New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-31
REVIEW OF THE
STOCK MARKET
Securities DemOraliZed by
Germany'S UItimatum
to Russia.

the relations between the worlds great
centres for money were what they arc
now, or. even approximately like them.
Europe wanted money for war, or in
; the fear Of war. She would have IT,
4 and because the securities that mean
money could not be converted into
! cash in her own markets she has
poured them out upon ours and taken
our gold. Under the weight of such
tremendous and continuous Rlllng
from abroad result like that ~ yes
terday. when standard issues on the
New York Stock Exchange fell from
. 10 II points, was inevitable. Inc
prices reached OF the decline bore no
. relation to intrinsic values; but a
great deal is necessarily 10 be conced-
ed TO abnormal conditions.
The governing board OF the Stock
Exchange have rcsolutely set their
faces against the proposal to suspend
It's sessions. though such course
might find a justihoation There Is no
war IN this country, they say; IT y
duty 90 She public 10 keep open and
unrestricted the worlds sole remaining
great market. In that view they are
! supported by the banking community
generally.
There is no precedent for condition
such as this, but problems rs difficult
have been solved before by the leaders
in finance. The stock market here IS
not in the position cf the Continental
bourses. which have stopped business
for he time because there arc no buy
crs only wOuld-bc sellers. Prices
here are records of purchases, not
nominal quotations. SO long as that
condition exists the exchange will re-
main open. BY this time the bulk of
European selling must have been done.
B 4 favorable turn i'm the foreign politi-
Gel situation viii stop il altogether.
At the conference OF leading bank
crs and officials of the stock Exchange
! held last night the exchanges decision
was unanimously approved. Later IT
/ became known that Germany had
agreed 10 enter mediation conference
with England, France aud Austria a
+ big sep forward in the plan 70 Circum-
scribe the sphere of war, If not 70 end
the hostilities begun on Tuesday with
Austria's declaration of war on Servia.
Bankers in New York do MOI believe
that there will be a general European
war. II IS only Al the iIsistcnCc Of
+ their foreign CORES pOGdcIts that they
.
change bought at prohibtivc prices.
| Europe is paying dearly for the apprc-
/ tensions that have led her 20 with
/ draw her balances and sell her sccur-
( tiles; but there is no arguing with the
/ panic stricken. Yesterday sterling
cables were sold as high as 50 90 10 the
pound, while demand brought S. O5.
/ Franc checks, when they could be
Fa1o Of
y Is cents franc, though the mint
value of francs is only 1913 cents. and
cables we're at price equal to 22'2
cents franc. So much gold has gone
abroad OF the present movement, even
at The highest cost ever known for
shipments, that the Sub-Trcasury had
to draw on the Philadelphia mint'e sup
ply for an additional $10000,00O Yes
terday's engagements alone. mostly m
comparatively small lots, totallcd over
e7G00.OO0.
1t is yet too early for grain bills
against exports 70 be moving in vol
ume, though ultimately relief to the
foreign exchange market will come
from that source. For the present the
principal hope is in the belief that
Europe will speedily recover from its
nightmare of war and international
banking arrangements return to nor
nal. In that event the rebound Of our
money and security markets should be
great.
In the stock market yesterday the
recovery Of the day before was effaced
| by the opening prices. Losses Of
/ points or more were common through
out the list. A rally set in Immediately
afterward, but with European sales as
\ Ifa hD~ ,a@s LOT
/ Such news as there was from abroad
was depressing. Stocks continued to
sell of, but there was 10 demoraliza-
/ tion until around midday. As prices
got below the low levels Of the day be
/ fore the decline was accelerated and
/ by the middle of the afternoon the
trading was no less than panicky. Big
| buying orders failed to stem the tide
until just before the close of the mar
! ket, when there was sharp upturn in
many issues, but too late TO keep the
/ list from showing final losses ranging
from 3 to II points in representative
stocks
At their lowest prices of the session
stocks showed such losses as follow :;
Reading, 171s; Lehigh Valley, 1lls
Shelters, 1915; General Motors, %; In
tcrnational Harvester, 1894 $780, II;
Texas Company, 1917; Sears Roebuck,
144. The list Of standard securities
showing declines Of from to 10 points
/ included, among others: Canadian Pa
cifc, Northern Pacific, New York Cen
tral, Southern Pacific, ST. Paul, Union
Pacific, Amalgamated Copper, Steel
! Consolidated Gas, United States Rub
Der common, Utah Copper and Westing-
house. Sales Of stock for the session
totalled more than 100000 shares,
with transactions in Steel alone Of
around 100000
No one influence was responsible for
starting the generalization, though
/ Germany reported ultimatum to Rus
sia was the most potent single factor.
/ The rise of the Bank Of highlands dis
( count rate from 3 to ] per cent and
the Bank Of Frances from 81 to 4 z
was expected. but the action Of these
institutions, together with a drop OF
B British consols TO new low record at
69ia. all rejecting the absence Of OPP