New-York tribune., 1920-04-22
Stocks Slump
In Sensational
Market Break
Liberty Bonds Touch Low
Levels, Cotton Down 95
to l4l Points and Grain
Prices Are Hit Sharply
Cause Puzzles Bankers
Movement, However, Be-
lieved Related to Future
Food Prices TO Consumer

Without the stimulus of any new
visible development of great i'm
portance in the outer world, stocks
on the New York Stock Exchange yes
terday afternoon slumped sensation
ally; Liberty bonds and Victory notes
touched new low levels: cotton sold
95 to 141 points lower; the grain mar
kets broke sharply and sterling ex-
change declined more than 81 cents
to, the pound.
Students of financial fluctuations, in
Guiding leading bankers of America,
expressed doubt as to the cause of
the break. Varying theories were
offered, the one point of similarity
being that the movement in the mar
in prices of commodities sold at re-
tail.
Among the factors mentioned as un-
| settling to financial sentiment were: A.:
The financial difficulties in Japan.
which led to the failure of one bank
and to the closing of the Stock Ex-
change.
The announcement of the Federal
Reserve Bank %of Kansas City that it
would put into effect the new amend
ment to the Reserve act, which pro-
vides for progressive rates for re-
discounts and which would penalize
those institutions which lean heaviest
on the Reserve banks.
Tight money and the adjustment of
outstanding bonds to the unprece-
dentedly high rates which government
and corporations are now paying for
| new accomm tions.
General Motors Falls Heaviest
did not develop into alarming proper
tions until after the noon hour, but it
was in the last hour that liquidation
was heaviest. As was the case in the
break last November, the most sensa-
tional decline was in General Motors,
which lost 42& points and closed at
275, compared with the high record
price of 41O made only few weeks
ago. Baldwin Locomotive, which was
recently put up to 1485s by pool op-
orators, closed at 115, off 14A points.
Other losses were: Anne rlcan Loco
motive, 1s points; American Woolen,
I; Chandler Motors, ~; Crucible
Steel, 9; Endicott-J Johnson, 9, Inter
/ national Motor Truck, 13k; Mexican
Petroleum, 7; Pan-American Petro-
leum, IA Pierce Arrow, 6A; Punta
Allegro Sugar, 12A; Stromberg Car
buretor 1012; United States Rubber,
65s; United States Steel, "a, and
Vanadium Steel, ~ points.
The selling wave of the last hour was
of such great proportions that transac-
tions were recorded on the ticker tape
twenty minutes after the closing gong
had sounded on the trading floor. On
few occasions has this period been ex-
ceeded. Total sales exceeded 100000
| shares. & =
disturbing feature Of the invest
ment market was the continued liQui-
dation of Liberty bonds, most of the
issues reaching new low record quota
tions. The second 4s and the second
4As declined to 85 Other lows
reached were: Liberty, 313s, 1920; first
as, ST: first 4As, 8740; third, 44 s.
9O7o; fourth, 414 S, S5.o6; Victory Az s,
96.10.
Wartime Prosperity Reaction
Baron Takahashi Minister of Finance
of Japan, in message to the American
people declares that "there is neither
reason nor necessity for importing
gold from the United States"
The baron's cablegram was received
late yesterday by Akra Den, japanese
financial commi issioner in New York.
In response to an inquiry from The
Tribune, Mr.. Den said Monday it was
unlikely Japan would withdraw her
credit balances from the United States,
and queried the head Of the Ministry
on the subject. Japan is known to
have balences to her credit in London
and New York in excess of $3.50, 900, 900,