The Washington times., 1911-08-27

1
selling during the week practically all
active sto"ks established new low rec
oris for tho present movement and for
the year. To all intents and purposes
declines were continuous, for although
the market developed hard spots on
such occasions rs the bear traders Sc
lected to retire their short commitments
and secure profits. there was no recov-
erv worthy Of the name. All Wall
Street, during the interval, seemed to be
thinking. talking. and acting in one
way and that was in line with lower
prices, and in view Of this very remark
able depression of sentiment the sur
prise is not that stocks sold OF, but
rather that the declines were not more
considerable than they were.
| There Is no question in the mind Of
persons familiar with the course Of
| speculative markets. and with the his
| tory of Wall Street. that the present
selling movement will be very much
orerdone and in time. the rank and file
| I'm brokers offices who are now so hear
ish. will awake to the realization that
some one has heen buying stocks rs
| they become increasingly attractive. At
the present time, however, you hear
nothing at all of buyers. and believe
| the opinion prevails in the majority Of
| Offices that thers Is no buying at all ex-
cept such as the professional bears sup
ply when they take profits.
Limited Buying Power.
| As a matter OF fact the buying power
in the market is limited for realizing
| tho tremendous force of the selling
movement. the banking interests who
| are taking stock on a scale-down are
| operating with unusual caution. The
scaled buying order in Union Pacific. for
| instance. is. according to current report,
one Of loo shares every half-potnt
| down. but as one OF the big profess
sional bear traders jestingly remarked
half down: why. l supply that guam
titv myself. and find no trouble in coy
| erinG it, This illustrates not only the
aggressivensss OF the Eears, but the
though they expect to he called upon
| for much heavier scaled buying later
What is substantially true OF the
| ''buSing power" of the market Is that
| the long continued and very extensive
| decline in prices has brought in very
little new business. This applies with
| equal force to bonds, and the failure OF
| investors to materialiZe has occasioned
| a great deal of discussion in commission
house circles l have heard the state
ment made by brokers OF the very best
standing that instead of the wasting
and erosive process now going on win
prices day after day II would be far
| better II the general list could expert
| ence one sharp and severe break. such
as would serve to crystalline the atten-
tion of the public upon the present low
level Of securities and bring some fresh
buyers into the market.
Deterring Influences.
The above comment was not that Of
a bearish trader. but the head OF a con-
structive house, who added that in all
his experience he could not recall a
like case when a decline ranging from
ten to twenty-five points or more. in
active standard issues, had so utterly
! failed to stimulate public buying as the
present. Bearing upon this feature, II
may be said that there are several
well-authenticated cases where broker
age firms of considerable size are so
bare Of stocks, through sales by their
customers and the failure Of fresh buy
ing to develop, that they have been
compelled to borrow securities to pro-
vide sufficient collat9al TO maintain
certain of their time loans. Naturally,
under such conditions. the business OF
the money brokers has come TO
standstill, and on Friday they reported
that there was practically no demand
for loans whatever.
Ot course, things are not going to re-
main as they are for all time In the
financial district, but II must be ac-
knowledged that there Is very little in
the situation that encourages the hope
of a definite and enduring change in
the very near future. The uncertainties
which surround the political outlook.
the unsettled question of tariff revision.
the underlined status of the industrial
trusts. the fear which prevails Of i'm
pending labor disturbances, and the
doubt which has been created in manyl
minds as to the ability of railway and
Industrial corporations TO maintain their
present scale of dividends are naturally |
the chief deterTing influences. These
are the factors which have influenced |
liquidation. and as they are apparent |
to every one they have robbed the Sc |
curity market OF attractiveness and |
have diminished the purchasing power |
of the public.
Disappointed Traders.
The failure of the stock-market TO |
respond to favorable features during |
the week. such as the settlement of
the, strike of the railway workers |
in England and the adjournment of
Congress-. came as a disappointment !
to such men in Wall Street as have |
not yet caught the spirit Of the sit
uation, or who believe that the SELL |
ing movement Is wholly the work Of |
short traders who can be rounded UP |
with a sharp turn. AS to the adjust
ment Of the strike abroad, accom-
plished as II was by a practical sur
render OF the corporations, there was
little therein to encourage the do
mestic market, which Is giving very |
serious attention to labor difficulties |
impending close at hand
As to the adjournment of Congress,
II was made clearly apparent many |
weeks ago that political tendencies, |
held to be disturbing. were not inher-
ent in a single body of men alone, but |
centered in the community. Wall |
Street assuredly misjudged the situa-
tion II II believed that the hostility /
toward corporations and the demands |
for tariff, revision were confined sole
ly to politicians, and that the dis
turbing influence could be eliminated |
with the termination of the special |
Congressional session. Certainly no
such views are entertained in influ-
entail banking quarters, 1t Is pos
sible that a revulsion may come be-
tween now and November, 1912, but |
leading men in the financial district
believe that the disturbing factors
will figure prominently in the next
Presidential campaign and at the
present time they do not look for a
definite settlement of the question
until that time.
Union Pacific Affairs.
What the rank and file in Wall
Street calls the 'FUnion Pacific Mys-
terry" that is, the identity Of the SELL