Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-08
buying FOLLOWS
WAVE OF SELLING
Break in IndustriaIs Gives
Place to Demand for
High-Priced Rails.
BY STUART p. WEST.


WALL STREET. NEW YORK, No
vember S.-Everybody who spent any
time over the Sunday newspapers
could scarcely have been surprised at
what happened on the stock exchange
today. Fresh accounts of price-cut-
ting, of wage reductions, of the shut
down of mills took up columns of
space Accompanying these multi
piled evidences OF trade depression
We're II collection of interviews and
speeches hy men In high places. the
tenor OF which was that while there
would be no vitality serious consc-
Qucnc-a from the present rcadjust-
mcnt. The next few months would see
much unsettlcmcnt and would raise
problems which would require ex-
cccdinEly careful handling to over
come.
The Saturday bank statements. all
things considered. had not been I'M
favorable. They had shown a further
depletion of New York resources, but
very slight reduction in the reserve
position for the country generally. and
this is the essential thing. But the
bank figures had held out no hope
of any change for the better yet
awhile in money conditions. and to
the formidable collection of adverse
trade items was added the prospect
of continued tension in credit.
Demand Is Widespread.
The result was wave of selling
las the market opened, which came
from all over the country. 1T broke
Iprices Immediately point to three
points. 1t bore with special force
upon the oils, the SteelS, the shipping
stocks and some of the food shares.
/ But for the first half hpur or so, while
these We're the weakest, the whole
market was in one degree or another
affected.
Then buying of the substantial
character which regularly appears at
a time of such disturbance commenced
to make itself felt. 1t was buying OF
an obviously selected sort. 1t favored
the high-prced rails, especially those
like Southern Pacific, Northern Pa
cific and Reading, which have the spe-
Cial argument of segregation plans
and the distribution of treasury assets
to recommend them.
1t also carefully distinguished be-
tween industrials which have eXpe-
rienced theVDorst in the way OF price
cutting. loss in earnings and inven-
tory reductions that may be expected
and industrials in which the process
!of reimbursement has supposedly not
yet been completed. Therefore. while
the steels, the motors and the oils
We're very weak, Central Leather. most
of the coppers and the public utility
issues stood up we'll
Oils Are Weakest.
In connection With the break in the
oils. Wall street continued to talk
about the likelihood of the price cut
ting campaign finally reaching the oil
trade. This was the alleged reason
for most of the selling in the oil
stocks. But as a matter of fact the
principal cause for the weakness in
this group was that theyp were farther
out of line than any other section
with the general average of the in
dustrial list. The high priced oils up
resistance to the downward tendency
elsewhere. Mexican Petroleum early
last week sold above 1913. which was
not far from the best of the autumn.
In Mexican Petroleum. and especial
ly in Pan-American. the downward
movement until today had not gone
far enough to- do the housekeeping
which had been done in other quar-
ters. There was still. especially in
the pan-AmericanS, a large outStand-
stocks more sensitive to bear attack
than most others. Too much empha-
sis had been laid upon the supposed
scarcity of the market supply of
Mexican petroleum.
The protective orders which have
held Sinclair so effectively of late
proved Inadequate before the mass
of outside selling that came upon
the market for the stock this morn
ing. Invincible. Middle States and
-hetically affected. Royal Dutch was
carried down by renewal of liquida-
ton for American account.
American Wool.
Liquidation broke out again in
American Wool following the an
nouncement over Sunday that the mills
of the company were getting ready to