Evening star., 1920-04-06
STOCK LIST HIGHER
AND MORE ACTIVE
Cheaper Money More Than
Offsets Less Favor
able News.
BY STUART 2. WEST.

WALL STREET. n. Y. April s.-To-
days market completed the discontinue
of the bear contingent 1t was the
most active and the most buoyant
market and characterized by the greatest
all around display of strength that has
been seen in nearly "A month.
All classes of stocks came in at one
time or another for their share of at
tention- The short interest, especially
in the high-priced industrials like Cru
cible Steel. Republic, Baldwin Locomo-
tive and Studebaker, were very roughly
handled.
Along with this went a good deal OF
fresh outside buying. The trading ele-
ment which has been disposed to favor
the short side, discovered how wrong
lit has been.
The bear position has rested chiefly
upon the supposed credit stringency
1t caught eagerly at the suggestion
that the new Legislation giving
greater discretionary power to tho
Federal Reserve Board would result in
new measures of restriction that
| would bring about fresh liquidation
,, in the stock market and so eNtricate
those short of stocks at considerably
lower prices out Of d very unpleasant
predicament.
Money Down to @ Per Cent.
This hope persisted UP to noon yes
terday. But when money rates were
"
; Garded as a normal level and when
| today call loan rates were still fur
| ther reduced. off to per cent. tho
| idea that people could be frightened
| into selling real stocks by the boGie
1 Of tight credit had to be abandoned.
! There was nothing else in the situa
tion that could be seriously twisted
/ into an argument for declining prices
The French demonstration in the
| Ruhr district would perhaps he a fac
l tor slan =..f
sition and inclined to he sensitive TO
sentimental considerations. But un-
der present conditions nothing as re-
mote as this can possibly count in tho
| face of the powerful influences that
are pushing prices forward
So. too. the various threats of trou-
BILE with organized labor failed to as
sumo Il place of major Importance
when it is remembered how much
more serious troubles than any that
now appear were disposed OF last
year.
Corn Products.
Those who know the Corn Products
game and have followed il all along
We're not surprised at what happened
today. The stock it opened did
not act at all impressive. There was
evidently considerable profit taking
by outside traders. who were dlsap-
pointed because it had not Immediate
ly shot across par. Just at the psy-
Geological moment when there might
have been a desire to encourage this
/. profit taking. "a director" was quoted
on one of the news tickerS to the ef-
feet that there was no intention OF
paying any stock dividend and that
4; the earnings for the first quarter
were running we'll up to last year,
when it has commonly been under
, stood that they were considerably
greater.
A depreciating interview of this sort
J was reminiscent of the many times
when this cxpedient has been re-
sorted to with Corn Products way
| down in the twentieS and at frequent
| stages on the way up. Almost al
ways the unwary outside SPECTATOR
who has fallen into the trap has
| found to his astoniShment that ms
stock has been quickly snapped up
and soon after he sees ii quoted high
er than ever.
This was precisely what happened
today Following the news ticker
statement with 1.-THE director Corn
Products lost its appearance of heavi-
ness and very soon reached and
crossed par
Big shorts Run to Cover.
The buving, which came into Steel
common around 105, and which pushed
the stock up across los y. was tor the
account of one of the largest commis-
sion houses which has been bearish
on the market ever since the present
forward swing started the latter part
of February This house was also a
heavy buyer in other stocks. and its
operations today were believed to have
shown that it has turned on the market
and looks for higher prices
The squirt in Studebaker was based
on the belief that some action would
be taken at the meeting today on an
increase in the dividend rate.