The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-11-10
MARKET HAS Hello
UNDER GREAT STRESS
ny BEoADAN WALL,

Me- Ysrk. Nov. 9.-This week
promises to sec Iinai decisions In
three problems that have been wor-
rying the stock market. The first -
the peace treaty: the second the )apor
situation and tho third the money
market. 1t is unfortunate that the
stock market has been forced to dis
count the unfayors BILE factors in all
three of these things at once. Any
one of them would have been enough
to test the backbone of the strongest
bull market that ever was developed
1t lis no wonder that the three COM
bined have ms1c the bull eampaigners,
a bit s~aybacked.
The imnortaut thing lis that the
market has not broken. 1t has yield
ed. but It has always come back with
a vigor that meant nm unimpaired con-
stitution. The last week END with
the most severe blow of ar and own
ers OF securities look anxiously TO
the opening OF the market MONDAY
for evidence of continued vitality,
Any weakness exhibited Monday wiIl
invite heavy liquidation and CRAFTY
the apparent desire of the federal re-
serve board for a good old fashioned
smash up.
There has been heavy liquidation
of actual stock for the account of
big people and professional traders
have put out lines of short contracts.
The right people" in Wall street had
advance Information and are set
for anything that may happen. Only
the plain American citizens who be-
lieve in their country and in the sta
biIity of its industrial institut.o np
are going to be injured. They are the
same unfortunates who are hit hard
est by the high cost of living. II was
from their ranks that most of the
boys came who won the war in Eu-
rope. The big people will not be hurs.
Wall street is suffering a gross In
Justice because most of the specula~
ton of the country Is outside of the
stock market whereas all of the re
strictivc measures adopted by the
Federal Reserve bank seems to be,
aimed al the stock market only.
In the South there are millions OF
bales of cotton spcculativeiy held
away from the market in the hope OF
higher prices. There are millions Of
pounds of conner So held. Cotton
and wooden cloth have been bought
M by SPECTATORS in carload lots
shoes and manufactured products OF
every kind and even food has been
withheld from a free market by spec
uiators.
a wall street banker tho other hav
pointed to more than - 600. 900 600
thus tied IN in speculation that had
no relation whatever 20 Wall street.
All of these commodity spectators
can get all the funds they want and
are treated as favored customers of
the banks But let some innocent
clerk or doctor hoard FIVE or ten
shares of stock and he is Immediately
denounced as n Spectator and Is
robbed with a 90 per cent money
club.
AS 4 matter of fact the stock mar
ket is the most conservative business
enterprise in America today. Prices
of stocks have advanced less than the
prices of anything else in the coun-
! try. II money is to let out to
| the public in proportion to the con-
servatism OF it's, use the stock mar
hket should be the one favored Gus
| toner OF the banks There have been
/ some wild movements on the stock
exchange of course. but the grea;
| body of securities have remained
/ quiet The great activity of so-called
1 speeiaities 80 much talked about now
would attract but little attention In
real bull market A ten point ad-
vance in United States Steel would
amount TO moro than all that has been
done In fifty snecialties in the last
months,