New-York tribune., 1921-09-19

dAA0 easier, money COHUltlOIS nave
cheerful spirit.
The stock market despite a good
deal Of irregularity at times, as profit
taking and fresh speculative selling
appeared. has, with all its erratic fuc-
tuations, made an impressive showing.
The sustained character of the recov-
cry in speculative securities is caus-
ing the financial district to feel that
perhaps the turn for the better has
finally come. Certainly developments
Of recent days have pointed to this.
OF course the extent to which this
recovery carries will depend in the
last analysis upon the degree of pub
lie participation. So far, it must be
admitted, the stock market recovery
has been largely an affair of the So
called professional traders. The pres
ent movement, beginning at the end Of
August, started in a short-covering
operation. The bulk of the buying in
the early stages Of the upturn came
Il.
This demand was in itself sufficient to
lift many of the highly speculative
issues several points in the average
from the lows of the August depres-
sion. With the completion Of the short
covering the market has become largely
an affair of speculative pools bent upon
pushing the issues in which they are
chiefly concerned to higher levels for
purposes Of distribution.
There has naturally been some in
crease in public interest and participa-
tion in this new speculative movement.
But it has not been on scale sufficient
to support any great bull speculation,
nor are the prospects Of this coming to
pass promising at this time. For one
thing credit is needed too urgently in
other quarters to permit divergence
of funds into broad stock market
speculation.
The averages present q good picture
Of what happened in the securities
markets last week. The average price
of twenty railroad stocks closed at
64.75, the same level as the week be-
fore. At the high point of the period
the rail average reached $3.50, on Tues
day. Thirty industrial stocks closed
at an average price of 6S10, against
68.14 the previous week. The industrial
average in the fore part of the week
went to 68.70. Bond prices in the
average maintained firm tone.
Regardless Of what is to happen in
the stock market, the fact remains
that there is huge volume of funds
In the country awaiting investment
This has been strikingly demonstrated
by the developments of the last few
days. The extraordinary success of
the Treasury's latest piece of financ-
ing stands forth as one of the most
significant developments in months.
The Treasury asked week ago for
subscriptions on a combined offering
OF $500, 100000 of certificates and short
term notes. carrying interest rates
ranging from to 51a per cent and
maturities running from six months
to three years. The response was
marvellous outpouring of subscriptions.
despite the fact that the interest rates
on the various issues were u per cent
below the level at which previous
Treasury offerings were made. Within
a few days the whole Offering was
heavily oversubscribed, total applica-
tions approximating $1,400, 900, 900.
Here in the New York district alone
subscriptions received were said to be
in the neighborhood of the whole
amount Of the issue. Recent corporate
security offerings have brought out
the same eager demand for prime in
vestment securities.
Last week was one of the four weeks
Of the year when the government be-
comes dominating factor in the
money market. The extraordinary
Treasury operations, which included
the retirement Of old certificate issues,
| the closing of the hnoks m +ha cou,