The Washington times., 1912-03-10
FURTHER RALLIES ON MANIPULATION
WITHOUT AID OF PUBLIC BUYING
Conditions That Make
Little Steel Continues Make Excellent Speculative Leader
Larger General Distribution of the Market.
BY JOHN GRANT DATER.
Financial

corporations. is the very small margin
OF profits arising from business at the
present time. This is particularly true
or the steel industry and Of practically
all industries which depend largely upon
the purchases of railways. The late
evidence of this was presented i'm the
annual statement of the Railway Steel
Springs Company, the gross business of
which during the year fell from Sl0,035,-
435 to 81, ,160, 1876 or $3,S74, ,939. Net profits
were reduced S733,SS5 or from 81 ,95O,9OO to
M,2lIOlb, which is but three -tenths of
per cent for the common stock. To
what extent the Curtailment of buying
and the reduction of operating cost Of
railways reflects in the recent series of
railway disasters cannot be estimated,
but the financial district believes that
there Is some relation between the two.
Officers of banking institutions which
cater for commercial business, In con-
tradistinction to Wall Street business,
assert that reduced profits are fairly
typical of all business. and this adds to
the anxiety of the financial interests,
concerning the possibility of a general
coal strike. Fuel enters so largely into
the cost of manufacture that higher
prices for coal, long continued, might
reduce profits with many manufacturers
to the vanishing point. AS Is well
known. several of the independent steel
companies have been operating at no
profit at all, II not at actual losses, so
that in respect to them, reports of in
creased orders are rather heartsh than
bullish argument. The determining
element in all industry today is clearly
not volumes of business, but the prohts
that may be derived from business.
Encouraging Developments.
This subject is interesting at the pres
ent time because some persons are
predicating their belief in industrial re-
.la-. 70. s,o.,
steel, that being the barometric indus
try, but no one would place implicit con-
fidence in the reading of a barometer II
ii was known that the instrument was
not in good working order and was not
recording accurately. Surely II cannot
be dependent upon a volume of business
alone that economists and market OBJ
servers have come to regard the iron
, and steel industry as the barometer,
pointing the course of the other indus
tries, for as in the case of the Republic
Iron and Steel Company 1t is conceivable
that a manufacturer might be operating
to the limit of his capacity and getting
no more from the business than a
new dollar for an old one. That would
not point to prosperity. An increasing
volume of business combined with Gus
tomary or expanding profits from the
business would furnish that reading, ard
in all cases both volumes and profits
must be considered to obtain a proper
barometric record from iron and steel.
But bccaHse dealings were professional
and because many men thought the
market movement i'll advised. II is not
| to be inferred that the week was with
out encouraging Developments. There
were a number OF such. For instance.
the mill takngs of staple cotton i'm"
| proved. the surplus supplies of copper
showed a further material reduction.
and railway earnings made upon the
whole better showing than in the
preceding week, and. moreover, the
, number OF surplus cars was further
reduced. This latter feature, however.
| is regarded az an unCerain sign, owing
! to unfavorable weather which has called
| idle equipment into use. Today's re-
! port of the untitled orders of the u 'nitsd
States Steel Corporation were, to be
| sure, not up to expectation, but they
| il was not to have been expected that
| the brilliant showing for January would
| be repeated.
Money Market Firm.
The money market reflected frmer
conditions influenced by generally
higher discounts in Europe and renewed
gold exports from this country, the
latter amounting to &COOOOO. Bonds
continued rather slow of sale and this
market was somewhat unfavorably in
f1uenced by the reports of unsatisfac-
| tory results in London with recent Of
| ferng9 of our new securities. The bank
statement today was not UP to eXpcCta-
| ton, and the showing throws some light
on the tirmer money rates. Cash hold
ings decreased $6,523, 900. Loans expand
| ed Sl9.S71,00 and net deposits decreased
81, ,S0i, 900. \ loss in surplus reserve was
reported of $6433,0 600. The aggregate
surplus reserve now stands at $l6,3 500,
which is the lowest for long time past.