Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-17
CLOSING MARKET
EXTREMELY FLAT
Money Conditions Responsible
for Collapse Of IIl-Timed
Bull Movement

New York. July 17.--With a large
percentage Of the traders absent at.
tending the second contest Of the inter.
national yacht race, the volume Of deal.
ings shrunk to insignificant proper
tions in today's lifeless stock market.
Some idea Of the staenation can be APP
preciatcd from the fact thnt during the
first half of the brief session trans.
actions barely totaled 5000 shares.
As matter Of fact, there was really
only one movement to speak of. This
was supplied In the opening bulge Of
S1a points in Crucible Steel on the
overnight announcement of another
stock dividend equal TO 14.2S per cent.
More than half of the rise was lost in
the first half hour on realizing sales.
Elsewhere in the list fluctuations were
confined within small fractional limits,
as the. dealings represented little else
than the familiar week end evening up
Of the professional traders.
Some were inclined to make n big
hullabaloo over the collapse of the iii
advised and i'll timed bull movement
this week. As a matter of fact my
one who took the trouble to look FUR
ther than the end of his nose would
have scented trouble when overconf-
dent pool operators started to buck up
against the stone wall which has been
erected around the market by the badly
strained credit situation.
Any one who took the trouble to
think easily recognized in so far as the
stock market is concerned it is no
longer question whether stocks are
cheap or not. To the contrary, it IL
just one simple little question. That
question is the possession of the amount
of money sufficient to pay for them.
For some time past the fact has been
convincingly demonstrated banks yir-
tuRlly had no funds whatever to speak
of which could be employed for stock
market accommodations. With the crop
moving season fast approaching and
the credit situation showing no indi-
cations Of genuine improvement, il
seems, even at this early date, there
is going to be some mighty hard sled
ding in the fall in order to avert and
avoid an unpleasant smash up.
Last weeks premature bullish fare
up, from all indications, had its incep-
ton in the belief of brief spell Of
money easement. In short, quite a
considerable portion of the professional
trading contingent laborcd under the
impression they were going to have
what might be called some July money
to play with. In other words, with the
return flow of the huge July disburse-
ments and with the preparations for
the crop movement probably delayed
until the first part of next month. a
great many got an idea in their heads
there would be a considerable amount
inf f,,p de .J,,rs s.,a Nhn .A,Nh ,nI,
/ could be applied in tanning the smol-
dcring speculative fame into an old
! fashioned bull blaze.
Either somebody was guilty of making
miscolculations, or else there was slip
| in the cogs somewhere in the market
machinery as instead of the promised
easier money conditions the Street soon
ran into sitter rates than had prevailed
in the previous weeks. Wall street, in
brief, found it as hard, II not harder,
to obtain the necessary financial re-
quirements for it's little game as it
had experienced ever since the powers
to-be put thc embargo on all the
speculative movements.
No one will deny that the recognized
/ standard dividend paying stocks are.
and have for some time, been selling at
wonderful bargain prices. There is also
| u TcHluThuUlc sCuIClty VI buyers. NOV
because they do not want to buy, but
because they cannot buy. That is to
say, they have not money to buy them
with. The average business man, who
in good times takes a little market
! flyer, finds himself these days entirely
too much concerned in getting sufficient
funds to carry on his business to bother
about buying securities. The majority
if the truth be known. would very much
! like to sell n few somewhere near the
price they paid for them, rather than
pay the exOrbitant rates for funds in
business needs.
When it is appreciated and fully
digested most Of the recent marke,
movements were conceived and exploited
almost entirely by the professiona
traders much of the significance of the
day today gyrations and weekly swing,
fade away. The extremely low level o.
security values would seemingly SUE
gest the adverse side of the situation
known, and in sight. had been dis
counted. a week ago this appeared q
positive fact. The air, however, i.
charged with surprises and condition.
were never 80 hard to read.