Evening star., 1920-01-30
MOTORS FAVORED
}|N DULL MARKET
BY STUART p. WEST.


Corresp1 1ndence Of The Star.
VAIL STREET. New York. Jan
uars '10.-Again today the share list
gave remarkable display Of indif
1erehcetto the money stringency. The
renewaE rate on call loans was once
more fTdvanced. this time to l2 per
cent It meant that borrowers over
the weSk end would have to pay the
hlehes1 for their accommodations that
they hA We heen called unon 10 nay
Tor ihe last month. Yet the market.
as inns tfresh advance in money was
announcAd never waited for an in
stant.
f.. duillness Of the previous day
Wa inte e&sified There was very little
iresn puNying. But the short interest.
which. Il According to all Indications.
was sun very large. was forced to ask
Vhat would happen to bring out stocks
II a II per cent loan renewal and quo
tsuoh OF 40 for sterling failed TO do SO
Rear Contingent Uneasy.
Naturally. the bear contingent grew
uneasy and there was a disposition
TO take lnt short contracts which be
came quite pronounced in a certain
On ection af the day went on. Tt
favorites We're again the motors
under the lie bad of General Motors and
thanuier. Vie last named making
new high f3r all time.
BALDWIN locomotive was the fea
ture among 1.-THE equipments and Unfit
ehced symp1 thetic buying in Pressed
steel tar and American Locomotive.
Ihe street 1id not quite know how to
take the neWf of the increase in the
Steel Corporation wages and Steel com
mon heid cioseh to last nights final most
OF the tlne. fRut the best opinion was
that this actioy was further proof OF the
prosperity IN qhe steel trade and that
the increased ihbor cost would be offse,
by further adva nee in the prices of steel
products.
Conservatively BuIIish.
There were New around the street
inns morning wh9 maintained that the
hlgh money rat3s could not keep on
without INVOLVING liquidation, that the
strain Wouio eventually prove too great
for the market to stand But the ma
Jority OPINION waits that the market had
proved bH lts acfion OF previous days
ana again inns morning that stocks
were IN the handiF of people who Were
not afraid of the T1nonev tension
Inc IaVorlte ADVICE given by brokers
was 10 puy on th3 reacsions. the pre-
diction being THAT these reactions
wouid De very silEhS Not much was
expected IN the Way of sustained
pun market Tor tthe next few weeks
out the expectayon was that the
money stringencyf would be over or al
ieaSt very much fbated by the middle
OF FeDrOary. and fhat then il would be
time Ior the starr OF spring advance.
Americana Locomotive.
The next repoEt of the American
Locomotive Company, which is TO be
issued shortly, will cover only "A sty
month period. due fto the fact that the
company has changed the date of the
end OF It's nScal Sear to correspond
with the calendarS year. The results
shown, it is said. will be in the neigh
borhood OF per fent earned on the
common. The recent Improvement in
percentage OF operations which the
company has attained has been due in
large part to the clearing of the ways
for the starting of Work on 500 loco
motive for the railroad administra-
tion. This order has been on the
books Tor months. put specifications
were not furnished until SO late in
1919 that actual work did not start
until December
Beginning with August last there
| was gradual decline in fhe percentage
Of operation at the plahts. The low
| operating plants ran at about II per
| cent of capacity. With the railroad
| administration order. however the per-
centage in December junh ped to 35 per
cent. January and February will have
1 the benefit of the completion of the
500 unit order as well as: work on the
seventy-five Belgian locomotives
Wire stocks Active.
The action of American Teleph0rlr
today was believed in certain quarters
to have been due mostly to short GOV
ering. Some of the professionals on
the floor, according to those who keep
TABS on such matters, have been short
OF American Telephone and Telegraph
for the past eighteen months or more
There is a certain clique which has
taken a bearish position on the stock
and it has been their custom to ham,
| mer the stock when they received the
slightest encouragement.
for long time there was one man
VINO predicted all sorts OF dire happen
lngs for Telephone, and this furnished
the necessary encouragement. Recent
ly. however, the shorts have become
| somewhat nervous. They have become
somewhat tired of paying the 81 quar-
terly dividends. Recently Mr.. Vail said
that the present per cent dividend
was safe. and that 1920 would be a
very good one for the company In
cidentally. il is said that there has
been some very confident buying of
the stock for several months past
with the result that the floating SUP
ply is now known to be very scant
With Telephone and Telegraph ac-
! tive. Western Union. which also has
been IA target for bearishly inclined
the hf.t time.
Worthinston Pump.
Worthington Pump is one of those
stocks which is put in the category
OF Crucible Steel when ii comes to
dividend action. The company has
! puie up surplus out OF war profits
which il could well afford to dis
tribute to common stock holders.
The company in 1919 showed upward
of 80 per cent earned on the sl3, 900 900
common stock, and it is said by those
in position to be acquainted with
what is going on in the company that
this year at least 80 per cent will be
earned.
Worthington is one of the favorites
of the trading element on the floor,
of wanting to break away and get back
around it's old high. which was set last
fall. However. the pool which is op-
Grating in the stock has IL well in leash