New-York tribune., 1921-03-02
Rails Easier
LIN Irregular
Stock Market
Traders Show Discrimina
ton iii Purchases; Re.
lection of the Burlington
Plan One of Factors

Particularism again prevailed in the
stock market yesterday. Traders
showed discrimination in their pur-
chases and sales, and the result was
irregularity, instead Of a consistent
trend upward or downward. Among
the better grade railroad stocks, how
ever. the tendency was toward falling
quotations.
First, the Pennsylvania systems an
nual report for 1920 offered no encour-
agement to those who wanted to take
q favorable view of the railroad situa-
ton 1t was virtually the first yearly
report of big road since the Esch-
oummlns bill became a law, and hence
was scrutinized with moro than the
usual interest. Although the survey
nominally showed earnings of S3.0S on
the common stock. it was apparent that
If actual receipts had been the same
and the road had been operated with
cut rental from the government or a
guaranty of net income during a large
part of the year the road would have
failed by some S4S,0OO,00O to have
earned its expenses and taxes. AL
though the disappointment of traders
IN the report was reflected by de-
cline of Us points III Pennsylvania
common. observers recognized that the
conditions indicated were not peculiar
to this one system, and other railroad
stocks were also under pressure. The
average of twenty representative rail
road stocks dropped from Ga to G3.2O.
Another reason for the speculative
selling of rail stocks was the unwill
lngness of the Interstate Commerce
Commission to approve in full the plan
Tor meeting the huge maturity of the
C., s.. & Q joint As, which are guaran-
teed by the Northern Pacific and the
Great Northern. The veto in Wash
lngton not only made it necessary for
the railroads to devise new program.
but it unsettled sentiment. Northern
Pacific, closing at 10. was off %.
points for the day. and Great North
ern preferred, selling in the final trans
action at 74Ss, was off IL points.
In the industrial list each issue was
treated independently and their nu.
merous net losses and gains, with the
former slightly in the lead. A rally
in the last half hour, resulting from
covering operations, reduced losses.
General Asphalt was a center of SELL
ing activity. and on the floor the weak
ness was attributed to purely technical
developments.
The developments in London were
not Immediately translated into changed
security prices. as the significance of
the days meeting was not fully
erasped. There was an inclination in
the Street to look upon the German
proposal as an attempt to start hag-
Cling, with the object of reducing the
repara tions demands, though realizing
that their own proposals were ridicu-
lously small when measured by Allied
opinion.
Despite the abrupt ending of the
days session. the foreign exchanges,
including british, French, Belgian and
German, showed gains for the day
They opened with sharp gains for the
day, but after the conference was ad-
journed, quotations receded from the
high levels of the day.
Cotton quotations revealed the effect
of buying, which was attracted by the
recent slump. and also reflected an i'm
proved tone in Liverpool. which repre-
sented the same speculative reaction
Wheat and corn prices were slightly
higher.