The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-16
WALL STREETACTS
 SPECTATOR ONLY
Politics Does Not Affect
 Business Adversely
BOOM IN THE SOUTH
Wise Investors Are Every Day Put ting Their Money Into South
 ern Securities-Fine Out 2 look for Railroads
Rx ". c. NICHOLAS

bt Ms G. NtChOLAS
 New York. June .-(Speelal) Ut Is no sign of cowardice for a man to take shelter in his own house, lock the doors
 and shut the blinds when a riot breaks
 loose in his front yard It is merely a display of common prudence. It is no proof of courage to take reckless chances. By the same token wall street is not particularly afraid be- cause of the terrific row going on in Chicago, but it just feels like standing to one side until the head smashing is over and the victims are taken to the hospital or otherwise subdued into re- spectable quiet. There will be a stock market after the conventions are over and there is small probability that in- trinsic values will be seriously shaken by the political convulsions now in progress on the Chicago stage. Rail- roads will continue to increase their tonnage. just as much iron ore will be reduced to steel product as before. just as much copper will be mined, Just as much corn. wheat, cotton, hay, po- tatoes, spring onions and Boston baked beans will be produced as though Taft and Roosevelt had never been heard Of. Ninety million Americans will con- unue to eat drink. wear clothes, go to bed and wake up just as they did before the conventions were thought of
 nevertheless, the markets have halted pending political action at Chicago and Baltimore, just as precaution against damage by stray missiles that might be nylng about. In the role of an inno- cent spectator Wall street does not in- tend to be shot to pieces or Drained by a casual club. Which may be described as wisdom on the part of Wall street. There have been fluctuations in prices and occasionally a break or a rally that made people sit up and take notice put after all, nothing really important In the making or unmaking of various took place. As a general proposition, conditions are fairly comfortable. There IS a superabundance of surplus capi- tal awaiting opportunity for safe and profitable investment and also for the development of the nations surpassfng resources. Just for the moment a Con- gress committee Is poking interroga- ton points into the vitals of the money tlust. somewhat to the discomfort of leading financiers but no real harm has been inflicted. New York is the great magnet that attracts surplus money of the United States. and 1t is to New York that people go for the cash and credit with which to extend old businesses and build up new enterprises The New York stock exchange is the leading market for the buying and sell ing of securities. Listings of stocks and bonds on this one exchange an proximate close to $35,000. 100000, and IL Is to that market that everybody goes who has securities for sale or who wants to buy some. Nothing that is now happening or likely to happen can seriously cripple such a market Some of tf@4 x.~, f4<,-.- |
 flied, but that will all be for the good There is quite likely to be purihcation in the stock exchange and Wall street That, however, does not mean distruc- ton.
 The Pujo committee to bust the money trust is making some very curious moves. It has either fallen into the hands of a group of notorious specula tors. or else the speculators have an uncanny knowledge of what the com mittee is going to do. In several cases lately, gossip mills have flooded inc street with reports of intended com n:ittee action, with the plain purpose in view of influencing the stock market. One day this week 1t was given out that the committee was about to subpoena officials of the First National bank, and the principals and brokers in several speculative campaigns supposed to have been managed by the capitalists espe- cially favored by that great fiscal in stitution. Simultaneously drive was made at the stocks which this group had been identified, namely. Reading. Lehigh Valley and American Can. The raid was sharp and decisive, and caused a break of ? to Sh points in the stocks especially attacked, and a sympathetic break of 1 to points in the general list Partial recovery fol- lowed. but the great mass of operators were concerned neither in the bulge nor the break. Instead of being proved to he mere surface disturbance. Tom Lawson of Boston probably had large hand in the raid, as he had series oflI full page follow up" advertisements the awful things that were about to befall the stock market and the nation. The predicted cataclysm has not yet engulfed the continent. At last accounts the nation was quite nifty
 It has become quite the fad once more for important people to stand for in the newspapers and Wall street publications on the state of busi- ness. Whenever particularly conspic-