Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-10-11
OIL STOCKS AGAIN BUSY
IN WALL Street MARKET
Mexican Petroleum Shares
Break Below 90 Be.
fore Noon.
PRICES on CRUDE ADVANCING
Call Money Goes ZIP From to . L.:
Owing TO Heavy Government With
drnwris 10 Pay or Maturing Notes
and Interest.
ny IL. T.. linruuiu.
Itp I'nttefI SeNpu

~.
NEW YORK, Oct. l0.--Low-priccd
oils were firm to strong today bu.
the rails and industrials stool still.
Mexican Petroleum. which made lIg
a. on It's recent upward movement
nni was above 100 last week, b-o,:c
below 80 around noon. The ro;ca
and preferred shares u. the Dohcny
Iompani"a wer. also weak
Everywhere one turns a different
story Is heard u explain why prices
"i crude oil are advancing and why
INC pohenY stocks ARC declining
our correspondent tailed today With
e big Wall street banker. who has
Jus, returned from the West. lie
says the West iH Just as SURPRISED as
othrr parts Of In" country over the
advances In the price OF oil. S;orics of
exhaustion OF supply in the Dohcny
hclds were heard again today. One
new explanation was that the nd
vance In crude prices was due to the
congressional Investigation threaten
al BY Western and Southwestern pro-
uuccrs when crude oil prices began
10 coliapsc-StandardO Oil, Il was said
IN this connection was not looking
Tor congressional Investigation of
the OH Industry.
No Confidence In Improvement.
~ can be stated ~ a fact that tn,
west docs not believe in the recent
improvement, that has taken place
IN prices ~ oil. copper. steel nnd
other commodities the belief being
that such Improvement is propn-
t7nda II can n'so be stated MS
Tact that sentiment In the wcst hes
taken slump because Of the re-
Variable decline that has occurred
In grain prices. despite heavier home
AMI foreign demand. The present
price of wheat is far b.'ow the cost
tn,
forest CHI rgcs on rnnrtg~ yes !ssuod
10 buy land ~ tho high wartime
prices. Along the roads In tho Yves,
hiSns are being put M advising
farmers 10 burn corn instead OF coal.
Under such conditions. OF course. the
West is seeing things through blue
glasses.
Nevertheless. 1t is heyond dispute
tina, real Improvement has occurred
Ia number OF brsic commodities II
is also true that the East always gets
trad" depression first and recovery
FIRST When trnic depression starts
In the East tho West invariably asks.
what IL the matter with you Th"i,
when tho East begins 10 pick UP. tho
W"st again says. The improvement;
is no, real. II j. only make believe"
shows HiE Inrrrnsr.
Today the United states steel Cor
puraiion published lts untitled order
statement as OF October !, showing
AN increase OF 5000 tons the frs,
time monthly decrease has not been
reported sine. July OF 1920. Tohay's
figures of i,5G0.SfO tons comparca
with I.53i.92G month ago; lo.3.i.s04.
4 y"ar ago and ll.lls.tGS al the Gloss
or July. 1920.
"n!I streets explanation for the
continued decline in the grain mar
;cts despite lhc large horne and for
LOO. IL
prices were higher. thcr. WAS very
heavy speculation for the r.sc The
thawing out Of frozen credits started
- decline, ana now traders are sell
ing on themselves.
owing 20 heavy govcrnm.n, with
drawa!s to pay off maturing nOtaa
and interest thcr. was IN advance
in cali money today from To l-2
per cent, but time money WAS easier
at from 8 IL To : 1t: commercial
paper is down TO IL: bank accept
nnccs are down to l-2. the lowest
level touched since December OF 1919
VIII Keep Close Watch.
Wall street from now on will keep
close watch on the railroad situ,-
ton rs result os the conference
just held At Washington between
government and railway officials -
prepare the way COR the meeting Of
railway officials u be held in Chi
cago on October II, To discuss pro-
posed freight rate and Wig. rcdnc-
tons Everybody knows that the
farmers bloc vote in Congress has
been having its own way. that farm
crS are insisting upon lower freigh.
rates for their commodities: that the
administration wants lower freight
rates all along the lines To stimulate
general trade; that railway officials
IRE in favor of lower rates that will
help move business IL railway wages
can he reduced; that railway ia1or
leaders now have in hand a Strike
vote to use at the first definite trove
for lower wages. Wall Streets hope
is that the farmer vote at Washing
ton can be turned against labor
Gains in the output of soft coal
have been shown now for the fourth
successive week, the figures pub
lishcd today as Of October !, indicnt-
ing S,S7C.000 tons, an Increase Of 34S.-
600 tons or I per cent over the preyi-
Gus week TO the highest level reached
since last January or before trade
reaction became SO pronounced. How
ever. even with these four weekly
gains, the figures are stnl far he
low normal. For the month Of Sep
TENDER, the output OF soft coal was
"5.l05.000 tons, or at the daily rate
of l.3S6,000 tons, an increase OF s
per cent over August, but the p"e-
riouS low for September for :he past
eight years was the 39,0l900O tons
in 1914. At that time we though.
general business was Hat on its back.
Like iron production. steel produc-
ton for September shows Il gain over
August. and August was better than
July. Today's statement from the
american Iron and steel Institute
covering the returns of thirty com
panies. making up 81 Of the coun-
try's total production capacity. shows
steel inSot production Tor SEPT ambcr
AZ l.lIf.1i0 tons a day against l.
13S,07l for August, and only SO3.37G
Tor July, which will probably stand
rs low record for many years To
come.