Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-11-01
INTEREST CENTERS
IN BEAR ATTACKS
Irregular Moves Closely
Watched for Detection of
Further Weak Spots.
BY STUART p. WEST,

By Special Leased Wire to The Star.
NEW YORK. November 1.-The
principal interest in the financial
situation today lay in the outcome of
further experiments by professional
operators on the short side of the
stock market.
The greater part of the session in
/ the stock market was given over to
| efforts by large operators on the out
i SIDE and by the trading contingent in
the boardroom to bring out real
liquidation by offering down. one
after another, supposedly vulnerable
stocks.
Decline Due to Rear Raids.
To account for such a downward
movement as Wall Street has seen dur
ing the last fortnight, while business re-
ports and trade data generally have
in the main been decidedly favorable,
might seem rather difficult. But it has
to be remembered that the modern
market. more than those Of a decade or
two decades ago, is market express
ing the shifting attitudes of large opera
tors: Under these circumstances the
tendency is for the speculation, whether
Tor the rise or for the fall, to be carried
to extremes.
The relentless selling movement of the
past ten days is based upon nothing else
but the possibility Of dislodging the
pools and other spectators in the rising
market OF the spring and summer, who
We're not fortunate enough to get away
with their paper profits.
Main Drive ON U. 8. Steel,
The main point which the bearish ele-
ment today tried to lay stress upon in
the steel Corporations quarterly report
s was tne sharp falling off in September
earnings as compared with those of the
previous months. OF course, the i'm
preston which specula tors for the de-
cine wished to give was that this
showed that improvement in the steel
trade had been greatly exaggerated.
Ihe facts are. AS set forth in the re-
port, tnat freight congestion. now
largely relieved, had n good deal to do
with the shrinkage. while the wage in
crease, which was still more of reason
for the September failing off. has now
been pretty we'll offset by the So "a ton
advance in rail prices which went into
effect on October l.
Rockefeller Stocks Strong.
Attention has been directed to the
good rallying power of stocks which are
ranked as representing the Rockefeller
interests in the market of the last two
were more especially Industrial Alco-
hol and the ST. Pauls. The street be-
lieves that these stocks have been
bought on accurate knowledge of what
is going on in the respective properties.
An added reason for the strength of In
dustrial Alcohol was brought out today
in the announcement that low grade
denatured alcohol has been advanced to
e6 cents per gallon and the higher
grades to from So to TO cents.
May Department Stores.
May Department Stores stock adj
vanced another ten points in the first
hour Of trading today In face of an
official statement that the fiscal year
does not end until January 81 and
that it is not likely that any dividend
will be declared until then. The May
Department Stores meeting Is Sched-
uled to be held Thursday in st. Louis.
but 1t Is said that this meeting is
likely to be postponed because two
of the officials of the company who
also are directors are in New York
and may not arrive in time for the
session. The May Company is re-
ported to be doing u record bust
ness this year.
italian Lire Advances.
In the foreign exchanges sterling
held steady and Italian lire had an
other quite sharp advance. Evidently
this was response to the change in
governments and the determination
expressed by the new Italian cabinet
to introduce economies into the run
ming of the government and to en-
courage increase Of production as the
other essential to lettering the eco
nomfo situation. French government
bonds were noticeably soft again.
Taking the investment market as
whole, it's main characteristic was
uncertainty as to whether the re-
action Of the past month and a half
is over. Liberty bonds held their
gain of the two previous days and so
did the new United States AIS The
general run of corporation bonds was
very little changed.