Evening star., 1922-10-18
.|NDUSTR|ALSLEAD
ON STOCK MARKET
Speculative Excitement Over
Mexican Oil Shares Again
at High Pitch.
By Special Leased Wire to The Star.

ny special lPaseu W Ire 10 Inc star.
NEW YORK, October 1S.-The days
stock market as Il whole was simply
repetition of the type of market
now grown SO familiar. Individual
stocks were moving in opposite di-
rections, where interest was con-
stantly going out of one group into
another and where price changes. in
consequence, Were extremely con-
fused.
That professional operators are
simultaneously selling some stocks
while buying others. and that the
stocks being sold are made to look
weak, while the stocks being bought
appear strong. As 4 rule the high
the public has little interest. which
are mostly in control of wealthy in
Vestors and speculative capitalists
were the sort of stocks most favored.
Oils Hold Interest.
Speculative excitement over the
Mexican oils was sustained at high
pitch by the statement of the preSi-
dent OF these companies. that while
no plans for distribution of Treasury
assets had been perfected, they had
been under consideration for some
time. With this encouragement,
speculative Wall street continued to
indulge its imagination regarding
other companies which might be in Il
position to distribute stock dividends.
and this led To u general taking up of
gh-priced industrial SpcCIIltirS.
Meanwhile. the rest OF the list was a
good deal unsettled and after the first
hour or SO was inclined to sell off.
There was no essential change IN
the character of the stock market
early in the day.
The upward tendency predominant
ed but, as usual. th, buying ccntered
upon IL dozen or So Individual issues.
which We're picked cut for one reason
or another connected with their par
ticular properties.
Baldwin at New High.
Baldwin I.ocomotiV" was heavily
dealt in at new high prices. but there
was no explanation other than the
fact that the company has been book
ing orders at u record breaking rate
during the last three months. Other
equipment stocks were sympathetic
cally strong. Talk OF 4 stock divi-'
dend accompanied the sharp rise i'll
United Fruit.
The two most important incidents
in the markets today We're u further
sharp advance in sterling exchange
and another rise in cotton. which car
ried prices above the 23-cent Level
that is. the highest of the year. Draw
ing toward Si.iS sight drafts on Lon
don were less than 4 cents in the
pound under the high figure OF last
June.
The upward movement had 4 two
fold significance. First, it was the
natural belief that the immediate
financing in connection with the 500
100000 payment on the British war
debt was out of the way. and second,
it was a recognition that having as
Sumed regular service of this debt
after having balanced its current
operations in the international trade.
there is no longer any serious OBJ
stacle to the return of sterling to
pre-war parity.
Cotton Price Jump Vital.
The return of cotton prices to the
best they have been in 1922 was eSpe-
cially Interesting in view of the re-
cent recovery OF 10 cents bushel
in wheat prices Together they mean
much for the purchasing power of
the agricultural districts. and there
fore have very powerful bearing
upon the entire business outlook for
1928.
in the case OF both cotton and wheat
if the Improvement in prices had
been brought about by increase in
foreign and home demand rather than
through decrease in the prospective
supply.
Another Oil Melon.
Another oil melon is ripening to-
day. On November "A Ohio Oil Com
pany's stockholders will vote on
proposal to increase the stock from
sl5.000.000 to S6O,0O0,0O0 and to au-
thorize a distri ibution of the increase
as a stock dividend. The dividend,
which will amount to 800 per cent. is
payable December so to stockholders
Of record December l.
Much Selling at Close.
Selling in the stock market in
creased as the afternoon went on.
Prices came down rather sharply for
a time all through the list. but in
the last hour the market steadied
and at the same time ouieted down.
In marked contrast to the strength
of British exchange was the weakness
in French exchange. The break in
francs to a new low for the Year was
hard To explain. Most Of the decline
occurred before the New York OPEN
ing and was apparently sympathetic
with similarly sharp decline in the
Paris checpue In London.
Several times before this year the
Paris Checque has been affected by
British pressure brought to bear
upon francs IL meet maturing in
debtednesS. Today may have been
another occasion of this kind.