The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-12-28
VAIL STREET LEFT
~
!: TO The PROFESSION
II
Burnt Child breads Fire, SO a
Scorclfed Public steers Clear of
Great Confidence Came
FEARFUL OF DEVELOPMENTS
S%rSset Doesn't Like to be Caught
Overnight With IL Much Stock
Aboard. so the Traders Buy in
Morning and sell in Afternoon.
tBy BRoADAN WABLl

New York. Dec. 27.--Today's mar
1t could be summed up very
Lefty by saying that the professional
b. aiding crowd bought in the morn
az and sold out in the afternoon
aying prices for the general list
~ little changed The public had
Jtning to do with the movement
lie way or the other. Outsiders we're
% badly hurt by the collapse of a
I eek ago to be drawn again easily
10 the Wall Street speculation.
~ Todays dealings bore the stamp
~ professionalism more plainly than
any time In the last few months.
market of less than 100000 shares
~ a dun market these days,
Narrow Speculation.
y Ii was very narrow speculation
18th ways, While traders were IN
e buying mood prices ran up easily
!. 10 points for tho war shares a point
the rails. Then when everybody
led to sell at once the demand sud
.-niy disappeared and the list fell
way as quickly as it had risen.
hose who make a business out OF
FALL Street 40 not care TO carry stock
ger night, especially where there is
81 posi- bility of bad news from Mex
o, or something happening IN what
. loosely called the international
4tuation." This accounts for the
,brupt slump that occur at the close
II day in which the early part is
~Ievoted to making higher prices.
Fear Carranxa's Next Move.
sF Wall Street was afraid that the de-
lay in Carranza' reply to the ATTAIN
sic City protocol meant that he would
..,efuse to accept the terms of the
agreement tor the policing of the Dor
Ter and that the Mexican situation
would again become acute. Stocks
III companies which have large inter
sssts at stake in Mexico were notice
ably weak. Also there was a renewal
~ liquidation In Maxwell Motors on
the idea that the opposition Of the
preferred shareholders which led to
the resignation OF a prominent official
~ the company a week ago, presaged
she passing Of the coming dividend.
Some OF the other motor shares sold
down in sympathy.
These weak points, developed at q
time when the trading element were
looking to sell, accelerated the after
noon decline, There was no real sig
nificance to the weakness at the close
which was purely superficial.
The most important feature of the
account, IN the immediate speculation,
was the lowering OF the call money
rate. tall loan renewals were fixed
ri 8 q per cent as against per
sent yesterday and new money was
ohtainable freely at 3 per cent This
reduction coming within forty eight
hours OF the time when preparations
for the huge January settlements
Z must he completed, was a very sig
,.aifcant happening. 1t showed Az
nothing else could show the change
n the temper of the banking commu-
nifty toward the stock market 1t
meant the lenders were again ready
10 put out their funds on Stock Elk
change collateral. whereas fort
night ago they had turned the cold
shoulder TO brokerage houses which
had only industrial stocks to offer as
collateral. II was interesting testi-
mony TO the artificial character of
the money furry IN the early part of
the month. 1t showed that the Is
per cent call rate was not due in the
least degree TO the state Of bank re-
sources, but was simply club to
make Wall Street spectators get out
Of :seir stocks
# Steel common was well taken all
DAY on limitations OF another extra
dividend TO shareholders in January.