Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-25
NO WEAKNESS SEEN
|NMARKET CHANGES
Violent ShakedoWn of Thursday
Welcomed as a National
Manifestation
SHARES OF THREE KINDS
Stock sales today on the New York
exchange. as compiled by the Evening
Sun. t0taled 1.O14 300 shares. y

says:
The labor situation in general and
the seeming inevitability of coal strike
on the verge Of the winter season
brought about considerable selling
movement in today's short session OF
the stock market. -
It was natural enough that there
should be strong desire to even up
accounts as much as possible for the
week end from the long point of view
and there was much in the general
situation to encourage the bears TO
exert selling pressure. Mr.. Gompers
calling a conference of labor union
leaders for early next month. at which
the status of labor will be discussed,
was an unsettling influence.
The country will be called upon, il
would appear. to contemplate the spec
tacle of country wide sympathetic
strike whether it materializes or not. II
is doubtful il these developments, near
developments and possible developments
would have been quite so disturbing al
the beginning of the week as they hac
at the closing.
The opening was irregular and it
was not until toward the close of the
first hour that anything like pro-
motors made a rather feeble display OF
strength from time to time; Goodrich
was strong spot good part of the
time and the oils resisted pressure
more or less, but in the second hour
the entire list gave way, but not with
nut some evidence of the markets abil-
ity to absorb.
Thursdays violent setback and yes
terday's half hearted attempt at reha =
bilitatiou had rendered the Street eau
tious in the extreme and temporarily
distrustful Of its own convictions.
The entire list was affected by de-
cided dampening of spirits and losses
ranged from . to 4 points or so. Trad
ing was fairly animated. The rails
were not exempt from the reactionary
wave, despite the constructive factors
which have developed this week ant
their prediction in the last day o,
two for brighter view of things.
TerhnJcal Position Strong
lt was a nice question whether OF
not the symptoms displayed by the Sc.
curities market in the current weel
indicated with accuracy the future
course of prices. Opinion, in truth
was pretty evenly divided. Those wht
favored the constructive view advanced
that big holders won't sell, becaus,
they can't reconcile themselves to turn
ing over the bulk of their profits t
the government in the form of ia,
levies. If this is true--and it is no
easy to refute 1.-THE ups and downs
of the market in recent weeks not les
than in the week closing today repre-
sented respectively extraordinary specu
lative enthusiasm and technical cor
receives.
Frequently in the past bull market
have gone rapidly ahead TO the DANCE
point, and then there has been q crash
There was danger of something of tn
kind in the first half of this year. bu
the danger was averted and the Stree
took the lesson to heart. Since Jun
there has been a bull market of fit
and start surface movements, as
seemed, the result Of a determination
not to permit caution to be submerge,
In enthusiasm. A day or two or thre
days. of active buying was followed i,
most cases by a setback sufficient to cor
rect the technical position without ap
preciably impairing underlying strength
No Weakness Seen
Nothing happened this week to cal
for different diagnosis. The forwar
swings of Monday, Tuesday and Wed
nesday were followed by a rather vic
lent shakedown on Thursday in til
heaviest trading of the year, which tn
Street regarded as quite natural an
wbich(it welcomed, Yesterday the lis
was more orderly and the price ton
steady. To those who observe marke
conditions carefully from day to da
there was nothing in the performanc
TO suggest weakness. The sgni6cap
feature of trading on Thursday was in
deed the absorptive power The mar
kct was momentarily oyerbougbt. Thos
who had paper profits were quick t
see it and quick to realize. Tho bear
were not less prompt ir seizing thei
opportunity.
1t is one thing to sell for profit
with the idea of buying back at th
lower levels and another to sell in orde
TO get out of dangerous market.
is not yet clear that the latter idea ha
taken any very firm hold of the specu
lative mind. Perhaps there is too muc
reliance on the profit tax theory. How
ever those who doubt it point to tn
fact that the market did not sho'
weakness when the industrial cloud wa
as black as it is now and when ca
loans were renewing at :, . and i
per cent and when as high as 10 pc
cent WAS eNucIcu 1Or new dccuLlilou'
tiou. This week call loans renewed 8
q per cent and later at 8 per cent wit
the rate going as low as Az per cent
IT might be observed with some trut
that the market instead OF being divide
into the two categories of Industrial
aud rails has developed into n trip
organization of standard shares, spc
cialties and rails: The number of so
cnllcd specislties has been very largel
increased in recent months by ne
listlpgs, and frequently their movemer
has been quite distinct from that of I'll
others In other words the market hs
often borne the appearance of surgiu
ahead when the standard issues anon
both industrials and rails have hel
quite steady or neglected. Thus priC
movements have in measure becon
susceptible to broader interpretatio
and at the same time call for moi
careful analysis. ANY positive tren
among the specialties affects more {
less the trend of the entire market, a.
though violent upturns or setbacks ma
lead to false conclusions with respeC
to the state of the market as who'll