Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-25
Tone OF CLOSING
MARKET Stronger
Widesprea ad Price, Cutting Move
ment the Dominating Factor
of Market Situation

New York, Sept. 25..-There was
A marked improvement in tone of days
closing market after the irregular open
ing. which apparently to a large. ex.
tent was made on free covering OF the
short interest. The dealings in the alb
breviated session were confined almost
exclusively to the professional traders
representing to a large proportion the
familiar week end evening-up opera
tions.
The uncertain trade conditions as in
dicated By the country wide price cut
ting movement answered for the un-
settled initial movements. Most OF the
industrials with the exception OF the
oils manifested further reactionary ten
denotes. The selling movement. how.
ever, was Of short duration. as efforts to
force the reaction evidently dislodged
little stock. witch fact influenced n
sharp about face turn of position on
part of the traders and was followed
BY hasty covering. In the meantime
the rails and oils exhibited the same
persistent and consistent strength.
Realizing sales on the recovery brought
some fresh shading in the final trading.
There was a sudden shifting OF scenes
In Wall Street this week from the
money market worries to sudden wave
of price reduction. While this trans
formation of conditions in commercial
fields came like bolt from the blue 1t
was not unexpected and was not
altogether viewed in a wholly pessimis-
tic spirit. 1t served, however, to start
the market community thinking in diff
ferent channels than they have been
accustomed for some time, and like all
sudden and radical changes, produced
more or less unsettlement. This was
largely due TO the erroneous impression,
held BY many, of there being no end to
the abnormal state of things which were
produced by reason Of the war condi-
tions. In other words, great many
labored under the hallucination that
high prices and immense profits were
everlasting.
The trouble has been, possibly wise
policy, to produce commercial de-
fiation by easy and slow stages. This
served in a measure to temporize the
rather fragrant extravagant policies and
keep matters, generally speaking, with =
in due bounds. That perhaps was
necessary TO avert a smash up of things
this fall when the strain of the crop
movement fell upon the money market.
From all indications. the crisis has been
safely passed and the Juncture has oeen
reached whereby more radical steps may
now be taken to enforce, or produce
more progress in the dehation Of com
mercial credits.
Undoubtedly, the wave of price reduc
tions which has arisen in the automobile
and other industries and commodities
may cause further unsettlement in in n-,
. dustrial prices and force new order oi
things generally from an industrial view
point. What has occurred was inevi
table. The question to be still answered
is how much of it was discounted by the
long period of declining security prices
which the market passed since last fall
When this question is satisfactorily
answered in the minds of all concerned
then the measurements of the immedi
ate future Of the market may be safelJ y
made. AT the moment. the outlook Il
entirely too complicated to permit az
intelligent diagnosis.