Evening star., 1915-11-21
FINANCIAL-LOCAL AND OTHERWISE.

| terday. not with positive pressure of
the market. but with every fractionaI
advance 1t would be peddled ous. rms
action was also noticeable in Reading
and some other standard rails. and the
| wonder was that this selling was ab-
sorbed without breaking values. a..
/ though 1t did check a rising movement
without much effort.
! The New York stock market Is now
two-sided. Pyramiding Of profits has
ceased. and the speculator fortunate
enough~to have profit in sight doesnt
| wait long before gathering 1t in.
| Very frequent fluctuations are seen in
the industrial list and will be continued
for some time to come Bellef IN enor-
nous profits on munition orders has
i faded away: belief in great prohts on
motor stocks. at "A time when the
| prices are being slashed and Install
ment selling is being inaugurated. calls
for more credulity than the average
trader has left-after the severe de-
clines from the high of few weeks
| ago.
From this time on it will be necessary
] to make declarations in earnings and
dividends: hearsay will play less i'm
| portant part.
| The banking fraternity killed the big
goose on which brokers were making
much money and clerical help was SUI
fering in keeping pace with the game
when the "war- brides were discrimi-
| mated against
| In two weeks Congress will open and
/ the debates there will surely have an
| effect on Wall street.
Henry Clews' Views.
it will have twofold effect" says
| Henry Clews. AT first 1t would mean
| a prolonged demand upon the United
States for war materials and food
products, such as has been experienced
| for the past six months. Temporarily
we should gain by such result, but
! eventually we should lose by a long
war and it would be dangerous self
deception to expect that the United
States could permanently profit by a
struggle ended only by exhaustion AL
| though this country will undoubtedly
feel the harmful effects of the war less
| than any other. and will actually bene-
fit in some respects, we cannot hope to
avert the reflex action of destruction of
millions of men and billions of prop
erty, the present cost of the war being
at the rate of about $4,000, 100000 a
year. When the war is over we may
secure some temporary advantage by
rials. etc. to fill the gap until the
devastated regions are able to supply
themselves; but subsequently our ex-
ports must be affected adversely by an
inevitably diminished buying power of
all the belligerents. AS to imports, 1t
is hardly likely there will be such ex-
tensive dumping as feared, for the
simple reason that Europe will have
little surplus for export, and for some
time after the war labor in the bellig-
erent countries will be largely drawn
into reconstruction work, while the
wastage of capital must restrain for
eign enterprise for years to come. Fol-
lowing the war severe struggle for
recovery of the worlds markets must
be expected between Germany and
Great Britain. That contingency, how
ever, is some distance away. and dur
ing the interval the United States has
foothold in foreign markets, which 1t is
not overlooking and which il properly
developed will be an important outlet
for our rapidly expanding industrial
energies.
Evidently, therefore, a prolonged war
will have both it's gains and its losses
for the United States. Should the war
come to an earlier end than expected,
especially in view of rumored peace
movements. the results would be vastly
better for us than it's continuance"
Interesting Comment.
Commenting on the future of interest
levels and the readjustment now In the
making. Messrs F'lather, Moorhead &
Elmore have prepared a digest, covering
every phase Of the situation at home
and abroad, from which the following is
taken:
lie lendemain de la guerre.' as our
French friends have 1t, or literally trans-
lated, the aftermath of the war; may
open up most interesting perspectives in
regard to the American investment mar
kets. 1t is now conceded by all Of us
that Europe in the coming years is going
to have an entirely different interest level
than 1t has been accustomed to. The high
prices of commodities from which the
European countries are suffering, and
some Of which are due entirely to tempo
rary circumstances. which will disappear
as by magic when peace will be with us,
will generally continue (be it in different
extent). They will not entirely disap-
pear until all the infationary aspects Of
the situation. now in evidence on all sides,
have been eliminated. The time is gone,
generations, that British consols should
net less than per cent, or that the
French rentes should return a yield OF
only fraction over that percentage.
1T goes without saying that all of
the security markets of Europe will
have to adjust themselves to this new
interest level. that is already in the
making.
effect of the European war upon the
future interest level in this country.
There already is too much specula-
tion on that subject. We may. per-
inclined to believe that the spurt in
fixed interest-bearing values which
we have witnessed of late, although
fully justified in regard to high-class
railroad bonds. is going at too rapid
a pace. There has. of course. been
going on OF late an extensive investing
In fixed interest-bearing securities Of
profits made in the stock market, and
50 long as the present movement lasts,
this process will likely continue.
The sensible man who makes money
In stocks overnight these days. rather
than trusting his financial acumen and
patting himself on the back because
he is such an excellent fnancier invests
these profits in funds which are
mortgage on the properties themselves
He thereby very wisely passes the risk
incident to all stocks over to the next
fellow, the very last of whom will in
evitably have to stand the brunt and
the loss of the final breakdown, when
1t comes. as 1t surely will.
'The only thing we pray for Is that
banking, ,sagaeity and common sense on
the part Of the public will prevent a
| would be brought about, and the ele-
| ments of it are readily discernible, a
| tremendous crash cannot fail to be ex-
perienced after some time. This will
probably happen at the conclusion of
the European war. If 1t will not be d.
rectly brought about by the peace then
| to be arrived at. This will certainly
| be a most unfortunate time for such a
calamity.
FOR the present. however. we see
nothing but increased activity in stock
and bond markets. and in our indus
tries. and 1t would be against human
nature II we would not make the hest