The Washington herald., 1920-04-23
STOCKS SHOW
MIXED TREND
Heavy Selling Causes Con-
tinued Early Slump, But
Close Is Strong.
REPFOGLES COMEBACK
Shorts Find Themselves
Trapped as Stock Makes
Sensational Advance.
REPFOGLE'S COMEBACK


Is still wondering what happened
to the stock market yesterday, but
this is not unusual Wondering is
Wall Streets pet hobby. However.
in wondering Just what happened
to break up some OF its well laid
plans to rope in the public gen.
orally. Wall Street should not over
look the fact that even Wall Street
can sometimes get caught nap
ping.
b What really happened Is this:
Several large pooling interests have
for the past several months lin
duced'' numerous banks throughout
the country, particularly in sections
where these interests are doing
business, to absorb large blocks of
their pet stocks. This was done,
naturally, with the one idea Of TAX
ing a. zach loose stock outof mar
ket - possible These banks, 1t is
said. ;oaned large sums on these
stocks which should have really
been loaned for other and more
legitimate purposes
The pooling interests conceived
this plan with the hope Of Great
market. and then run quotations to
the sky. The large blocks of stocks
stored away in these banks would
then be brought out and disposed
Of at prices far in excess OF their
true values.
1t was a very nicely laid plan.
but from sources well informed. II
is learned that the Federal Reserve
Board ordered the banks to throw
out these loans. with the result that
we'll. yesterdays market tells the
whole story.
And now Wall Street can quit
wondering and get down to the
business of devising some other
means of catching professional
crowd short Of the market and the
public long. Sometimes even the
fixed deck dealer gets a losing
hand.
whelan Crowd Hard Hit.
Those who make It a business to
follow the so-called whelan stocks
have been pretty badly used during
the past few days. Buying large
blocks of American Tobacco Sc
curities and United Retail Stores
at very much higher quotations on
, the strength of the American To-
bacco stock dividend, they now find
themselves in a difficult position
In fact 1t Is said the whole Whelan
group are rather nervous. Both
American Tobacco Securities and
United Retail were sluggish in to-
days market, while most of the
other issues were displaying tenn
pOrary strength. Just what the
Whelan interests have in mind is
problematical. but 1t would seem
that some limit would be reached
to the continuous Juggling methods
employed. There are those who be-
lieve that both Duke and whelan
have bitten of just a little too
much, and ii is said that things are
not going as smoothly as thy
would like to have them. Nothing
has been heard about whelan's trip
abroad. and the past tells US that
Mr.. Whelan has invariably taken
the public into his confidence
whenever he feels he has accom-
plished something worth while.
Teeth In the Baldwin Bun Saw,
Baldwin's sharp drop from 14s a
few days ago to around ia yester-
day caused havoc in the Baldwin
ranks Wall Street was full of gos-
sip today concerning the many ways
in which the old buzz saw will be
employed to teach those responsible
for the stocks decline lesson.
Wall Street has its own way of ex-
pressing matters. but in the case of
Baldwin, Wall Street will probably
find that the public owes the Bald
win crowd many lessons" Whip
saving has been Baldwin's spe-
ctalty. and It may be that the in
stders themselves got whipsawed
this time; but 1t remains to be seen
just how many teeth the Baldwin
buzz saw has.
RepIogIe Runs In Shorts
Replogle ran away from the rest
Of the market today. scoring a SEN
sational advance when certain in
tsrests heavily short Of the stock
found a scant supply on trying to
cover. 1t is said that the pool be-
hind this issue has had the situa-
tion well in hand all during the
break and was waiting for Just such
a move on the part of certain in
terests as actually took place The
result is that so far the shorts have
lost heavily, and II seems to be the
general contention that a large
short account is still outstanding.
Another phase of the matter is said
the big units in the expected gigan-
dc steel merger. and It is possible
that buying orders were placed by
those who evidently know some
thing.