The sun., 1916-12-16
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Heavy Declines in Scores of
Industrial Stocks, Espe.
cially War Brides.
RAILS CONTINUE UPWARD
Banking and Brokerage Posi-
tons Strong After Week
Of Falling Prices.
RAILS CONTINUE UPWARD

Loans made yesterday carry over to
Monday. In that most important re-
spect Of operations in the securities mar
kcts the week ended yesterday. It ended
comfortably. according to reports from
all he big banks and all the big broker
age houses. call money touched 9 per
cent. but the prevailing rate was 4 per
cent, which Is lower than tina Of most
previous days OF the week. Over the
year money could be had at 5 per cent.
on all industrial collateral and at ~
per cent. on half and half. The big
banks were looking Tor six months loans
on all Industrial envelopes Mt 8 per cent.
and on mixed collateral at 81, per cent.
The brokerage position was rs strong
az the banking position. 1t was the
consensus in all Of the banks which loan
heavily on Stock Exchange collateral
that not a breath Of suspicion should be
directed against any Stock Exchange
house or that any rumor had been cir
culated regarding the s%olvency OF any
Arm of Stock Exchange membership.
The ease OF money and the strength Of
the banking position in a week OF mar
ket declines was extraordinary. A soli-
darity in the brokerage business defying
the most desperate bearish criticism was
more remarkable still.
Declines In scores Of Industrial stocks
were heavy. Thousands of SPECTATORS
the country over lost a great deal Of
money. The wire houses in the morn
ing closed out thousands OF ~ccounts for
interior customers. The war shares
came back closer to the point Of begin
ming. but was taken from the
spectators In these shares had been
taken from the market and u of no
consequence whatever as affecting the
progress and prosperity in general bust.
ness.
The banking community has little in
terest In the fluctuations Of those indus.
trial shares which before the war were
thought Of by nobody. and which since
then may or may not have acquired
equities for the stockholders. The bloom
is on the war brides. Hereafter the
stock market and the bond market are
not likely to be much bothered about
them either way.
Seasoned railway shares advanced
steadily and impressively. while chaos
continued in the market for the wat
stocks. Atchison. Baltimore and Ohio
Chesapeake and Ohio. Rock Island, Den.
yer preferred. Great Northern. Louis.
willie and Nashville. Reading. Southern
. ~ ScutVtIu INdltWdy COIlIIIUu dUO
preferred and Union Pacific made gains
on the day. while Pennsylvania broke
even. whatever losses were sustained
In other railroad stocks were only frac,
tional. The trend to tried and true
securities WAS not strong enough to in
duce heavy buying Of the standard d&vi
, dend paying rails. There WAS little o.
the speculative buying that seeks a auicl
turnover. but enough of It TO show som,
safe and sane speculation.
Houses with lively Western wires ha,
a big break in wheat as we'll as the breal
In stocks to think about. These housei
have more difficulties in communicating
with their customers than do the house.
In Wall street. whose customers may b,
| called up at once by telephone. Tn,
Western wire houses sent out notihca
tions on grain as well as stock commit
ments. and II took them longer to re
ceive responses.
Many OF the responses were. OF course
to the effect that customers could pay n,
more. and at the same time there was
shifting Of accounts from wheat to stock
m stocks to wheat. The same impulse
though. from cotton to stocks and vic
versa. has affected both the secnritie
and the commodities markets OF tn,
week. In times Of tight money such a
has accompanied every other big declin
in stocks those movements would hav
been embarrassing this week they oc
casioned nc trouble whatever.
In grain. cotton and stocks the entir
trend has been toward a wholesom
liquidation. 1t has been a liquidation
which has strengthened the structure o
the market for securities. by the sam
token. according to Dun's ReuicW. tn
liquidation has exerted a beneficial In