The Washington times., 1922-10-15


from home and foreign source
The week on the New York stock
Exchange has been notable chiefly
I. for the violent churning around Of
high.priced speculative stocks, most
q ly under the guidance OF professional
pools and cliQues, and stimulated by
the circulation of all kinds of reports.
reasonable and incredible, as to the
probable disbursements Of big divi.
dends by prosperous concerns.
Stocks were bid upward with fever.
ish haste. and In some cases their
retreat has been as hasty as their
advance. Standard Oil of New
Jersey. In particular. had a rather
p hectic career, the stock being thrown
: overheard at the end Of the week by
traders who were manifestly disap-
pointed at the statement OF cash
dividend policy made by the directors
Of the coDiT any. On Friday this
! stock dropped 20 points Of its recent
: advance. ..., .
Rails In Demand.
Mexican Petroleum and its satel-
: htes were also pushed forward
rather sharply this week on the
same impulse. but II is significant
OF the Mexican oils that they have
never yet made good any of the
rosy predictions that are so effec.
lively used to bolster up the prices
Of the stocks. while 1t Is evident
, that the reports concerning the
, gradual depletion of the Mexican
oil pools are not without good foun-
dation. - -
There has been good buying of
the oils and equipments this week,
, particularly the latter, and new
high-prfce records were hung UP in
various sections Of their price list.
The equipment companies are in a
/, most favorable position financially,
and the next two or three wears
should bring them q good mead of
o., profitable business.
An important statistical agency
has discovered that It has been the
oank and trust company stocks
that have made the most notable
advance In market prices during
the past year. From January 1
1t finds that the increase in bond
prices has amounted to 5.27 per
cent, and In stock prices 1858 per
cent. As q group the bank stocks
have gone up 57.12 per cent; oils,
33.34 per cent; equipments, 26.20;
tobaccos, 20.28; motors and acces.
sories. 1885; rails, 14.35: steel, 10.77;
sugar. 9.S2; leather, 7.61; shipping,
$50; copper, 2.gl per cent: while the
. rubber stocks have declared 1.J7
per cent.
The matter of taxes is as closely
linked up with the movements OF
prices in the stock market as In
!, the profit and loss accounts of the
Industrial concerns whose stocks
are actively traded in on the vari.
GUS exchanges. It will be remem.
and 1920 the heavy selling of
stocks ito establish losses" so un.
settled the market that new legisla.
tion was adopted last year remov.
ing from the tax-exemption class
any stock purchased within thirty
days Of It's previous sale.
The December, 1921, markets were e
not as erratic as their two predeces-
sors, but this Is as much due to the
fact that profits at that time We're
negligible as to the operation Of the
new tax law. 1t is problematical
a. to the effect of this law in the
latter part of this year.
Business men are naturally grati-
fled at the news from Washington
that the Government has no inten.
ton OF increasing taxes to meet the
probable deficit of $650,000,000 at
the end of the fiscal year. That Is,
OF course. no direct tax, but deficits
must either be made up or carried
forward to another year, and nothing
h IL gained by refusing to face the
Facts. Latest treasury estimates IN
dicate that some Of the present tax
schedules will be more productive
then have been expected. due to the
great increases in the business Oh
various branches OF national indus
try. -. r.-As,a, 2
70 The attention Of the bond market
this week was largely occupied with
the new offering of Treasury Az
,per cent bonds, the heavy oversub,
sscrfption of which Ii ample evidence
Of the liberal quantities OF surplus
funds in the hands of American in
yestors. New offerings have been
unusually small. the aggregate OF
=, S41 900 600, including q Canadian
provincial issue In the sum OF 500.
q 900 900 and the Haitian loan OF
SIC, 900 900. Domestic public utility
' and municipal issues amounted to
$1,000, 900. .'1 {.
v 3ond prices on our listed market
were inclined to be irregular, and
. even our Liberty bonds showed the
:. effects of heavy liquidation, all OF
the ~ issues selling below par
: 5Railroad bonds were heavy, in
r-dustriais' steady. and foreign gov
crnnnents held q little more firmly
than In the previous week.