The Washington times., 1912-04-28

NEW YORK, April 2S.-With the re-
sumption OF business on Monday, the
| stock market disclosed q disposition to
| free itself from the influences of the IT.
| tanic disaster, which had so depressed
| sentiment as to restrain the operations
| Of the preceding week; and before the
| end of the interval under review, so far
| as speculation was concerned, the
dreadful catastrophe had become a mat
ter of history. This, as was pointed out
| a week ago, Is the usual course with
| events of this general character; but the
present market has been so peculiar,
| and markets are such creatures of SEN
timent, that many shrewd observers
had expressed a doubt of the ability Of
, the leaders to take up a movement at
| the place It left off, when once its con-
tinuity had been disturbed and general
interest had been diverted.
| But the course of events showed quite
| clearly that there was no occasion for
| any uneasiness concerning the plan or
program of the leaders AS soon as
| II was possible to do so the old special
| ties were trotted out and put through
| their PAGES, while some new ones
| strange stocks in some cases, whose alb
| breviations and characters, when print
| ed on the tape, are unfamiliar TO
nine out of every ten Wall Street men
were groomed for the race and put
| through n sort OF preliminary canter.
| While specalties were being whipped
| into activity and were being marked up
all along the line, the standard railway
issues were virtually left to themselves
and with the exception of Reading made
| little progress. In the end, however,
railway shares, or rather Reading
shares, became the center of all inter-
| est.
A Stock Market Problem.
Wall street found an occasion again
| during the week to ask the question, Of
| ten propounded but never satisfactorily
answered. why should the elimination
| or removal of a possible disturbance,
| which might have had harmful infu-
ence but which has had no influence at
| all, stimulate securities? For instance,
| the increasing activity and strength of
| the market were explained, generally,
on the ground of the impending settle
ment of the anthracite coal strike and
the submission of the differences between
| the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi-
neers and the Eastern railroads to an
arbitration, with every probability that
I a
| averted.
| Now, there can be no doubt in any
mans mind that these are favorable
| happenings. but the mystery of their
| market Influence centers in the fact
| that neither the one ror the other of
| these things had any adverse influence
| on stock prices. 1t was noted, for In
| stance, IS one of the peculiarities of the
ma RI IL
| ignored the then serious aspect of the
| threatened railway engineers strike,
while so far as the anthracite coal
strike and the bitumnous coal lockout
are concerned, they started a north
ago. The market has been moving up
ever since and it has been acted again
and again, that prices were ADVANCING
in the face of adverse news and happen
inGs, and the coal strike and the labor
situation were always cited as among
the unfaVorable things, which the
| market had cast out of its reCkonincs.
Higher Wages, Higher Rates.
Highly gratifying as 1t is, to have one
strike settled and another averted, II
is really difficult, considering the ad-
| Nancing tendency Of the market
throughout the pending of the difficulty,
| TO discover wherein these develop
ments themselves furnish a basis for a
stimulation of the general security list.
Moreover If the current Wall Street ad-
vices are correct, the mine workers ap-
! pear to have won a moral victory, re-
| celVing fiat 10 per cent advance in
! wages and an indirect recognition of the
United Mine Workers Union. If this.
then, is the bass of iubilation in Wall
| street. 1t may not re viewed in the same
light by manufacturers and household
crs' and other consumers of coal, who
| can count with reasonable certainty
! upon having to pay the increase
| The argument commonly advanced IN
| Wall Street, in explanation of why tho
arbitration of the difficulty between the
railways and the engineers, is a bull
| argument, works out along much the
same lines. Starting with the assump.
| ton that the arbitrators will favor
some Increase in wages, this they assert
| must result In an advance in railway
rates. Such, or course, may even be
| the outcome. for everyone knows that
the cost OF living is very high and this
constitutes very powerful argument,
with union, In asking for a wage in
crease and moreover, the chief of the
| Brotherhood of Locomotive engineers
| is very anxious that the country should
| have an object lesson" of the dire
calamities which may befall us if rail
way freight rates are not advanced.
Prosperity and Higher Cost.
If Wall Street is building its hopes
on some such general theory as this
that advances in wages will force ad-
vances in rates, and later on advances
In dividends, it may be doubted If the
progression will carry that far. Rail.
roads deal with other unions besides
the Brotherhood of Locomotive EN-.
Gineers, and If this body is successful
In its demands, it is not very difficult
to foresee what is likely to follow with
the other unions, and there is not apt
to be very much of a surplus left over
from one freight rate advance, after
various brotherhoods of conductors and
freight and passenger train crews and
shOpmen and others formulate demands
for increases based upon the presump.
tive success OF the locomotive en-.
gineers
Labor is we'll worthy of its hire, and
n laF - =