The Washington times., 1912-03-17

in the stock market during the week,
but to the contrary the bullish manipu-
lation made further progress and passed
| to secondary and to a more interest
| ing stage. There was, for instance,
| shifting in the position OF many traders,
who. having been we'll whipped in op-
posing the advance, turned around and
Joined in the upbidding of prices, and
in addition to this there was q distinct
revival in pool and clique work in minor
issues, attended by an outpouring of
deal and rumor stories of n character to
which Wall Street has long been a
| stanger.
These latter are ever the attendant
features of professional bull move
ment in the early stages. and the rea-
/ son for them Is clear to anyone who
has given attention to the interesting
study of market psychology. In the
| first place, a stock market will not start
| of itself, for 1t contains no hidden
springs or concealed motors. It re-
quires an external force to set It in
motion, and that is supplied by the
| manipulation or several of them, or by
the big men," with whose names the
| rank and file love to conjure. At the
outset the Street gossip is concerned
chiefly with the identity of the buyers,
and that was the case a week ago.
Some poor guesses were made of the
men back of the movement.
Pool and Clique Work.
| A speculative market feeds on imag-
ination. AS there Is little or no inspi.-
alton in simple humdrum facts, a pro-
fessional campaign, when started, could
not be kept going unless 1t had some
thing of an enlivening or dlverting ma
ture to work up, and II nothing of
that character develops the deficiency is
often enough supplied from the vivid
imagination of the manipulative group.
Pool and clique movements in low grade
issues are clearly enough devised 10
create an impression that "the public
is coming into the market" and deal
and rumor stories serve as a plausib,o
explanation for this alleged influx OF
outsiders and for the movement itself.
Low grade issues are preferred, because
it takes less money TO swing them.
The secondary stage of a professional
movement Is always interesting, and
such was the case during the week. The
pools and cliques kept bravely at work
and so long as the short interest II
| tue various SlOChS was OF any COnSlQeC-
able extent the pools made good prog.
ress; SO good, in fact, that 1t was pos
sible for some shrewd brokers to dis
tribute a fair amount of stock, which
the market absorbed without difficulty
Toward the end of the interval the
general list looked tired" in spots, and
today brought a sharp reaction, the
natural result of the distributive OF
prof1t-taking selling and the reduction
Of the short account This was to have
been expected. for considering the un.
Favorable character of news, and the
professionalism of the movement, prices
had experienced remarkable advance
Old Rumors Revived.
There was little novelty In the dea
and rumor stories which filled Wal
Street and none at all in the most con.
spicuous OF the lot, which concerned
Erie. On this occasion the rumol
mongers sold the property to Mr.. Hill
and the Great Northern railway Upor
the last previous occasion, 1t will bt
remembered, the gossips transferred
Erie to the Canadian Pacific. Perhaps
they would have sold it to the Canadian
Pacific again but for the fact that thu
officials of that property issued al
authoritative denial of the deal las
was Mr.. Hills turn to figure as th'
buyer. for It is almost a year sine
the Erie was last sold to him, whereas
since 1888, heretofore speculative Wal
Street was accustomed to dispose of tn
Erie to Mr.. Hill twice each year.
What a dreary place Wall Stree
would be If the Erie railroad shoult
some day be acquired by some othe
system, and the rumor mill which ha
been grinding out stories of the sale o
the property for fifty years should ceas
altogether? Not unnaturally perhap
the sharp advance in the shares of tn
subsidiaries, suggested possibilities witt
the subsidiaries of other industrial cor
porauons, and this was used as the basi
for an upbidding of International Har
company had decided upon a Voluntar
dissolution. To be consistent and logi
cal in line with this American Smeltin
and Refining should have declined o.
the Government announcement that
is not trust, but the stock moved Il
the contrary direction.
Wall Street Sentiment.
Without doubt sentiment in the finan
ciaI district is much more hopefully in
clined as a result of the recovery OF tn
market, but at the same time brokers
as a rule, are not overconfident, whil
many Of them are still distrustful o
the movement. 1t has been a rar
exception to find a broker OF the bette
class who asserts that he is doing muCf
If anything Without exception the
acknowledge that the market Is yer
strong, and that 1t has been yer
easv matter to advance prices, but the
all practically conclude their comment
bv saying. but there is no bushes
around, or II so we are getting non
of it," One rarely finds in Wall Stree
an opinion on anV subject more unlfori
than il is today. that the recent upblo
ding of prices has failed to arouse publ
| interest.
Maybe the public will come in II tn
movement Is kept up long enough, OF
the real test of the market, which II
wolves the ability of persons who haV
put up stocks to market them at hlghc
figures, has not yet been applied Som
brokers argue that such a test can onl
be made on a reaction. such as occurre
Yesterday. IT, for instance, on the az
cline in prices the public should sho
a disposition to nibble, brokers genel
allv would look for some expansion
commission house business. and perhaI
for a definite turn in the market. Til
is not rendered impossible by the fat
that the movement at its inception wa
manipulative and machine made, for, {
a matter of fact, no market ever e
Started except by precisely similar ta'
tics. II favored by conditions and II
nuhlic buys. manipulatiVe movement