Evening star., 1913-03-02
BARGAIN BUYERS ARE BUSY
Improved Feeling Pervades the
Financial Interests.
SPRING SELLING ABOUT OVER
Investors Picking Up Good Divi-
dend-Paying Securities-New
Industries Have Hard Time.
BY w. G. NICHOLAS.

NEW YORK. March 1.-The stock mar
ket has found it's feet They may slip
back into the mud but for the time be-
ing it looks as though the foundation is
becoming substantial. Banks have gone
through a thorough housecleanng and
have weeded out an enormous mass of
doubtful or undesirable collateral That
makes them feel better and their change
in front has impaired a more cheerful
feeling to the street. 1t is not meant by
this notation of improved feeling on the
part of the financial interests that the
situation has suddenly become bullish,
for such is not the case. The theory is
more widely held. however. that the
worst has been done. that prices have
struck bedrock or will do so soon, and
that investment on large scale is likely
soon to be resumed by that wise contin-
gent known as bargain hunters They
have been picking good many securi
ties on the last break in prices. and while
not greedy are still feeding their strong
boxes with stocks that look good to them
No guarantee goes with purchases even
at these low figures. but the situation be-
comes attractive to men with money
when dividend earning and dividend pay
ing stocks of good repute yield 51a to 8
per cent on the investment. AT current
prices Steel common yields s per cent
Union Pacific and Lehigh Valley. 6ls per
cent: Smelters. Atchison and Topeka and
Baltimore and Ohio. g per cent Anal
gamated Copper. per cent: Reading. >
per cent; Chesapeake and Ohio. per
cent; Brooklyn Rapid Transit. 5is per
cent, and Norfolk and Western. 5s4 per
cent. The display on the bargain counter
has not been as attractive for long
time.
Politics, the Mexican revolution for
eign finances and Mr.. Morgan'S health
have been the main topics discussed this
week having market influence. 1t has
been. in a way. more of a political mar
ket than anything else. Attention has
been largely concentrated on Washington
and Albany.
With regard to Washington. it may be
said that with the near approach of a
new administration nervousness over the
coming event is passing away. Those
who claim to have seen copies Of the
Wilson message say that it's claws are
neatly trimmed and its teeth those of
domesticated pasture-fed animal and not
those of the ferociOus, blood hungry
monster of the jungle. In Albany they
grow fangs and their claws are sharp
and crooked. The Washington influence
is nationwide. In Albany they insist
that the issues are localized to Wall
street and the stock exchange.
Sulzer an Exchange Menace.
Stock exchange members are in a state
of semi-panic over the crusade that is
being waged against them under the per-
sonal direction of Gov. Sulzer. They have
about made up their minds that some
thing is going to happen and that they
will have to submit to severe discipline
at the hands of the lawmakers. What
seems to hurt them worse Is the move
to increase the transfer tax on stock GER
tificates from 50 to 81 per hundred shares
making a difference Of possibly $S,OOO.OOO
a year in the tax on brokerage. If this
step is taken by the state legislature
determined effort will be made by the
fighting element in the organization to
move over to Jersey City and do the
improvised to beat the New York state
tax altogether. The plan has many sup
porters. Strange to say, the political up
lifters at both Washington and Albany
have been singularly blind to alleged
abuses in the practices of the stock ex-
change of listing untried stocks for COM
missions and interest.
Surely a mighty ''organizati ton whose
ncessant boast is the lofty honor of it's
association and its 1000 members would
spectators. Oh. no. Some of the deals
put across under the auspices of and
with the active cooperation and indorse-
ment of the exchange have been fright
campaign being the exploitation of the
public on the occasion of the steel trust
promotion.
Insiders, who openly admitted that the
billion dollar share capital was nearly all
wind and water. hastened to sell their
allotments. They banked SJO0,OOO,OOO to
$I0o.COO.OOo and left the public to carry
the load. 1t proved too heavy, and in
less than year the dry panic of
1903 set in. causing shrinkage in prices
amounting literally to billions of dollars
paralyzng industries and running a multi
tude of innocents. The wild extrava-
gances traceable directly to the steel and
kindred ventures is claimed to have
caused the panic of 1907.
With delicate sensitiveness, the various
investigating committees have steered
away from that greatest of all Wall street
performances. The big rich directed the
stock market on that OCCASION and the
stock exchange participated in the profits
II was the most spectacular financial
massacre in history. 1t is in the power
of both Congress and the New York
legislature to put stop to the possibility
Of future repetitions.