Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-17
SATURDAYS GAINS
/ LOST IN REACTION
Weakness in Bonds and Con-
y sideration Given Railway
+ Blockade DisCourages.
BY STUART T.. WEST.

NEW YORK, May 1.-Two things
happened to depress the security mar
kets this morning and thereby te
oheclx the more cheerful feeling prev
Alent at the close of last week.
One was the stress laid over Sun
Hay upon the seriousness of the rail-
way tie-up. The other was the re-
slewal of liquidation of the same ur-
gent character as went on all las'
week in the investment bond market
this selling spreading to some of the
dirfdend-paying rails and other Stocks
of the investment class.
Apparently some rather large spec
Olative lines picked up last week on
. which there was small profit at the
}opening today were hastily thrown
over because of DISLIKE of the railway
development.
1t was simply the closing out of re
Gently acquired speculative holding s
without any fresh liquida ton in the
speculative portion of the market.
This selling bore heavily upon the
stocks which had been strongest at
The close of last week. Baldwin 10.
connective, the Pan Americans, Royal
dutch and Mexico Pete.
SteelS were offered down Sharply
and so were the motors. in eNpecta-
lion that the Interstate Commerce
Commission would come out shortly
with Il priority order which would
discriminate in favor of foodstuhs,
fuel and the neceSsarles or HE anu
against other industries
Buyers Hold AIOof.
But the elimination of some of last
weeks buyers. without any fresh
selling of Importance. merely put the
market back in the same general po-
sition in which ii stood last Frlaa[
The gain OF Saturday was affected
but nothing more serious.
Atchison Earnings.
The annual report OF Atchison. To-
peka and Santa Fe for 1919 makes
sather remarkable showing, accord
fC to one of Wall streets railroad
experts. The company was one OF the
few to make a profit Tor the govern :
Jnent during two years OF fedefa
control and was also able 10 earn It's
dividend requirement on ITS own
operations in each of those two years
The federal compensation amounted
10 $44,615.0S1. as compared win -
SS53lO in 1918. There was also no.
table increase in other incomes which
brought the balance available for IN
Nidends up to the equivalent OF lb1
per cent on the common as agaIhSt
only 10 per cent the year before rms
item of other income is entirely ao-
normal it is said. including as II does
revenue and credits applying IN part
10 previous years. but received dur
ing 1919. But even diSregardln5 these
abnormal figures actual earnlnss Tor
the stock would figure out about 80
per cent
short Selling Featured.
There had been quite a bit of new
short selling on the idea that the rail-
way transportation difficulties Plus
the liquidation in the investment list
would precipitate renewal OF the
general decline. But as prices came
within range of last weeks low lev
els it was quite apparent that few
stocks were being offered except what
were being put out on bear contracts.
BY midday the bear raiding having
proved unable to make any impress
sion covering purchases set IN and
prices rallied all around.
Just why Wall street should have
been as pessmistic as il was over the
railway news was hard to see Per-
hapS it was because the morning 8
dispatches were not properly under
stood.
back many lines of business for a
while, but business men will hardly
mind this when they realize that 1t Is
a necessary step toward clearing up
the traffic muddle and thereby remov-
ing the principal cause of uncertainty
Not . Disinterexted View.
As for the declaration of the railway
brotherhood heads that the transpor-
tation industrials faces a breakdown
because labor is not properly paid
and is therefore inefficient. it's value
is to be measured by its disinterested-
ness.
1t is still more absurd to represent.
as one Washington correspondent did
this morning, that ne railway tanSle
is leading up to return OF the roads
TO government operation and to ulti-
mate government ownership.
1t was only because government
operation was inefficient, because it
did not know how TO handle the dis
1ribution of the car supply and be-
cause ii was parsimonious in its pur-
chase of new equipment that the
freight congestion became what 1t
now is.
To try TO lay the blame upon pri-
Sate management and pretend that
! this is an argument for the reasser-
ton of federal control is, therefore,
preposterous.
Fortunately for the good Of the
business community Congress is go
ing to adjourn very soon and there
will be no opportunity Cor any rall-
way legislation
Liberty Bonds Mt New Lows.
The selling in the investment por-
ton of the market was the most seri-
Gus feature of the day. Liberty bonds
We're weaker than ever; they broke 80
cents to so cents in the 800 all along
the line. The weakness naturally
spread to other old line Investment
issues of the type Of first and con
solidatcd mortgage railway bonds.
These were off a nalf a point or more.
and in many instances were down
close to the bottom Of the year.
There was no reflection. of course.
IN these declines upon the value of
p the securities concerned. II was SIM
ply a ease of liquidation forced by
the exigencieS of the credit situation.
business men being compelled to sac
Tiiice their Investment in order to
provide money for their business
which they could no longer readily
obtain At the banks. AS expected, the
rall money market locally was easier.
While the renewal or standing loans
continued al per cent, new funds
We're offered freely al this figure all
day.