The New York herald., 1922-05-26
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
In Drifting Stock Market Sew
eral Oils, Specialties and
Rails Gain.

AS the stock market recorded yester-
day aimless and unrelated movements
of prices. it was plain that specula-
tion had not received fresh impetus
from the railroad rate ruling and was
waiting for impulses 10 come from in
dustry. Several oil shares and special
ties were carried upward a point to
points under what looked like pool
buying and a half a dozen rails, chiefly
in the lower price group. were lifted in
late dealings. but. as whole, the
market drifted. Followers OF railway
stocks found, in examining overnight
comment on the Interstate Commerce
Commissions rate cut order. little ma
terial which could be used to Judge the
outlook for profits. Security owners
and prospective buyers are less inter-
ested in rate reductions by themselves
than In such cuts related to cuts in
wage accounts, and 1t is to be learned
whether or not the railroad labor
board will act soon on the roads ap-
plication for reductions. When the rul-
ing is made at Chicago there should
be greater reflection OF railroad pros
poets in the stock market than has been
seen this week. l@.
News that proposed steel mergers had
been held in allegiance until the Depart
ment of Justice could examine the
plans moved some hasty buyers of
stocks In recent days to let them go.
bringing abrupt reactions in steel shares.
If consideration of favorable effects of
freight rate reductions had any part
In the market for steel and other man.
ufacturing company shares It was
pretty well submerged by realizing
sales and a moderate volume of sales
for short account. An interesting de-
velopment of the day. affecting both
industry and transportation. lay in news
that soft coal prices had advanced
about SO cents a ton more than quo-
tations prevailing week ago. The Gov
ernment's warning to producers not to
take advantage of the strike situation
probably has been effective in retarding
to expect that supply and demand laws
could be held in abeyance during a
hong cessation of mining In important
fields. The necessity which has caused
some Ohio steel and iron makers to
bring their fuel from new sources In
the South suggested fortnight ago
that there would be bidding for sup
plies before the strike went much
further.
With four separate plans for Ger
man loan before the bankers confer
ence in Paris 1t was plain that measures
to relieve certain phases Of the .repara-
tions puzzle by helping the Germans to
borrow occupied first place in the dis
cussion. Most foreign exchanges were
inclined upward. although firnness of
francs and lire at the same time that
sterling merely held steady showed
where the chief interest in the confer
ence lay. Little business was done In
the exchanges, however, and the local
money market lacked feature, call
money again settling at az per cent.
after opening at 4. The only market to
display real life was wheat. speculative
hopes of holders of long contracts being
dashed by fall of 4IA cents In the
May option. Sellers of the May con-
tract month or two months ago evi-
IDENTIFY have been helped out of a tense
situation through heavy deliveries in
the closing days OF the month. Cotton
again was little changed in the days
business
Reserve bank statements showed that
few alterations to last weeks accounts
had occurred. A gain of 81 100000 in
gold and a fall of s1s,000,000 in cir
culation offsetting a gain of s31. .00o, 900
In deposits. reserve ratio was ap-
proximately the same for the twelve
banks as it was on Thursday of last
.wsek a. &4f