The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-25
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Wall Street Disturbed by Def
mite Rumors of Business
Difficulty.
STOCKS DECLINE SHARPLY
Marked Expansion of Sales,
With Indications Of Impor-
tant Liquidation.
STOCKS DECLINE SHARPLY


when wall street activities were sus-
pended last night to-day's developments
were looked forward to with no little
uneasiness on account OF very definite
reports OF serious commercial difficulty
impending. II is no new thing for dis
turbng rumOrs to pervade the stock
market community to the accompaniment
OF selling pressure on the share list,
but yesterdays rumors were of q DIFF
ferent and more authentic variety. They
dealt with the embarrassment In which
very large and old mercantile concern
with extensive ramifcations was said to
have been placed by the increasing IL
mildly OF interior bankers who had been.
accustomed to absorb large quantity
Of its paper.
There had apparently been banking
conferences over tho affairs In question
which had arrived at no helpful con-
clusion. hut whether or not there was
chance OF preventing open difficulty could
not be learned wall Street would be
much relieved to fud that the situation
was one which lent itself to banking as
sistance and that aid had been rendered,
for IT was recognized late yesterday that
general conditions would. receive dis
quieting advertisement from any adverse
happenings of the kind mootcd.
The stock market was one of increa sing
weakness as the session progressed. The
selling movement which began on Tuesday
broadened and became heavier. and one
explanation after another was found for
It and abandoned Il was first attributed
TO the unfavorsble conclusions drawn
from the Interstate commerce decisions by
the supreme Court on Monday, combined
with the disappointment OF expectations by
tn" delay OF decision in the Eastern rate
case. These, together with the discourage
Ing political attitudes exhibited at WASH
nut fgttHrt a H,,..f
lief from further agitation at this time,
suiilced only temporarily TO account for
the action OF the market. II was next
assumed that because OF the concentrated
selling and rather substantial declines in
some OF the Eastern railroad shares
there had been leak respecting the In
'ersiato Commerce Commissions decision
iu the Eastern rate case. or at least that
professional bearish operations were being
conducted TO suggest this inference. on
such market the news that the
directors of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati.
Chicago and St Louis Railroad.
after having reduced the preferred
and common dividends three months ago.
had made a further reduction IN tho pre-
ferred dividend and had passed the dis
trhution on the common shares was a
distinct Influence for further depression
The way in which the selling went on.
however. indicated that II was coming from
other than professional speculative quar-
ters and seemed to denote liquidation
based on Information OF unfavorable con.
tiugences which shortly began to ex-
press themselves in the rumors already
referred to.
As these rumors became more empha tic
/ tho market increased in activity and
| weakness and the close was made prac.
/ ticaly at the bottom. with material losse.
/ all around. The volume of transactions
/ was more than double the average of re-
cent volumes for many weeks. A con-
/ spicuously unsettllng factor in the late
/ dealings was the sharp fall in the United
! Dry Goods preferred shares. ending in q
nominal quotation OF % bid. so asked.
SO circumstantlal did the late after.
noon rumors become that they finally
| Crystalliscd about a name which has beer
prominent for many decades and on'
than which there is none better known
throughout the commercial world. 1t wa,
| manifest from the guarded answers which
were returned to inquiries that banking
efforts were being directed TO a solution
OF the problem betokeued by these ru
mors and it was hoped that ways wouiC
be contriVed for saving the situation
At the same time the awkwardness OF thu
problem was implied by the concrete re
port that the liabilities involved reached
large aggregate.
Very little attention was engaged will
other aspects OF marketwise news. For
eign markets were obviously waiting ol
negotiations for new financing and Tn
turn of tho midycar Foreign exchang
was heavy and its action signihed tina
there was some reason FOR assuming tina
the gold export movement was PRACTICAL,
II not actually Mt an end. General busl
ness was reflected In the weekly review
OF the iron and steel trade. which re
ported that June buying In steel lines hat
been disappointing while prices were
more disappointing.