The Washington herald., 1911-03-21
WALL STREET NEWS
Market Not Alarmed Over
Supreme Court Decision.
ADVANCE Is SEEN ALL DAY
no Fear of Adverse Ruling and No
Slump when Announced that Court
Down Decisdon-FaIIing on in Coal
Shipments Laid to Mild Winter.

New York, March G.-Not at any time
since the two great antitrust cases, now
prominently before the public. were ar
gued in the Supreme Court has expecta-
tioc in Wall street been so intense as in
the two hours of stock exchange business
before noon to-day that a decision in the
cases would be announced to-day. Not
only was it believed that a decision would
be announced. but that the character Of
tho decision would be strongly adverse to
the (ation concerned
Y,-S1 view of this feeling. the course
followed by the stock market was rather
peculiar. Instead OF declining. as would
naturally be thought, in view of the i'm
minence of an untoward event, it slowly
advanced, until the official word came
from Washington that no decisions in
the antitrust cases would be handed
down, and that the Supreme Court had
adjourned until April 5.
Market Again Advances.
The course of the market after this
period was. perhaps. even more interest
ing On the face of things it was logical
to suppose that a delay of at least two
weeks further in the settlement of this
market factor would have made for dis
gust and general Discrimination on the
part of spectators to buy stocks. But.
on the contrary. while some of the active
stocks in the market did decline perhaps
half a point upon selling induced, it may
,be, by reasons of the kind described, the
upward movement began again with even
more vigor than before, and the. mark ct
left off with gains generally distributed
that in some instances We're consider
able.
Explanation of the action OF the mar
kct as thus displayed may entirely re-
late to the mere technical play of pro-
fessionaI speculative forces, but A fair
observation of the situation certainly az
fords much ground for the judgment that
. m" security market IS becoming more and
more obvious TO the decisions in these
antitrust cases.
No doubt, financial interests. great and
small. would like to get the cases decided
one way or the other and out of the way,
and they would not like now any more
than at any time in the past to see the
cases decided in such a way as to throw
a serious obstacle on the conduct of the
general country's business. And vet con-
ffdence is coming each day to assume
greater strength that no such upshot of
the matter as that last referred to will
take place.
Railroad Earnings Decrease.
There was nothing in the general news
to-day that presented any change in the
generally favorable course in which bust
ness affairs t-.e lately been running.
Railroad earnings are still showing de-
creases. which are. however in no in
stance great 1t is undeniabIe that the
business reaction which was in full force
in the Eastern part OF the country last
year has spread TO the West, and is hav-
ing its usual effect there on railway ton
mage
The fact is. however. that ove- half the
loss in tonnage that the Western rail-
ways have lately sustained can be direct
" traced to the falling Of in the coal
business. The unusually mild weather Of
the winter has been responsible for this
just as it has been r. sponsihIe for The
present brilliant outlook Of the winter
wheat crop.