New-York tribune., 1918-04-15

Another week of dulness and hesi-
tation in the security markets has
reflected the interest and deep con-
Germ felt in financial quarters over
the progress Of the great battle in
France. Some ground was lost in
the price movement of stocks, but
the tendency toward lower prices
lacked significance, owing to the
character of the general market.
There were times during the week
when trading all but came to a
standstill while security holders
awaited fresh news from France
Most of the news was unfavorable,
the further German successes in the
North increasing the nervous strain.
but, despite the general feeling of
apprehension, the stock market act
ed extremely we'll, and at no time
showed any evidence of underlying
weakness. 1t was once again a case
of the stock market furnishing con-
elusive proof of it's strong position,
first indicated three weeks ago,
when the Germans won their sue
cesses in Picardy and upset the pop
ular belief that the Allied forces
would be able to parry the blows of
the Kaiser's super offensive without
giving ground.
1t has been we'll known, of course,
for many weeks that speculative
holdings of securities were unusu-
ally small, that brokers' loans were
at a minimum, and that, therefore.
the danger of forced selling on bad
news was greatly reduced. At the
same time a factor of immense i'm
portance that cannot be overlooked
has been the confidence among in
vestors and spectators alike in the
favorable outcome Of the present
battle. 1t is realized that many
weeks may elapse before the point
Of German exhaustion has been
reached, but it is believed that, when
the decision comes, it will find the
Kaiser short of his main objective,
the breaking up and crushing of the
British armies. Under these cir
cumstances, it is highly improbable
that much more than a quiet trad
ing market in stocks can bMexpect-
ed for some time yet to come. An
other factor making for market dull
ness at this time is the third Lib
erty Loan campaign, now in full
swing.
With the machinery of the whole
investment market turned over to
the sale of the new Liberty Loan,
the general bond market has been
extremely dull during the last week,
with prices showing a slight tend
ency toward lower levels. A feature
of the market was the firmness dis
played by the various foreign gov
ernment issues, notably the Anglo
French IS. The fact that these is
sues should have maintained such a
strong market-wiss position was re-
garded as significant in view of the
fresh gains in territory made by the
Germans. In the short-term note
market an active demand was re-
ported, one reason for this being the
restricted volume Of new issues due
to the governments monopoly of the
capital market. After the present
loan campaign has ended it is ex-
pected that number Of new issues
will be brought out which may tend
to produce greater degree of activ-
ity in notes. 1t is, of course, taken
as a rnatter Of course that the third
Liberty Loan will be successful. The
only doubt in the mind Of the finan-
cial community is the extent Of the
oversubscription. The campaign for
the sale of the 100000 1000 of AVS
began on April 6. The results thus
far have been far ahead of anything
achieved in the preceding cam
paigns, owing largely to the much
more efficient selling organization
and also to the growing conviction
that the burden Of the task of win
ming the war has fallen upon the
shoulders Of the United States.
Somewhat easier conditions pre-