Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-04
WALL STREET MEN
SEEING LEAN DAYS
Brokers Forced to Trim Both
Office and Household
Expenditures.
ON THE ANXIOUS SEAT
AS TO WILSON'S PROGRAM
Serene Assurance Of a Little While
Ago Seems to Have
DISAPPEARED.
By w, g. NICHOLAS.

By w. 9. NICHOLAS.
. NEW YORK. January s.-The stock
market Is in q tumble. One day prices
advance: the next day there is another
little ascent and then for two or three
days IN succession fractions are added
to the previous improvement. The next
action is fractionally up and down. Ri
val leaders in the battle try to convince
themselves and others that a settled
trend is at last on. The argument is
that deviations therefrom are trivial.
At the end Of a week or a month COM
parsons show Insignificant net change
Rallies Of two to five points are lost. and
then the drift is definitely reactionary
once more There have been two or
three days in succession lately when the
market was going excitedly through an
evening up" process-the oversold shorts
and the overbrought longs closing their
accounts, the contestants taking small
profits or paying small losses. Four out
Of five brokers and spectators have been
terly there has been a curtailment of
expenses in every quarter.
Office and house expenses have been
whitfield to the lowest level. Not in years
have times been so hard in Wall street.
and there was probably never less valid
excuse-that is, visibly valid-for con-
traction than now. right now. the
country Is in reality about as rich as
ever, but there is a deluge Of nervous
cowartiice. Politics IS at the bottom of
the demonstration.
Resent Outside Interference.
Men Of affairs. usually accounted
courageous to the limit, pull in their
horns and declare they will do nothing
until they are permitted to run their
own business free from outside inter-
ference. Down to recent date the giant
business organizations fought for the
maintenance Of their independence. "Sur-
render Is now the word and the erst-'
while leaders Of industries and finances
go to their knees to compromise diff
ferences, always at the expense of pride
and independence.
Humiliation has displaced the AFRO
gance of rule. Hundreds of rich men
have withdrawn from further active
participation in business. Many of them
have retired at heavy sacrifice. They
have enough to live on and they feel
they would show total loss of Judgment
If they did not safeguard their own fu-
ture and the future of their families, re-
CARELESS of everything else.
This is situation that confronts every
big community. The sense Of imminent
conflscation is a dominant feature. To
the timid and nervous the very thought
of the coming experience is like the i'm
age Of a monster ogre-savage and I'M
relenting. While this diseased state of
mind pervades business and society it
Is small wonder that confidence is slow
in re-establishment. and that property
values are uncertain. The broad ex-
perience through which the population
Is passing is a phase of evolution. 1t is
a novelty Of strange proportion and un,
forecast Of the wisest men is Of little
more value than the speculations of in
fants.
Trying to Guess President.
Curiosity again intensifies over the ex-
act lines of President Wilson's attitude
toward trusts and aggregations of capt.
tai. Wide difference of opinion is being
voiced in every quarter as to the exact
meaning OF several of his written and
spoken expressions, and the citadels of
stern confidence in his inf1exibility are
bending The softening of values has
been attributed largely to renewed loss
Of confidence in the stability of the
Washington center political power. The
President has almost supernatural gift
of giving his utterances an angelic tenor
when emergencies arise suddenly to con-
front him or place him in an awkward
situation.
He made his point with adroit clever
ness in the message at the regular open
ing Of Congress and the whole country
rose on its feet with wild acclaim. Since
that occasion blind confidence has soften
ed and a very considerable percentage of
worshipers are amending their en-
thusiasm. Not all of them are con-
Tossing they may have made mistake
in subscribing without amendment to the
pledge to blend in peaceful union the
several factions. without regard to pre-
vious political hostilities. The language
and the ideas were looked upon as fault.
less and as foreshadowing glorious
climax, to which every patriot could give
non-partisan loyalty.
Within the week there has been q de-
cided change of front in several con-
spicious spots, and the sturdy old partl-
sans once more stand ready to advocate
a prolongation of delay in agreeing to 4
supposedly faultless program. This new
condition has already shaken values. to
the great rage of multitude Of SUBJ
stantial citizens who had wrought them
selves into a state of felicity over the
Wilsonian proclamation Of near future
good will Of a disgruntled multitude.
That the strictly loyal following can be
easily swayed back into harness is the
belief Of many in Wall street.
Information in Bales.
The Washington cynic writes to a Wall
street friend, mixing it up in this
fashion: I'm response to the demand of
the interstate commerce commission for
data upon which to base freight rate con-
illusions, fifty eastern railroads prepared
and forwarded everything bearing on the
subject. 1t took 1000 clerks six months
and cost $1,OOO.0O0 The commissioners
wanted full details-everything touchin'
on and appertainin' to the subject. The
reports began coming in-not in neat
packages. but in large bales that threat
ened to burst through the walls of giant
warehouses. One system. and not the
largest one at that forwarded nearly two
carloads the consignment including
about 100000 separate documentary and
card forms in a single assignment. At
the outset the problem was simple. The
public was never more unitedly in favor