The New York herald., 1921-08-03
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Rails Lead Advances, With In
dustrials Firm, in Two
Hour Market Session.

| What there was OF market on the
New York Stock Exchange yesterday
showed that the constructive force In
speculation among railroad shares was
gaining confidence from reports OF June
earnings. Business did not get under
way until o'clock because of a fire
which impaired the mechanical facilities
OF the board room
The two hours of trading were divided
into one OF rather irregular and sluggish
movements and another of really buoy
ant advances of the rails. Great North
ern preferred. New York Central Penn
sylvania, Northern Pacific and others
reached upward to new high prices on
point and more were widely distributed.
Rail stocks closed at or close to their
best quotations of the day.
The fact that call money again loaned
at u per cent. after standing loans
had been renewed at per cent. was ig-
nored as a market influence for the
reason that the street looks for easement
after the shifting of funds incident to
seasonal transactions is completed. A
periodic survey of the loan situation in
dicates that only about $500, 900. 900 Is
comprised in brokers' loans, total reck-
oned the smallest In eight years. At the
height of the after war stock market
boom. in the summer of 1919. loans for
| carrying securities were estimated in
excess of s1.70o.Ooo.00o
Industrial stocks were by no means
neglected. but outside of a number in
which short covering obviously stiffened
| quotations the price movement was
meaningless. AS industry and transpor-
tation are interviewer when prosperity
| or depression is considered, 1t hardly
seems possible that rail and manufactur-
! ferent directions But the market for
a month has been pressing the railroad
! stocks forward because of encouraging
factors having application to them, at
the same time that industrials have fluc-
tuated in irregular fashion for the rea-
son that readjustment from old condi-
tions OF business imitation had not been
completed.
The June income accounts OF the car
riers have been far from uniform in
recording gains over the corresponding
month last year; yet the reports of such
prominent systems as the Pennsylvania,
Northern Pacific, Canadian Pacific. Rock
Island and the Atchison among others
indicate that control of expense accounts
| Is becoming more and more positive.
! The Atchison yesterday reported net op-
Grating income amounting to s6,3S0.S13.
compared with s1.S15.7oO in June Of
last year.
| An interesting item OF the day was
the confirmation from the best source
Of information that subsidiaries of the
United States Steel Corporation are
meeting the prices OF competitors with
no more than nominal regard for the
quotation list set up on July 6. The
steel market is free market. In condi-
tions In which competition is not cir
cumscribed the consumer is able to learn
sooner than when prices are held In q
state Of equilibrium the time that bed
rock quotations are being reached.
As Liverpool cotton speculators evil
IDENTIFY paid more attention to a possible
carry over OF more than 100000 bales
than to the bullish Government report
on the growing crop on Monday. the cot
ton futures market experienced consider
able selling. which Topped off part OF
Mondays gain. Selling pressure from
the British centre began Immediately at
the start Of business here and was sup
plemented by profit taking from local
sources. Wheat prices were firm.