Evening star., 1921-08-01
STOCKS OPEN WITH
SHARP NET GAINS
Rails, 1ndustriaIs and Cotton
Make Good Advances Un-
der Excellent Buying.
BY STUART p. WEST.

NEW YORK, august line week IN
the stock market opened with good ad-
railroads, part of which could undoubt-
edly be ascribed to short covering and
part to increasing indications Of marked
improvement in certain particular lines
OF trade.
An example Of the operation of the
first-named cause was the strength In
the steels. The firm tone here. obviously
was not due to any real Frightening of
the productive situation, but rather to a
realization that spectators for the de-
cline had at the moment at least over
played their part.
on a bitter outliik. was that in the So
called high-class rails. All these were
consistently strong.
The speculative community seems
to make in this department little or
no distinction between roads which
return on the invested capital. even
in these most difficult times, and
those which, whatever their record
may have been in the past, have for
the last year or two been operating
at a loss.
Probably a good deal of this con-
fident buying was in anticipation Of
what the July statements will show
as to the effect of the cut in wages
and the more free marketing of
grains by the farmers.
Sugar Stocks Featured.
Sugar stocks were perhaps the
feature of the day. The reported in1
quiry from Germany addressed to the
Cuban government for a price on a
million tons had a maraked effect on
prices of sugar securities. This in
dication that there was good founda-
ton for the reports that Europe was
in need Of Cuban sugars seemed to
have put quotations up sharply.
1t is a reasonable supposition that
the lessening of the menace which has
SO long overhung the market from the
enormous surplus of sugar will be
helpful to the entire commercial and
financial situation.
shared in Advance.
Industrials which have been the
target Of the bear party for the day
at least were unable to resist the con-
parts of the list. Not SO much was
heard about dividend reductions on
stocks which. like General Electric.
the same interests have been declar-
ing were selling out Of line.
Perhaps the Studebaker statement
had made them a little less confident.
Meanwhile foreign exchange was up
a trifle and the bond market, although
showing some profit taking. exhibited
the same investment buying which
was so prominent all last week.
Money rates continued easy.
In the commercial markets the fea-
ture ofth day was the government
report on cotton. This showed the
condition as of July 25 at 64.7 per
cent of normal against 69.2 a month
The trade was taken completely by
surprise. 1t was several points lower
than private reports had forecasted.
The normal deterioration for the
month Is 3.4 points. The official de-
cline was AS points.
Big Gain in Cotton.
Prices jumped from 80 to IS points
Immediately the official figures were
published And while, from a broad
economic standpoint. crop deteriora-
ton and a small yield cannot be con-
sidered a good thing for the country
as a whole or any particular section.
in this case the best opinion was that
the consequent advane in prices
would be a boon for the hard pressed
southern planters. AS in the sugar
trade also. anything which contrtbut-
ed toward easing the burden Of the
over-production resultant from the
high prices Of year ago must be
beneficial.
United States Steel common and
Bethlehem Steel b continued to be
bought with confidence again today.
especially the former. A good sized
short interest has been built up in the
steels in recent weeks. and the an
nouncement that the Steel Corpora
tion was having trouble with the rev.
enue department regarding income
taxes was looked upon as decidedly
bearish, while the statement cover
ing operations for the second quarter
was also seized upon by the bear
party. Neither of these, however,
have any effect on the selling price
LOT steel common, which continued to
move forward despite heavy offerings
for short account. The movement
which carried the stock well up to its
last high. made the first week in July.
was engineered by people having a
knowledge of the size. of the short in
terest.