Evening star., 1920-09-16
STOCK LIST F|R|M;;
EXCHANGE CLOSED
Big Movement in Market,
Rails Leading, When Ex-
pI0Sion Checked Business.
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK. September 16.-Up to
the time of the bomb explosion in
Wall street the stock marbet was
broad and prices were on the upturn.
Continuation of business was out
of the question. Every window in
the exchange building was shattered
and much glass was. on the floor of
the trading room. Governors, after
ordering that deliveries on all cur
rent contracts be postponed until
Morday next, adjourned to meet
again at $3.50 pm. for further con-
sideration of the situation. The whole
machinery of the clearing house was
thrown out of order.
The effect of the ruling will make
the business done in today's two-hour
session, count as part of the next
business days transactions
The disaster-the first of the kind in
Wall street annals-put a stop to the
most promising upward movement
that the stock market has had for
some little time. 1t could not be
positively said that speculative opera
tions We're getting out of the rut in
which they have been for the last few
weeks. but there was no question
about the volume of business being on
the increase and about this expansion
being accompanied by a more pro-
nounced upward tendency. The dis
tribution of the dealings was also bet
ter than it has been with more stocks
taking part in the rise. While much
of the buying represented further
covering of short contracts by the
discounted bear contingent there was
also a good deal of fresh buying in
dicating a larger participation by out
siderS
Easier Money.
The significance of the easing of
money rates at the very time when a
more or less serious stringency had been
apprehended was better appreciated in
todays market than it had been yes
terday. 1t way the growing confidence
that the autumn money strain was sub
siding and that money conditions from
now on would gradually relax. which
was the governing impulse back of the
operations in securities.
The appearance of small lots of time
funds at per cent, where 5 " had been
the minimum rate for a long while. was
the thing which counted more than the
per cent call loan renewal or the 6
per cent charged for new call loans. 1t
has always been agreed that the stock
market must look to the time money
market for the first signs of permission
to so ahead, and if the decline in time
money rates is maintained and this class
of funds is more freely supplied it will
be interpreted to mean that the seasons
demands IN the crop moving ana Ill lH-
dustry have been so well satisfied that
there is balance that at last can be APP
piled to stock exchange uses.
Oils start Movement.
At the outset oil shares continued
in the lead. Later most of these
stocks felt the effect Of profit-taking,
but Mexican Petroleum was an ex-
ception, easily regaining the 8 per
cent dividend which came off it's price
this morning. The advance in the
steels and motors appeared to be
mainly the result of short covering.
The new buying which came into the
market turned principally in the di-
rection of the rails, and here 1t was
no longer only the low-priced issues
that were sought after. butsthe high
priced standard stocks as well. Read
ing was the feature in the latter
group, and pushing through it's pre-
vious high was eagerly bought
The simultaneous jump in Reading
second preferred was, also regarded
as of much significance.
Under the lead of Reading the buy
ing spread into Union Pacific, South
ern Pacific, New York Central. the
Hill shares and other Of the. old line
rails, and this movement was in full
swing when the explosion brought
business summarily to stop. Ster-
ling exchange was higher, call money
at Z per cent.