Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-07-26
'STUPENDOUS FIGURES
!. SHOW MARKET BOOM
Huge Business Being Done
Throughout Nation lndica-
tive of Solid Foundation
FAILURES ARE FEWER

New York, July 26.-The New York
Suns financial review of the week
reads:
Figures do not make interesting read
ing, yet 1t is instructive to run over
the following collection compiled by a
banking house. They tell their own
story perhaps better than words and go
long way toward explaining why
Wall Street is passing through one of
! its greatest bull markets and show the
solid foundation upon which it is built.
To begin with, sales on the New York
Stock Exchange in the first half of this
year reached the tremendous total of
141 .000.0 900 shares, compared with
100000 900 shares in the first half of
/ 1918. while bond sales were 81 .613.-
600. 900. compared with S742, 900. 900.
New securities listed on the exchange
!, in the first half of the year aggregated
ST0T 900. 900 against S133 100000 in
the first six months of last year. Bust
ness failures in the first half of the
year numbered only 315S. contrastcd
with 5000 in the corresponding period
OF 1918, the lowest record for some
forty years. Liabilities of the failed
concerns were less than SOS, 200, 900.
Bank Clearings Jump
Bank clcarings at the principal cities
iu the first six months totaled $1S6, 600,
600 900. compared with S151 900, 900,
. 900 in the same period of 1918, an in
: crease of 10 per cent. while compared
with the first half of 1915 this was
an increase of more than 100 per cent
Exports of merchandise in the first five
months Of the year were valued al
S3,317 900. 900, whereas they were
81, 400, 900, 900 last year. The trade
balance in our favor was 81 SD 900,
600 against 81 ,2SG, 900, 900 year ago
Corporate financing in the last si'
months involved 81. .l25 900 900 agains
SJ76, 200. 900 last year. New corpora
tions formed during the half year had I
= total authorized capital of So ,IO6 900,
600. compared with 81 .4j9, ,OOO, 900 in
volved in new interpretations in tn
same interval last year building op
erations have broadCncd to the cXten
that in the first five months of tn
year permits totalcd $500, 900 900, com
pared with S2O1 900. 900 in the cor
responding interval in 1918. Th
= average price of all commodities, ac
cording TO the Bankers CommOdit,
. Price Index, on the 1st Of July stoo'
at S645 %, compared with S6O6.S0 ol
January l 1919, and $60S.99 on July l
1918.
The action of the stock market thi
week gave some evidence that 1t ha'
for the time being proceeded sufficient,
far In it's process OF discounting indus
trial activity and prosperity to call 70
a slowing down in the rapid forwar'
pace maintained for five consccuuV
months. A sharp break in quotation
on Monday was succeeded by rapl
and complete recovery, which in tur
was followed by irregular and indeter
inmate fluctuations.
Bulls Keep Upper Hand
During the greater part of the tim
the proponents of higher prices ha
clear sailing: that is, the unfavorabl
features prevalent Il fortnight ago, sucl
a high money quotation and demorallZe
foreign exchange markets, did not Civ
cause for further uneasiness. althOug
the threat of more trouble on this scOr
was not removed. There was very littl
in the way of news of markCtwise bear
ing, and security prices were free
respond almost entirely to the teChniCf
position of the list. The break in price
Monday and the subsequent recover
perhaDs did more to revive Confidenc
in higher prices than did anything e!st
The action of the market itself wa
tangible proof that it was remarkabl
4hn ris W
fact alone had caused large numb'
of trades to adopt beariSh attitude
One of the best features about the spec
ulative position of stocks is that for Il
last month or more Wall Street h;
been fairly dclugcd with warnings fro
both high and low financial sourc
against overspeculatiOn and its attent
ant dangers. This has had the effe
of moderating bullish activity and
curtai'ing speculative pyramids as W.
I, as keeping alive a substantial and pc
I sistent short account, which it alwa
/, n desirable feature in markets susccn
4 lille. such as the present one, to sha
= reactions.
The interview given out by s
= George Paish. the British economist,
which he predicted a collapse of wor
credit and a further drop in StPrliI
exchange to 81, attracted a good de
of attention in the financial distri
and added to the general uneasinc
shown in speculative circles early
the week. However. such dismal Ou
pourings as this may be match
against hopeful utteranccs by equal
as eminent men, so that, after a
Just what will happen to information
financial affairs is a matter which r
mains to be seen.
Wall Street Optimistic
On the whole. Wall street is dispos
/ to take an optimistic view of t
worlds deranged finances, believing tn
the difficulties with which our ban
ers are now wrestling will be owe
come, although the program to
adopted in extending credit to Euro
Is only in a tentative state. Th'
was little change in monetary CONF
tions. Funds for stock exchange pu
poses were in none too plentiful su
7 ply, but the call loan rate held rel
lively easy throughout the week arou
the 6 per cent level. There has be
some reduction in the volume of clei
: ing house loans since the high recC
reached a month ago, but this
been slight contrasted with the tot
Clearing house loans at present sta
at a figure about S245 ,000, 900 grea
than they did in February, when
rise in stock prices commenced. Co
n