Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-04
MARKET IRREGULAR
BUT FAIRLY FIRM
Some Profit-Taking in Rails.
Pressure Here and There
on fndustriaIs.
BY STUART r. WEST.

NEW YORK, October (SpeciaD.
In some of the stocks which had led
the market upward toward the close
heavy profit-taking at the outset of
business this morning. Great North
ern preferred and North Pacific which
had been the favorites of the standard
railway group. lost point and a half
to two points rather abruptly.
The steel shares moved with consid-
cradle uncertainty. rejecting the re-
newed discussion of the declining ten
dency in steel prices in the newspaper
articles over Sunday.
With these and one or two other ex-
cept1ons, the market was definitely
strong, and the tendency of prices was
toward improvement.
The place of the Hill shares, South
ern Pacific. Rading and other of last
weeks leaders, was promptly taken by
Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific and II
linois Central.
Despite the professional view. much
insisted upon, that the low-priced and
purely speculative rails had been dealt
in too enthusiastically and had be-
come overbrought, there was surpris-
ingly little sign of a let-up in this
quarter.
The cases in this group where profit
taking made any impression were full
went higher under new buying. Kan
sas City Southern, common and pre-
ferred; Missouri Pacific. preferred:
Pere Marquette and National Railway
of Mexico. first and second preferred,
all made new high prices.
Industrials showed Firm Spots.
While interest was in these ways
fully maintained in the rails, much
more attention proportiantely was
tn he t,al n1..
one and only one reason for this,
namely the discovery-very unpleas-
ant tothe mass of recent short SELL
ers-that the pessfmistic talk asse-
ciated with the price cutting cam
paign had ceased to bring out real
liquidation and that there was moth
ing like enough stocks at prices re-
Gently prevailing to accommodate the
over extended bear account. Some
body had been gathering in the stocks
and short contracts which spectators
had been so recklessly throwing over.
In other words while the public were
being deluded by wild and extrava-
giant talk regarding the current BUSH
ness recession an accumulation was
going on in the market by wealthy
investors and capitalists who realized
that the market has been moving far
ahead of trade and had been discount
ing in its huge drop since last No
decline now underway.
1t was further source of disap-
pointment to those who have been
either attempting to sell or write the
market down that neither money rates
nor stock prices showed the least SEN
sitiveness today to the $11,090,008
deficit in the clearing house bank re-
serves reported Saturday or to hte re-
duction in the reserve ratio of the
federal reserve bank at New York
from 43.7 to ALL.
Call money renewed at per cent
and was supplied most of the day at
the same figure.
Borrowers of time money again re-
fused to bid more than per cent.
In the stock market the bank fig
uree were completely ignored, the
truth being fully recognized that it
is not the fluctuations in banking
conditions around New York which
counts. but the changes in the posi-
ton of the twelve regional banks as
whole.
Financial Shifting.
The shifting about of loans pro-
duced by the redemption of one issue
of Treasury certificates and the i'm
mediate fiotation of another greatly
confused the operations Of the New
York banks during the last fortnight.
In the week before last there was
the sudden and unexpected jump in
the New York federal reserve ratio
from 39.5 to 43.7. This gain was only
partially undone by last weeks
transactions which caused the per-
centage to drop off to ALL. A deficit
in the clearing house reserve is of
very little consequence nowadays. be-
cause it can be so easily rectified by
Increased borrowings at the federal