The Washington times., 1912-09-08


holiday, and although prices rallied
thereafter, the recovery was q half
hearted affair. and 1t was not fully
maintained. Taken all in all, the per-
formance was unsatisfactory to bulls
and bears alike, for there was not
enough play in the movements to make
trading operations profitable, except
perhaps for a limited number of pro-
fessionals, speculating in a few highly
manipulated specialties. The general
character Of the trading may be>in-
ferred from the fact that on Friday,
Mexican Petroleum, a stock practically
unknown as 1t has been listed barely
more than four months. lead all others
in point Of activity with issues like
steel, Union Pacific, Reading, and Anal
gamatad Copper limping along far in
the rear.
There may be. great value, present or
prospective. in this new leader, but you
cannot expect the rank and file OF the
Street to become highly enthusiastic
over a market in which the country's
great representative properties langulsh
and an untried and undistributed spe-
cialty vs. manipulated to the fore. Nat
urally the inactivity Of the standard is
sues was regarded as a reflection Of the
publics attitude toward the market,
which Is clearly of do nothing char
acter. Upon this point commission
house brokers were practically unani-
nous, and that the almost complete es-
toppage of public buying Is due to some
thing more than an impending holiday,
which was the excuse given In the pre-
ceding week, was shown by the failure
of business to expend during this inter-
val.
Favorable Factors Neutralized.
To other than professional traders,
there should be announcement In the
fact that II outside interests show no
disposition to purchase stocks. they as
suredly give no indications Of desire
to SELL Aside from bonds. there was
nothing which looked like real hqul--
dation and probably 80 per cent OF the
weeks business originated on the moor
of the Exchange itself. That this should
be the situation Is quite disheartenlng
in view of the highly optimistic reports
of Astounding crops. and improving IN
dustrial conditions, but 1t is quite clear
that all the many favorable basic tac-
tors are neutralized and rendered IN
operative, so far as securities are con-
cerned by political uncertainties and the
increasing tension in the money market.
But for these restraints, wall street
would probably witness a bull STOCK
market; as 1t is, II can DO no more
than bide its time and wait Tor the
passing of the clouds. ,o,a to, =.
There are always two essentials Tor
sustained forward movememdt d III abSuSant ]
money. At this time. Wall street pos
sc sses neither, but 1t should be porne
in mind that the problem OF the present
money market arises o4I No.. %, Psoepesn fs np snr-
plus available for stock speculation up
on an extended scale, simply because
the farmer and the manufacturer ana
the merchant requires r ms 1nSttiIn, monHy TO TO
business purposes. or the two, the
money problem will be the easiest
solved; in fact 1t will solve itself with
the marketing Of the crops and the re-
lease of the funds. One cannot as
readily see the outcome of the politlcal
campaign, nor IL 1t at all certain that
the unsettlement and the disturbance
TO confidence will pass with the count
ing Of the ballots in November.
Political Consideration.
From the Wall Street view point, the
Vermont election, despite the large vote
| cast for Colonel Roosevelt, has deter
mined nothing, but the prevailing opln-
| ion Is that the outcome foreshadows
Governor Wilson's success, and the I'M
| pression now Is that the election In
Maine on Monday will give an added
| confirmatio of this. Although num-
her of very prominent fnanciers have
| come out strongly In their Endorsement
| of the Democratic nominee, the Street
as a whole sees nothing Of a buDish ma
| ture in the possibility Of his election
| 1t is scarcely to be expected that II
should, in view of the demagogic at
tacks on leading financiers in particular
| and upon Vail Street In general at the
! Baltimore Convention, and the extreme
| radicalism of the platform upon which
| the New Jersey governor Is running.
| Naturally the increasing prominence
| of the tariff issue in the campaign rem
ders the Street restiye, in consequence
| of the many protected industries, repre-
| sented by industrial corporations which
| may be affected by the outcome. The
| elimination Of the element of protection
| in framing new tariff, according tc
the Democratic platform, would. in the
| event of the success of that party, have
| a direct influence on the shares of In
| Vulnerable companies listed on the EX.
| change, and the rank and file in Wal
| Street Is slowly appreciating the fact
| Aside from that, the results IN Ver'
mont, by which through lack Of a ma
| jority for any one candidate, the selec'
ton of the governor is left to the legis
| lature, suggested a similar possibility
in the outcome of the Presidential elec
ton in November. Attention given tC
matters such as these unquestionably
contributed a great deal to holding the
market in check during the week.
Improving Railway Earnings.
The marked contradictions in the gen.
eral situation. to which attention has
already been directed, have been. II
anything, more pronounced In recent
days than in the past, and 1t Is really
refreshing to turn from a consideration
OF the security market. as the majority
of men in Wall Street see 1t. to the gen
eral harvest and industrial situation
Upon the one hand is inactivity anC
foreboding while on the other Is activity
and cheerfulness. At the very time tha
Wall Street was deepest sunk in de
spondency, during the week. the news
bulletins and page printers in all brok
ers Offices were supplying Information
bearing upon crops. basic industries
railway operation. and the like, of {
highly favorable character.
In no respect was this more pro
nounced than in the matter of railwa,
earnings, and In this particular ther,
was basis Of comparison between pas