Evening star., 1920-06-25
HIGH LOAN RATES
RESTRICT TRADING
Market Shows Fairly Strong
Tone, With Absence of Sell
ing Pressure.
BY sTuARr p. WEST.

BY STUART p. WEST.
NEW YORK. June 25.-High rates
for money continued today to weigh
upon the Wall street markets and re-
strain initiative in the direction OF
higher prices. But on the other hand
the stock market once more showed
that it was thoroughly hardened to
the present money conditions, and
that nobody who held stocks was in
clined to sell them out because for a
week or SO longer borrowers OF call
funds will have to pay more than
usual for their accommodation.
The street received with eQuanimity
the marking up of the call loan re-
newal from to 9 per cent. and was
quite as Indifferent as it had been
yesterday to the subsequent bidding
up Of the price of new call money.
AS is well understood, the causes for
this weeks rise in money rates are of
only passing Importance. First checks
received by the internal revenue col
lector for the second installment on
income taxes are now being presented
for payment. and to meet these with
drawals the banks have had to call in
some of their stock exchange loans.
Second, preparations have already
begun for the 1St of July interest and
dividend payments, these preparations
involving further diversion of credit
away from Wall street uses.
Third. the banks, facing call from
the controller of currency, are anX-
iouS to keep their position as strong
as possible and are therefore reluc-
tant to make fresh loans.
VIII End With June.
All these influences combining to
put money rates up will, of course.
disappear after the first few days of
July.
The stock market is satisfied to
bide it's time until call funds are
more readily obtainable. Stocks are
too strongly held for a temporary
money stringency to be the occasion
of weakness.
The daily fluctuations are small and
apparently unimportant, yet it is very
noticeable that the leaders of the
list-meaning by this the stocks
which are best situated regarding
earnings and the business outlook of
their companieS-are steadily gaining
and that their net rise even during
the last week has been substantial.
Leaders I'm Improvement.
The stocks which made the best show
ing today, as they have right along,
were the equipments, Crucible Steel, In
Cities Gas. Phillips Petroleum, Pitts
burgh Coal and the Tobaccos.
The rails, which began to look better
yesterday. continued their improvement
and as the day went on fairly divided
interest with the industrials. They
were relatively more active than on any
day for long while, and with one or
two exceptions were decidedly stronger.
There was a report that the Inter-
state Commerce Commission was
ready to hand down it's decision in
the freight rate cases and that this
would be announced Immediately
after the award of the railway labor
board, which is looked for early next
week. Inasmuch as everybody is hope
full that the roads will get nearly all.
if not all. the increase asked for, this
story brought in a good deal of
fresh buying into the railway group.
especially into the low-priced issues.
The Bond Market.
A better inquiry for railway bonds.
especially the convertibles was a
natural accompaniment of the i'm
provement in railway stocks follow
ing the story that a rate decision of
a very favorable character would be
published in Washington early next
week
The market for strictly investment
bonds is SO entirely under the in
fluence Of money conditions that it is
doubtful whether even the best sort
of a rate increase would have much
But But the Convertible bonds and rail-
way issues of the speculative rank
would benefit equally with railway
stocks. Among these speculative is
sues those who make a study OF com
parat;ve values think that the st.
Louis and San Francisco income 6s
are one Of the cheapest on the list
and are selling out Of line with rail-
way preferred stocks like Rock Island
seconds.
The Increasing popularity of all
Mexican securities since the change In
administration was again reflected in
the dealings in the United States of
Mexico external 5s, good sized blocks
of which changed hands at 34A
The Belgian loan was heavily dealt in
at SO, up a half point from the issue
price. These bonds, among all recent
f1otations, have undoubtedly been the
most strongly placed. Chile copper Is
were adversely affected by the weak
ness in the copper stocks. They were
down nearly a point from yesterday.
The fluctuations in libertys were
trifing.
Mexican Petroleum.
Mexican Petroleum got above 1S0 to-
day on covering purchases by bears,
with buying, which, in GER
tain quarters, is labeled good"
to be to the liking of the big oil COM
panies operating there, due to the fact
that the new government has given
definite promise Of reforms in its treat
ment of these companies.
New laws are about to be put on
the statute books regarding the drill
ing of new wells and the holding up
Of the oil companies by bandits wear
ing the uniforms of the Mexican gov
ernment is not considered in good
form any more.
Ohio Cities Gas.
The expansion in the earnings of
the Ohio Cities Gas Company shows
the remarkable change in the COM
pany's affairs as result of the de-
velopment of the oil industry. For
the fiscal year ended March 81 gross
business Of the Ohio Cities Company
exceeded $54,000,000. compared with
Sc, 100000 in 1917, the year prior to
it's entrance into the oil business. At
present about 95 per cent of the COM
pany's gross business is derived from
oil operations.