this column last week that a fair de-
scription of the stock market in the pre-
ceding week was that it seemed to be
maintaining itself in equilibrium upon
| level considerably above the previous
point at which it had similarly halted
Since then conditions have changed in
no such way as to make 1t impossible
| to repeat the former observation. The
market has, whenever it has declined a
! little, developed renewed buying power.
and, on the other hand, it does not seem
| inclined, for the time being, to take any
violent steps upward.
Nevertheless, if there is any impulse TO-
| ward a move in prices. either upward or
downward. il is upward. Various partc-
ular stocks have risen for reasons Whlch
| 1t is said are peculiar to these securities
alone and have no force in other quar-
tiers, and yet when sufficient number
of stocks can be named which are all
moving in a uniform direction in response
to particular conditions the movement
bctokens something pretty nearly resem-
bling a general tendency.
The strength of the market in its merely
speculative sense received something OF
a test on Wednesday. when one broker
often intruSted with the execution oil
large buying and selling orders on the
stock exchange sold within a very snort
time at whatever prices were onered
great quantity of the three prominent
stocks in which speculative transactions
now converge. But this selling served
to reduce prices on the average less than
half a point and on the following DAY
he entirely rpYalDeU.
short Interest Large.
A market which makes such displays
as that is not one that usually induces
further attacks, and yet so far as cur
rent indications go the hesitancy of the
market in the last fortnight has led To
a renewed accumulation of the short in
tereSt in it. which faces at the moment
q loss. Now the truth is that profes-
sional operators have found nothing since
the first Of the year upon which they
can rest their feet in any substantial
manner in an effort to reduce security
prices.
Practically all news developments. al
though they have been slight, have been
favorable. and the only thing left upon
which to predicate operations for the
fall is tho probability or the possibility
that spectators for the rise who bought
stocks month or two months ago may
from time to time feel like taking profits.
But all this is of concern only to the
gambling side of Wall street.
The result of the city's bond sale. an
nounccd on Tuesday. was If course a
great success. as every one who had
carefully considered the matter knew It
would be One of the largest offerings of
bonds ever made in the history of the
municipality was heavily ovarsubscribed
at good prices. Criticism was beard to
the effect that the price of the New
York city bonds. taken through a period
of years. has steadily declined; but the
same remark may ne made OF all other
investment issues of similar kind. not
only in our own but in other countries
Nor is there anything in this state of
affairs TO strongly initiate against the
belief in increased national and inter-
national prosperity.
Price of Wire Goes Up.
Again. too. n better undertone is visible
in commercial and industrial business 1t
may perhaps be said that this is in gen
eral, so far, matter of sentiment rather
than OF hard facts; but an advance of a
dollar ton in the price of all the wire
products turned out by the United States
Steel Corporation looks very much like
hard facts. especially as the rise has been
promptly followed by a similar advance
on the part of all the leading producers
and seems likely to be followed by an
advance in tin plate. 1t may be some
time yet before picking up in the steel
trade embraces all lines. bnt nobody as
serts that the Strengthening of wire
prices is a symptom that business is
wire business affords as nothing else
does a graphic illustration of the way in
which general business development has
taken place in our country in the last ten
years. When the United States Steel Cor
poration was formed in 1901 the common
sttck Of the American Steel and Wire
Company was held to be of most doubt
full value, and the fact that 1t was in
cluded in the capitalization of the Steel
Corporation at price of over 500 a
share was adverted to as the strongest
evidence that could be shown of the wa
tering that had gone on in the Steel
issues. American Steel and Wire common
stock had never sold above SO a share,
and its average price during its lifetime
was below $40 share. 1t Is undeniable
that the stock was commonly ranked as a
mere speculative industrial football.
Yet the demand for so-called small
forms of iron and steel in the country
has become so great and the growth of
the whole steel and wire trade SO enor-
nous that it is understood that for some
years back the American Steel and Wire
shares now held in the treasury of the
steel Corporation have paid annually over
$40 each In dividends. and II is said that
transfers of a small number OF the few
shares still outside the treasury of the
Steel Corporation lately occurred at a
price of 81, 400 a share.
Different Now, of Course.