Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-22
WALL STREET SEES
L|QU|DAT|0N'S END
Large Short Interest Built Up
After Last Weeks Violent
ke-DoWn
INCOME TAX IS A FACTOR
Stock sales today on the New York
exchanpe. as committed by the Evening
Sun, totaled 1888, 200 shares.

New York, Nov. 22.--The New York
today says
Extremely quiet conditions prevailed
In today's brief stock exchange session
which was important only in so far as it
served to show how complete has been
tho check administered to speculative
excesses in the stock market At the
same time there was an undercurrent Of
quiet buying throughout the industrial
list. This was based primarily on knowl
edge of intrinsic values and was con
Quoted by persons who are confident
Of ultimate profits no matter what the
immediate trend of prices may be.
The movement of quotations today
was controlled chiefly by professional
operations. The market was Il very thin
affair, with prices rising or falling on
small volume of trading. The open
ing was irregular. but the majority of
stocks developed an inward trend at
the end Of the first half hour. Coppers
and rails were exceptions. prices here
sagging under very light trading.
Improvement in securities prices this
week was not very significant beyond
tending to indicate that liquidation had
about ran it's course because the bears
had virtually exhausted fact and ru
NOR that might have served as pretexts.
In this process a large short interest
was built up. thus creating a cushion
which could be pressed but apparently
not dented In tho previous week of
violent declines the drastic shake down
did all that was required of it as to
speculative commitments on the long
side.
The bear traders sought to make the
most of the situation before the mo-
mentum of the slide should be stayed.
Their calculations were a bit upset,
it would seem. by the upward move
ment which developed in the railroad
shares at the end of the week and again
on Monday of this week. This stiffened
the whole list and led to the conviction
in many quarters that the bottom had
been reached.
Nothing occurred in the balance of the
week to change that belief. Opinion
leaned to the view that the market
would stabilize not far from the present
for the balance of the year. If sales
are to continue to January I, for the
purpose of establishing losses for the
return to the tax collector. the shorts
will undoubtedly utilize the process
further to enlarge the short intorest.
This should tend from time to time to
offset tax liquidation and thus estab
lish a state of comparative equilibrium
Following this line of reasoning to its
logical conclusion it would be conserv
ative to assume that, with the turn OF
the year., when tax considerations have
been left behind and perhaps the peace
treaty put on a new basis, con
structive trend in stock prices will de-
velop.
This is, of course, still we'll within
the realm of conjecture, but it indi-
Gates the approximate line of thought
of Wall street AS it happened, the
defeat of the treaty in the Senate made
little impression in the Street as q
stock market factor. 1t was indeed
disappointment, but the financial
community was pretty well prepared tC
: be disappointed, psychologically and
technically. The hope for a comprO-
mise was strong. 1t has now trans"
ferred that hope to the time of the
new session of Congress in December
It's conception of the situation does not
exclude the possibility of compromise
Some want the treaty with reserva
tions, some without reservations, but
all want the treaty, and they want il
az speedily as may be.