The Washington herald., 1920-04-21
!. STOCK VALUES
FADE RAPIDLY
Inflated Condition Takes
Root and Many Issues
Hit Toboggan.
MONEY IS STILL EASY
Banks Do Not Seem Inclin-
ed to Add to Troubles"
Of Pooling Interests.
MONEY IS STILL EASY

crash in the stock market should
not have come as a surprise to read
ers OF this column. inaSmuch as plain
facts have been plainly given rela-
tive to the inflated condition sur
rounding the entire speculative
structure during the past ten days
Vail Street-at least those gentle
mon In Wall Street who are directly
concerned in many Of the leading
stocks-have tried every conceiv-
able method to rope in the public to
buy their wares, and although they
have received excellent support
from Wall Streets banking element,
IL is safe to say that the public
has not been roped in to any large
extent.
The predicament IN which these
gentlemen now find themselves Is
not at all to their liking. and It
would not be surprising II a general
scramble took place to rid them
selves of their stocks irrespective OF
what the outcome would be. In
other words, 1t now seems to be a
case of every speculative gentle
man" for himself, and the public
be D., because the public would
not swallow the bait offered.
In this respect 1t might bo in
teresting to mention that during
the entire period in which these
same speculative gentlemen" have
been endeavoring to unload their
holdings. many of Wall Streets
leading publications have been ex-
tremely bullish. They have pointed
out the excellent" conditions ex-
listing in many issues. and some
a.
there is every indication that the
stock market is just beginning to
discount the extreme prosperity
this country Is enjoying"
The Case OF Baldwin.
When Baldwin Locomotive was
selling around I46 a few days ago,
Wall Street was full of the old gos-
sip copcerning Baldwin entering
the melon" patch. Wall Streets
publications did not hesitate to go
one better and hint that it would be
impossible for directors of this
company to hold off making an an
nounceTent- along these lines much
longer. Then Baldwin f1urried about
between 146 and 14S, and the same
old story persisted. This fact was
mentioned in this column at the
toned that il might be WILL to hold
/ of making commitments in Bald
win for the simple reason tha: yne
stock. or the operators behind it,
had wonderful reputation for
"whipsawing.' We now find Bald
win selling some Is points lower,
and II is safe to say that the Bald
win crowd has been one of the most
successful unloaders during the
present period of stock distribution.
Middle States Crowd Fighting.
Those in control of the market
affairs of the Middle States Oil
Company are putting up a pretty
fair fight to maintain the stocks
present market quotau ton. This
would seem to be mainly for the
reason that Middle States will
shortly announce plan of addi-
tional financing. This fact was
mentioned in this column yester-
day. However. it may be said that
Middle States is going to find 1t
a difhcult problem to successfully
hoat any new stock issue at this
time. irrespective of what strength
the stock may temporarily display.
This does not mean to infer, how
less. but IL does mean to infer that
corporations far more strongly for
titled in the matter of assets are
forced to pay exceptional rates of
interest, and even then find that
bankers are reluctant to underwrite
their new issues.
Milking the Old Cow Dry.
New corporate stock or bond is
sues of 100000. 900 or more are
talked of IN Wall Street With the
same degree of interest one might
expect to find at a session of Con-
gress appropriating $4,000 for the
bettcrment of Hog Creek Center
1t is all in a days work. and as
long as Wall Street says this new
financing must be made, that is all
there is to 1t. 1t mist be so. But
Some day Wall Street will wake up
TO the fact that the old COW has
been milked dry" 1t will be an
other question then. In fact. it Is
quite possible that the matter will
take on a slightly more interesting
aspect The stock market cannot
but reflect this condition sooner
Or later.