Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-18
STOCKS ARE SOFT,
BEARS PERS|STENT
Pay No Attention to Better
Polish NeWs-Equipments
Lead Declines.
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK. August 1s.-Stocks
moved with very little reference to
the outside news. Stocks weakened
at the very moment when the Rus
sian attack on Warsaw was beaten
off and when complete assurance had
been given that the differences over
the attitude toward Russia did not
| involve any threat against the en-
tente.
The stock market was quite as in
different to the good news this morn
ing from the Polish front as it had
been to the first accounts yesterday
,>of the success attending the outset of
the Polish counter drive.
Nor was the exchange market any
more responsive. Sterling was down
tinental rates were also lower.
The pretext for yesterdays selling
had been the cabinet call to discuss
Americas policy toward Poland. This
was quite forgotten today. Bear op-
orators did not even attempt to find
any excuse for their activities in the
general news. They went ahead
searching for weak points among in
dividual stocks without any other idea
than they had no aggressive buying
out further scattered liquidation.
Equipment Orders Light.
There was some talk about the new
orders for cars and locomotives not
coming up to expectations because of
the railroads being averse to pay such
high prices as are asked-prices four
times those in the case of freight cars
that used to be paid before the war.
How much ground there was for
this assertion was by no means clear,
but it was a fact that more specu
lative buying came into the equip
ment group just prior to and just
following the rate decision than into
of ar nd ISfr ia1
list.
Consequently the open speculative
account was large and comparatively
vulnerable when the equipments We're
assaulted.
Sugars were another weak spot, as
they had been on previous days, de-
spite the knowledge that the leading
producers have sold their entire out
| put for the year ahead at prices well
above those of last year. when their
and that consequently they are not
affected by the present unsettlement in
| the sugar market.
Credit Strain Passing.
Much attention was paid to the
statement of John J. Mitchell of
Chicago, president of one of the
largest banks of the west, that the
peak of the credit strain resulting
| from the harvest demands is past.
This was surprise to many who
| were calculating upon the experience
| of other years when the drain upon
| bank reserves did not get to its maxi
mum until we'll along in the autumn.
But it quite fits in with the evidence
| afforded by recent bank statements
! that preparations for the crop moving
| requirements began much earlier than
usual this year. In fact. their begin
| ming really dates from the close of
May, when the last increase in federal
reserve discount rates went into effect.
i This had the effect of curtailing all
unnecessary credit and of prying loose
an extra supply which mediately
| became available for use in the agri-
cultural regions.
Frozen Credits Released.
The release of frozen credits
| through Improvement in the trans
] portation situation has been another
factor which has counted especially
in the last month. But along with all
this the machinery of the federal
reserve system has been set in mo-
ton fully two months ahead of the
accustomed time.
Under the old conditions the east
| ern banks used to lend to the limit
of their resources right up to the
| moment when their correspondents in
| the west and south started to with
| draw their balances. There was
| many a good bull market in August
which went on the rocks in Septem-
J Der.
But this year. thanEs to the wise
| and diSintereSted supervision of the
| federal reserve heads. an untimely
| midsummer speculation has been re-
pressed and the banking position has
| been strengthened at a time when 1t
| ordinarily grows weaker.