The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-26

conservative borrowers are not quite SO
hungry as they were a little while ago.
Political and other disturbing factors
have eouded the future again with un-
Ioertainties and tend to make the nnan-
ciers cautious. Men who are entrusted
with the management of big business are
slow to incur additional huge obligations
unless they see their way clear to take
care of them New Indebtedness means
additional expenditures for interest ac-
count and the careful borrowers hesi-
tate to take on new burdens in the face
of doubts as to whether the promise OF
| increased income can be carried out. DIS
| appointing as it is, the admission must
be made that the promise of recent days
has been modified. In the opinion or
many who are, by position and standing
well equipped to form judgment.
The formal ending of the Turkish Bal
kan war was the occasion of two-day
rally in the stock market this week,
but the improvement did not hold. There
was no real vigor behind it, The adj
vance was caused principally by the buy
ing for account of the bear party whicn
felt it had oversold itself and had bet
ter take profits. The amount of this
profit taking was large, as the profess
sional elemtn and many quiet operators
of substance had gone short ana were
advantageously placed for a play Of that
sort 1t does not appear, however, that
the market situation was improved by
the rally. The short interest was cut
down to safe limits and there had been
comparatively little new buying. Despite
insistent publicity to the effect that tho
outside public had been absorbing good
stocks on large scale throughout the
decline, it is stated as a fast by those
in position to know, that the street is
saturated with long stocks-that the SELL
ing has been on a very much larger
aggregate scale than the buying. Prices
may be dragging on the bottom, as many
market students insist. but is is n cold.
unpleasant fact that to the average man
the prospect is not bright at this writ
ing.
Decision Disturbs Some Rich Men
A little paragraph appeared in the As
socated Press Tuesday morning which
has caused considerable uneasness
among the very richest element in Wall
street. 1T seems to have escaped public
notice, but the kings of high finance are
giving it a good deal Of thought. The
paragraph was to the effect that the
supreme court had handed down n de-
cision In an apparently unimportant case
appealed from the Louisiana courts in
which was enunciated the principal that
promotion" stock must be made good
to the treasures of the corporations from
which It had been taken--at par value.
The disturbing talk circulates through
Wall street that there may be a period
of enormous restitution of moneys ile-
gally extracted from corporation treas
uries by promoters and underwriting syn
dicates. 1t is recalled that among other
exploitations under this head was the
lifting of preferred and common stock
of the United States Steel corporation
by ]. P. Morgan and associates to the
amount of $l250O0,O00 for promoting the
company and making a market for its
81 900 100000 capitalization. This compul-
story assessment for promotion and tlota-
tion amounted to about 121a per cent Of
the entire capital and for 1t the company
received not one cent Over 1000, 900 of
this promotion money was distributed