The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-17
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Dull stock Market, With Prices
Rather Heavy-Europe
q Seller.
NEW HAVEN PROBLEMS
COmpany's Affairs a Factor
Foreign Influences
Depressing.

\
stock market yesterday. The heaviness
was chiefly the result Of European i'm
pulses. Homo news was perhaps reflected
more In the restriction OF dealings than
In the price movement Following n de-
pressed range Of quotations for American
shares in London the Wall Street opening
| was little heavy. which was In itself
4 an abrupt change from the tendencies
\ manifested toward the end OF last week.
Rather active foreign selling went on In
the forenoon. and this established the pre-
valling price level for the day. when Eu-
! ropean dealings ceased business came al
most to standstill and the market
| drifted along 10 the close with only mar
row fluctuations except in some special
ties. Final figures showed an average OF
| decline for the session. but changes were
not marked in the list OF standard rails
and industrials and a few substantial
gains in special descriptions more than
| Offset the extreme losses. Carrying out
the indications OF speculative EFFORT Of
| an optimistic sort inspired by traditions
| of the season. there was conspicuous
display Of strength in some OF the agri-
| cultural stocks. Westinghouse and Ma
| tional Biscuit also rose sharply.
ON the declining side the Rock Island
collateral trust 4s continued under the Pc
| culiar pressure to which they have been
| subjected ever since the unfortunate and
| apparently uncalled for statement issued
more than week ago by the Rock Island
management. Attention was attracted TO
a lquidsting movement in the new South
ern Pacific convertible IS for which there
was no apparent explanation. Union
Pacific was not affected by the proposal
| In Congress to interfere with the COM
pany's projected distribution OF surplus.
presumably because such a plan OF special
legislation was too absurd TO count as Il
\ market influence. Canadian Pacific was
| depressed by the persistence OF foreign
selling. which comes largely from Berlin
Missouri, Kansas and Texas preferred
, broke TO a new low price to the accom-
paniment OF gossip about tho dividend
| prospects OF the shares and the position
| OF the Dutch holders OF American rail-
road issues.
New Haven declined again on the
dismal character OF the advices from
Washington over the week end about the
status OF the company's negotiations with
the Government. The stock rallied little
In the late dealings following the publi-
cation OF a statement by Senator Weeks
as to the representations which he had
made to President Wilson regarding the
distressed situation OF this property and
the Importance OF an early termination of
the Governmental uncertainties with
which its affairs are clouded. All the in.
dications are that the company has con-
! ceded everything which the Department OF
Justice has demanded in the way of a
dissolution. and has held out only for q
reasonable length Of time in which to
effect disintesration. II would seem that
the Governments insistence on speed in
his matter ignores too much the Difficult
ties involved In a forced sale OF property
even when good deal of leeway in re-
| spect to time Is allowed The New Haven
luff ,..Nt ....
with the relative stagnation OF the stock
market Wall Street has had enough
Illustration OF weak corporate positions
| lately to be apprehensive OF the conse-
auences which might attend further exhi-
billions of extreme debility.
\ Foreign adVices were not especially
clear as TO any particular cause for the
general heaviness OF the European stock
markets. Some uneasiness seemed to be
manifested over the renewed agitation Of
| International politics. The Paris position
could not be regarded as helped In any
way by the revival of militaristic pro-
pasandas on the Continent, but London
originated a good deal OF its own stock
market reaction. This was the result OF
the feeling that the Asquth compromise
IN the home rule programme had not done
| much to make the Ulster crisis less threat
ening. Some large new financing by the
Argentine Government was OF direct in
| s~sScs ~ wa outct DcCauBe OF Inc SuR-
| gestion which II conveyed, in relation with
| the strong tendencies of foreign exchsn
that gold might 10 from here to Argentina
| on London account. Demand sterling
ruled rather firmly around 1880. The
local money market was otherwise one of
| renewed ease
incidentally II Ii worth noting that tho
Comptroller Of the Currency's figures show
that the national banks In this city re-
porting conditions as Of March 4 lost
two points Of their reserve ratio, COM
pared with the January exhibit, and that
the reserve proportion. 1881. was below
tho ratio on April last year. The COM
parison deserves attention because of
some Intelligent expectations that aeri-
cultural borrowing requirements this
spring will he felt rather heavily In the
reserve cities next month.
More advertisement Of the Postmaster
Generals project for Government owner
ship OF telegraph and telephone lines was
a characteristic feature OF the Washing
| ton dispatches Mexican news continued
| to be alphabetically regarded. The Ad-
mlnistration bill for a Federal trades
commission received some approving COM
ment. but this was chiefly owing to its
| much more moderate scope as compared
| with the original proposals. Otherwise
the financial community Is of the convlc-
ton that the programme of business leg
| islation at Washington is a general mis-
take both from the economic and the
political standpoint. as the country has
| quite enough political achievement to d.
gest In the shape of last years legisla-
| ton.
Reports about steel trade conditions
provided material for good deal OF dis
cussion According TO Pittsburg the steel
trade has again lapsed into the dulness OF
last December. which was the most pro-
nounced In two or three years. The de-
scription refers to new ordering and not
to mill operations. which ape proceeding
at fair rate, Forward business is said
to have fallen so per cent. or more from
the scale OF contracts last month A dis
position was manifested to talk n little
about crop possibilities, but this was use
full chiefly as an Indication OF sentimental
hopefulness. The Chicago. Burlington
and Quincy sold 35.O0O.OOO of general
mortgage I per cent. bonds to bankers
nd fha Lake Gbora out nf traa, ,,r,, s,,..i,