Evening star., 1921-04-14
STOCKS NERVOUS;
PRICES ARE WEAK
Foreign News UnfavorabIe
High-Grade Rails Under
Pressure.
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK, April 14.-with the
strike had been called for Friday, and
with supplementary news after the
start of business this morning tina,
! the latest conference attempting a
settlement had broken down, the mar.
kets faced another ordeal.
There were, however, no signs OF
acute alarm in any direction. Lon
don and Paris security markets were
depressed, but the losses in govern
| ment and other investment issues
were moderate.
London did very little selling over
here, and the particular barometer OF
English speculative sentiment-Roya]
1p11tch-opened ~! well above where II
What was of still more conse-
sequence. the decline of sterling ex
change was not resumed, but. on fhe
contrary. rates started in nearly a
cent higher and held most of the day
above yesterdays final.
Inese various movements were very
| mild in comparison with the sensa. :.
tionai statements of English politi-
cians and of newspaper correspond
| ents regarding the crisis and it's nos
sibilities. They did not imply that
the nnancial community had much re-
naming hope of last minute settle
ment. but they did reflect the shrew
judgment of bankers and business
| men. that no strike of such propor-
tlons could possibly last long enough
to do vital harm.
Heavy LOsses-Some Recoverie..
The stock market here was consid-
erably unsettled for the first hour or
| so. but such declines as were brourht
about were the work Of bear traders
very evidently.
AS usual. when it was found that
offering down Of prices a point or
more did not induce liquidation the
early short sellers promptly took in
their contracts. and this buyine
brought the market by early after
noon back pretty well over the
ground lost.
s,da Professionals hes working on the short
sioe mad concentrated their efforts in
the early trading upon the highly
speculative issues which it is alwavs
easy 10 influence temporarily, wheth-
er up or down-stocks like Mexican
Petroleum. Crucible Steel, Baldwin Lo-
! comotive and Atlantic Gulf.
Some of the dividend-payine rails
opened lower. but later rallied and
mad on the whole a good deal better
tune OF 1t than they had yesterday.
Low ana medium priced oils were
the leaders of the rally at midday. FOL.
! lowing reports that Transcontinental
oii mad made an entirely new strike
IN its territory in the southwest
| steer STOCKS were heavy again and
sun Ieit the uncertainty. as expressed
! men themselves. Of the effect Of the
price cuts instituted by the steel cor.
poration. wi
Deia"are and Hudson SIumps,
Delaware and Hudson broke an
other points this morning. COM
| pleting a drop of more than 10 noints
within week. While it is remem-
bered that the stock sold still lower
than it did today. back IN ,.s. J'',s'
on talk of the dividend being nasses
the feeling is that there is more
! basis now than there was at thai
| time for anticipating unfavorabIe
| dividend action. Last July the rate
increase @ was IN Immediate prospect
and Delaware and Hudson belonged
, to the group which was one NJ 7he
chief beneflciaries. This was a srr-
ficient reason why the directors feit
impeiied to continue the 9 per cent
| distrlnution. regardless of the def
| cits which had been piling IN
! Back under private control th. ro,a
did considerably better. Its gross for
| the last quarter of 1920 Increased
some $4.oOO.000 over the previous wear
and its net increased some 81 500, 900.
In January of this year Delaware &.
Hudsons gross was still up $4,000
and II had net operating income of
| $13S.OOO, as against deficit of 1925
900 in January. 1920. For February
| there was deficit Of SIS. 900, but this
was slight by comparison with the
| $46S.o00 loss in February a year ago.
| The point seems to be. however. that
| while there has been a very fair i'm
provement in the revenues of the
company. ~ has not been anything
! like enough, even with the utmost al
| lowance for the profits from the coal
mining business to warrant the con-
tinuance of so high a dividend. The
meeting to decide upon the dividend
| question is scheduled for April 2S.