Evening star., 1922-10-10
lively TRADING;
PRICES IRREGULAR
Rush Of Buying Orders at
Opening Meets Heavy
Profit-Taking.
BY STUART p. WEST.

BY Special Leased Wire to The Star.
NEW YORK, October 10.-Wall
street today showed that the markets
are entering an increasingly specula-
tive stage.
The present operations are founded
mainly on speculation which has in
mind the probability of following the
lead of the Standard OIL subsidiaries
and giving their shareholders. in one
way or another, the benefit of treas
ury accumulations. just as the Wall
street campaign of last spring was
founded more than anything else upon
the discussion of the steel mergers
and their effect upon values.
The markets today went through
a series of sharp fluctuations. thus
tending to prove an increasing in
terest in speculation.
History Repeating.
Stock exchange history has had
number Of such occasions in the past
when speculative enthusiasm has
so-called Hnelon cuttings" The ex-
perience at all these times has been
that where one-tenth of the rumors
of this and that company distributing
extra dividends or capitalizing sur
plus accounts may come out true,
Doubtless this will be the expert
ence likewise in the present instance.
but, in the meantime the action of the
Standard Oil companies has been
powerful Indictment to speculative
imagination, and from the profess
sional Wall street standpoint. which
only considers the immediate situa-
tion, rumors can be made to serve
the purpose of putting up prices quite
as well as facts.
Effect of New Issue.
II could not be said that the in
vestment section of the market was
any more responsive than it was on
Monday to the s500,oOO.000 govern
ment loan announcement.
The indications today continued to
point to very heavy oversubscrip-
ton, and in the outside market, where
quotations were made on basis of
transactions in the bonds when is
sued. these again involved a small
premium.
But this did not have. for the time
being at least. any particularly stim-
ulating effect upon the market gen.
orally. Liberty bonds were steady
and so were most corporate issues,
but il was evident that for the mo-
ment the new government financing
and the uncertainty of its effect upon
the attitude of investment capital to-
ward other securities We're keeping
the volume of business down.
Market Opened With Rush.
The stock market opened with an
other rush OF buying orders. which
swept some Of the steel and equip
ment stocks forward to the highest
prices of the year SO far.
Then came period of heavy real
iZing sales. under which the whole
list sold off sharply. with a quite vio-
lent break in the Standard Oils.
This selling movement in its turn
was checked by equally violent up
bidding of the Mexican oils. but the
market continued through the after
noon very much unsettled by these
evidences OF speculative ~xtrava
gance.
L. $. Steel Tonnage.
The monthly figures of the United
States Steel tonnage-ShoWinS an in
crease of 141.502 tons-d!d not quite
come up to expectations, and on their
appearance the rise in the steel stocks
was halted.
Nevertheless. the total of nearly
G100.oo0 tons untitled business as Of
September 81. is a highly favorable
showing.
1t pictures the Steel Corporation in
the best business position in over two
years. and is an interesting compari-
son with the total of 4.560.610 tons
of untitled business year ago. and
with the February low of 4,l4l.O69
tons.