The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-10-21
lERI0NE IN WALL
street WANTED STEEL
~ Market Favortte Closed Almost
At the High Record
Yesterday.
2eOT WORRYING OVER ELECTION
1T Banking Interests Do Not Believe
II Matters Much TO Business Who
n Elected President in the Coming
Election.
By BRoADAN WALL

New York. October 20.--Everyho body
4 n Wall Street wanted United States
Dteel today ard the result was a rise
! OF 4 points The close was at almost
IT. high record, with buying in ire
mendous volume, Business on the
Exchange was about a million and a
4 half shares and Of this Steel furnished
fully one-tourth, Other stocks were
strong. hut Steel overshadowed every
thing.
Much Of the markets strength Is
due to the fact that the general pub
He that was shaken out by the Ger
man submarines last week has not
Tepurchased. The big people, realiz-
ing that nothing OF basic Importance
has happened. bought stocks on the
break and have been buying them
ever since. They know that the price
OF stocks have not discounted the
imports OF gold. not 20 speak OF the
tremendous earnings.
Don't Care Who Is Elected.
Another reason for the strength Of
the market is the firm conviction on
the part of leading bankers that it will
matter very little to the country from
. business point OF view who Is elect
cd President. p The most serious Of
Tense of President Wilson, according
70 Wall street is his surrender to
The eight-hour day bin, But as this
new law really ties the labor unions
tighter than It does tho railroads
there is a good deal Of comfort even
In that.
Aside from Steel, wheat was the
star performer with another series Of
new high records. Cotton hung
profit-taking.
Suga rs Up Again.
Sugar was UP again and the sugar
stocks followed its leadership. Cuban
Cane gained nearly four points and
American Beet Sugar sold at par
" Motors were active, the Studehaker
IN leadership, United Motors on tho
curb moved N sympathy with the in
side motors.
Paper stocks distin guished them
selves again but the profit taking in
this class vas unusually heavy. Quo
tations suffered in consequence.
Realizing in the paper shares is apt
10 be very heavy from now on.
Marines were strong but without
any news, One report said that di-
srectors Of the International Mercau-
tile Marine would meet next Thurs
day to consider the dividend on the
preferred. Another report was that
the company Itself was behind the
recent break in the stock and was
buying the preferred in order TO re-
duce the dividend payments. AS Ma
rine preferred is worth $50 figured
on the current method of valulng
stocks. such a purchase would be
good business
Much buying was seen in the list
Of railroads undergoing reorganization
or Just through 1t. some rare bar
gains are yet to be picked up in this
department of market Wabash and
the new per cent bonds OF Missouri
PacIfic were fayorites today,
Public Ignored Rails.
Rails were ignored by the general
public but this pleased the insiders
who picked them up in large volume
Without competition. Union Pacific
Reading and the New York Central
were particularly in demand. for in
ali of these i'm portant developmen ts
arc pending. AS suggested yesterday.
many persons arc concentrating on
fcw leading stocks on the theory that
even though specialties may be good
and may rise their friends expect
they cannot rise unless the big stand
ard stocks lead the way Further
more, there Is less TO be feared
through ownership of the standard
issues II anything bad should happen.
The three rails just named are the
ones selected from the railroad list
by persons operating on this theory.
United States Steel, SHELTERS and Ana
conda are generally selected to repre-
rent all other departments or the
market