Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-29
SECURITY PRICES EASE
FROM THE TOP LEVELS
After Disposal of Overnight
Buying Orders Stock Mar
ket Turns Quiet
Stock sales today on the New York
Exchange totaled 571,9O0 shares.

New York, March 29.-The New York
Evening Suns financial review for to-
day follows:
Today's short session of the stock
market promised at the opening to be
a repetition of the strength and eXpan-
sion of yesterdays, but after the accu-
mutation of overnight buying orders had
been disposed of in the first half hour
OF. SO, trading turned quiet and with
one or two exceptions prices eased away
from the top levels.
United States Steel and Baldwin Lo-
comotive were heavy at the outset, the
former finally dropping below 49, 1t
may be that in the past two days the
pace of steel was rather too rapid, its
bulge having been proportionately
greater than the other industrlals,
Bethlehem was firm and Cruciole and
Republic were strong.
The coppers did very little. There
was pronounced strength in the oil and
motor groups Corn Products Refining
was bid up sharply and pushed through
SO at the close Of the first hour, an ad-
vance of more than three points. the
revival of rumors in Washington that
the antitrust suits would be dismissed
may have had something to do with this,
even though the technical position in
steel prevented reflection in that quarter
The rails were quite neglected and
without change OF Importance.
Business progressed in good volume in
the second hour. There was no further
material change in the standard list eX-
cept Steel, which continued to sag al
though there were numerous strong spe-
cialties outstanding, including Wilson
Company, May Department Stores, Butte
Superior and Brooklyn Rapid Transit.
The shipping shares We're under con-
siderable pressure. Bonds were active.
Liberty Loan issues held their own, for
liberal terms for payment in the forth
coming floatation had scant effect one
way or the other.
The circumstances that today was the
date of the announcement which Colonel
House was supposed to make with re-
spect to peace progress, and the possi-
bility that that announcement might be
in the nature of something definite con-
corning the signing. of the protocols, was
an influence doubtless in keeping with
the undertone Of the market as firm as
Il was and probably occasioned con-
siderable short covering and some out
side buying as well.
Seeming riffs in the Peace Confer
ence were taken into account. but the
reports from Paris were too confusing
TO form very good basis for more than
conjecture as to what was really taxi
ing place over there. This sort of thing
may be viewed with a fair degree OF
complaisance il 1t becomes clear that
sufficient progress has been made to
insure a peace settlement in the near
future. Hopes run high that such may
4 he the case. These and the rumored
squabbles about balance each other it
would appear.
A restricting factor Is the approach
2 of the Victory Loan campaign, which is
already in process of being discounted
The trade journals report enlarged
buying both at wholesale and retail in
4 the week closing today, and also excel
lent crop conditions and propritious open
x ing of the seeding season; more anima-
tion In the building trades ana some inn
provement in the unemployment situa-
ton. The reawakening of commercial
activities is broadening in scope all the
time. although still rather slow.
There were ten more business failures
this week than last, but the total. 101
compares favorably with 1873 in the
same week OF last year; 275 in 1917
34< in 1915 and 371 in 1915.
Bank clearings this week totaled S6,-
Bse. e.s63.445, against s7,6ss,sls.410 last
week and $5,714,ose,377 in this week
last year.