Evening star., 1922-06-06
market NERVOUS,
STEELS ARE WEAK
Low.Priced Rails Show
Strength-Ster|ing Is
Higher.
BY STUART p. WEST.


NEW YORK. June ct was an
other day, of confused movement on
the stock exchange. Wall street was
still feeling the revulsion from last
months steel merger speculation.
1t is not 80 much the opposition OF
the Federal Trade Commission that
1t apprehended.
The head Of the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation was quoted this morning
as confident that when the facts were
all brought out at the inquiry obiec-
tions to the merger with the Lacka-
wanna Steel would be overcome.
/ Undoubtedly this reflected the views
Of steel company officials in general.
who went into all the possible OBJ
stacles in legal way before conclud-
ing their arrangements.
Rather there has been sudden awak-
ening to the fact that the benefits In
the shape Of economies to be derived
from these consultations are not to be
realized in the near future, and that the
valuation which the speculative COM
munity q month ago was setting upon
the merger stocks was altogether ex-
paying no dividends now and are not
likely to for some time to come.
Weakness in the Independent steel
shares was communicated to the cop
pers. but here the reason was of diff
ferent nature.
buyers of the copper shares was not
that they have been misled by talk
of merger deals, but that they have
been altogether premature in expecting
the resumption of copper mining and
the moderate advance in copper metal
prices to take shape in dividend action.
In the present-day fashion Of move
ment by groups. it was not out OF the
ordinary, while the steels and cop
pers were declining, for other sets of
stocks to be going ahead.
Minor Rails Firm.
Several remarkable advances oc-
Cured among the minor railroad
stocks-Lake Erie and Western, To-
ledo. St. Louis and Western and
Wheeling and Lake Erie.
But in all these instances the in
centive was not found either in the
general railway outlook or in indi-
vidual company earnings. but mainly
in the qualification of these roads as
merger constituents.
The fluctuations in the oil group
were more puzzling than those in any
other quarter. Some of them. like
the Mexican oils, were definitely
weak. Others did little one way or
the other. while still others, like Cos
den & Phillips Petroleum, were very
strong.
Outside Of the stock exchange the
further advance to new high in
sterling drafts. This was important
In tfat 1t proved that Mondays ad-
vance was not merely a speculative
move taking advantage of London's
holiday. London was reopened for
to Mondays operations in New York.
Copper Stocks Weak.
All the copper and related shares
W. orr haE IN he IA r nf n Z
the day. There were two reasons
for this. One was that, despite the
steady Improvement in the statistical
position Of the metal. the price should
have had so small an advance. The
other was that Wall street had been
setting too much store on talk of
favorable dividend action by some of
the copper companies. and was show
ing disappointment on the disclosure
that no such action was scheduled
for the immediate future.
An attempt was made to extend the
movement in a few of the Junior rails.
so as to take in the low-priced nom
dividendpaying railway list in gen
eral. But this was not successful. The
only rails of this class which really
had a sustained move were those IN
which there are merger possibilities.
The combination believed to be near
between Lake Erie and Western.
Glover Leaf and Nickel Plate caused
active buying at advancing prices in
the two first named sets of stocks
Nickel Plate had apparently discount
ed the development in its recent 20
point rise. Wheeling & Lake erie
common and preferred had quite a
furry on talk that New York Central,
having sold Lake Erie & Western,
was supplying the money received Cor
the purchase of controlling interest
in the Wheeling road.
The financial relationship between
Wheeling & Western Maryland has
always been close, SO that the West
ern Maryland shares were bid up in
the wake of the Wheeling.
Drop on Steels.
While the Federal Trade Commits
sion's opposition to the Bethlehem
Lackawanna steel merger had been
known In Wall street all Monday aft
ernoon the news had not spread
through the country in time to be
acted upon before the close.
Right at the opening this morning
accordingly, Lackawanna Steel lost 3
points. Bethlehem Steel B was moth
ing like as weak because in a market
sense. 1t had not been dependent as
was I.ackawanna upon the combina-
tion deal.
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