Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-09-20
RA|LSLEAD LIST
IN SHARP RALLIES
IndustriaIs Generally Fail to
Hold Their Best Prices.
Speculative Buying.
BY STUART r. WEST.

NEW YORK, September 20 (SpeciaD.-
The market today displayed number OF
|cross-currents which gave it very
irregular appearance, with advances
and declines freely intermingled. OPP
timism regarding the railway shares
increased over Sunday as the result
of the discussion of possible mergers
and deals Of one sort or another. now
that the new transportation act has
practically nullified the Sherman law.
This showed itself in an eager rush
to buy the low-priced rails. the
stocks of companies which could
logically figure in railway mergers;
to the dividend-pa rails, and
stocks like the New York Central.
Union and Southern Pacific and At
Gibson all went through the high
points registered for them in the cur
rent upward turn.
Oil shares under the lead of Mexi-
can Petroleum and Pan-American
were eagerly bought. but it was the
Mexican issues that were favored.
Those who have been very keen all
along about the possibilities of Mexi-
can Petroleum after Its recent vast
acquisitions of oil lands saw their
sanguine Vows borne out by. the
great rise in the stock.
Elsewhere Gains Not Held.
Elsewhere, however. the market did
not respond to operations for the rise,
or where it went up at all did not hold
it's gain. The copper shares, for in
stance. and American Smelling were
bid up for time, but quickly re-
lapsed.
The steel stocks and the motors
acted in manner to make it very
plain tha1last weeks advance in their
case had not been the result Of fresh
buying. but that it had depended very
largely upon short interest.
The steels were firm for a while at
the opening. but never regained their
upward drift, and later in the session
fell away, especially Republic Steel
and Bethlehem s.
motor stocks, with the demand for
short account over. dropped off sharp
~. Meanwhile decided weakness de-
veioped in few special issues, not
ably In Central Leather, the dividend
on which. 1t is expected. will either be
new note issue is not likely
WheelinE-Western Maryland.
Buying of the Wheeling and Lake
Erie stocks and the Western Mary
land issues. especially the common.
was governed by the possibility that
under the new railway dispensation
the union Of these two companies,
which was once projected, will now
be carried out.
Both are owned by the Rockefellers.
who bought controlling interest in
1917 in Wheeling and Lake Erie for
the Western Maryland.
The idea would be a readjustment
of capital account which would in
volve an actual merger. A strip of
approximately fifty miles Of railroad
would have to be built in order to
join the two systems.
The result would be through line
connecting Cleveland with the Allan
tic coast. Western Maryland has its
terminals at Baltimore, while the
Wheeling has bought ground for big
new terminal at Cleveland.
In the traction group feature was
the advance of another, point on ac-
tive trading in the Interborough Rap
i'd Transit So to ASH. The improve
ment did not extend to. the junior is
sues: Interborough metropolitan IS
were a fraction lower at II.
There was little incident to the
trading in governments. Liberty
bonds were generally unchanged.
There were continued large transac-
tions in United Kingdom 51as at 95.
Japanese bonds were strong again,
with the first 41ss up nearly a point
at 76 and the second ANS up nearly a
roint at IS. Belgian TVS were. I'M
changed at S1h