Evening star., 1921-06-13
HEAVY LIQUIDATION
H|TSST0CK PRICES
Many of the Leaders Share
in Sweeping Reversal.
New Lows for Year.
BY STUART p. WEST.


NEW YORK. June 1s.-The stock
market had another sinking spell this
morning. more severe than any that
1t has passed through in all the ex-
traordinary declines of the past
month New low prices for this year
and last were made, and. except in
dozen or so issues, no attempts at all
were apparent at support. For TINS
decentralization there was no new fea-
son developing over the week END
1t was simply the accumulated enecI
of the influences, sufficiently well
known, which have been at work un-
interruptediy for the last thirty days
Poor trade reports. with no encouf-
agement given in many lines OF any
early change for the better. the fear
dividends. and above all the bad
morale in the minds of the investing
public and wealthy capitalists, created
blythe fearful shrinkage in market
valuations-these were the FACTORS
underlying the renewed downward
rlunge.
Many Trouble Rumors.
As always happens at the time of
such acute weakness the street was
full of trouble rumors. There was
a precisely similar condition OF
things last December. AS the market
was approaching the culmina alton OF
the 1920 decline At that time the
activity of the rumor mill centered
about the position of various big
financial institutions and the event
showed that this gossip was as false
as it was reckless and malicious
At the present time the improve.
ment in the banking position cannot
be very we'll questioned. consequent
ly the stories emanating from specu-
lative quarters have to do more with
the condition Of certain industrial
corporations and upon the damage
the enormous losses incurred in the
sugar trade collapse.
The sequel will doubtless show. the
same as six months ago, that these
rumors. where they have any founda-
tion at all. are widely exaggerated.
and are put forth in the interests of
the speculative element working for
lower prices.
Sugars Attacked First.
The passing of the dividend on
Punta Allegro Sugar and the reduction
in refined sugar prices to new low
of. s cents a pound caused the sugar
stocks to be singled out as the first
object of attack.
Fresh accounts of overproduction
Inc the steel trade. with operations at
the mills the smallest in twenty years.
brought a deluge of selling into the
steels. United States Steel common
sold at the lowest price since 1915, and
so" did Lackawanna Steel. Republic
and Bethlehem were quite as weak.
The decline was particularly violent
also in Industrial Alcohol. Famous
Players and Baldwin Locomotive. Un-
der the lead of Pacific Oil and Califor-
mia Petroleum. shares of American oil
concerns stood up we'll. So did Stnde-
baker. Chandler, Marine preferred. the
stocks were well supported all through
the worst stages of the break in other
parts of the list.
Although there was great differences
of opinion as to what will be done
later in the month with dividends on
Northern preferred and Northern Pa
cifc-were the leaders of the decline
in the rails. and plainly indicated how
Wall street sentiment feels on the
subject.
Market Features.
Pacific Oil and California Petroleum
were among the few which, in the
early part of the session, put up
much of defense. That Pacific Oil
more than three points of it's high
record was notable achievement
and bespoke some special cause at
work.
There was, however. nothing to add
to. the two main points in the situa-'
tion regarding this stock. which have
often been made before-frst. that
thes companies operating on the Pa
cif1c seaboard have hot been nearly
as hard hit as those in other parts of
the country by the break in oil prices.
and. second. that there has been evil
dence that Standard Oil interests
have been buying up Pacific Oil ever
since the stock came out.
The theory of Standard Oil buying
also applies to California Petroleum.
on account Of the contract which this
company has with the Standard Oil of
California to furnish oil at prices con-
siderably above the market. This con-
tract is costing the Standard on
enough money to make it an object
for Standard interests to buy into the
property. While the dividend action
at this weeks meeting on California
Petroleum is uncertain. because of its
being a pretty poor time for anything
favorable to be done, those in a po-
sition to know maintain that distribu-
tion will begin before the end of the
whether it will be at the rate of 6
or Z per cent
Other Markets TnaRected.
TIE other markets were not af-
fected by the disturbance in the share
list. with the exception Of some of the
railway bonds, which were carried
down with the weakness in railway
stocks. Foreign exchange rates hard
ened.
Wheat options advanced even while
stocks were at their worst, and cot
ton remained steady.
Industrial shares touched bottom in
the early afternoon. Then came one
of those sudden reversals which in
vari2bly characterize market in
which short selling has been over
done and which has at length reached
level where substantial support is
ready to come in. Prices rose over
quite part Of the industrial list just
as rapidly as they had gone down.
Some Reeoveries Slow.
The rally went on despite the con-
tinuance of weakness in the Hill
stocks and the unsettlement which
this caused in others of the rails.
However, there was marked diff
ference in the readiness of the recov-
cry as between particular groups
Studebaker and the other motors,
e. s. Rubber and most of the other
rubber and tire shares came back
much easier than the steels.
The movement in the last hour and
q half bore out indications that i'm
portant interests were taking a hand
and weEo actively promoting the re-
csvefy. There was no change in the
money market.
Call funds continued to lend and
renew at per cent
Closing In Irregular.
Mexican and Pan-American Petro-
1eums, Studebaker and United States
Rubber made vigorous recoveries in