Evening star., 1923-04-05
PRICES co HIGHER
/ |NSTOCK MARKET
Pools Rush Industrials as
] Bears Fail in Raids on
Railroad Shares.
BY STUART p. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, April 5.-Professional
traders at work on the short side OF
the stock exchange endeavored to"
day to repeat last Mondays maneuver
and break the market with rails.
This time they did not come out
nearly as well.
g Railway shares. unprotected by
pools and with large outside follow
ing. yielded readily to attack.
+ Baltimore and Ohio was driven
down below so for the first time since
early in the year. Southern Pacific.
Norfolk and Western. the st. Pauls
and many other members of the group
were forced back to the low prices
reached during the Monday RAID.
Buying Turns Market.
But the demonstration. if intended,
as it was undoubtedly to upset the
market failed to accomplish its pur-
pose 1t found substantial buylng
along with supporting orders from
speculative syndicates ready to come
into the industrial list the moment
there was any sign of weakness.
The short interest was quick TO
take alarm and even before the pres
sure had left the railway group the
industrials were moving forward.
Mack trucks for the simple reason
that people having large profits are
still disinclned to take them because
they are figuring upon earnings at
lieve that the truck business will be
q. flourishing one for years to come
wRter. Works Strong.
Inasmuch as earnings of the Amer
ican Water Works Company are suf-
f1cient to cover full dividends on all
three classes of stocks. 1t was not
surprising to see fresh buying come
in to the per cent preferred and the
common.
Among the automobile stocks there
were further evidences of pool oper-
ations in the Maxwell Motors, there
was active short covering in Stude-
baker, and Chandler got above ~
again.
Interests identified with past cam
paigns in the tobacco stocks were
buying Retail Stores and Tobacco
Products. The shorts in American
Review and Outlook.
Little or nothing OF real Importance
happened in the financial situation TO-
day outside the stock market.
The plain inference was that the
greater part of the market was in
distinctly stronger position than 1t mad
been at the outset of the week.
Ouside of this improved condition
within the market. brought about by
the replacement of some OF the large
holdings that were distributed during
the excitement Of month ago, the i'm
porant development in the Wall street
situation was the virtual assurance
from Washington that no further ad-
vance in federal reserve discounts Is
contemplated at the present time. and
the accompanying relaxation In the
money market.
The call loan renewal only a week
ago stood at So per cent. 1t has
been steadily coming down until to-
day 1t was fixed at 4 Il. Undoubtedly
this was being taken by tho heads OF
speculative syndicates operating in
great variety of industrial stocks as
an invitation to go ahead again with
their campaign.
Allied Chemicals Report.
On the face of the 1922 report Of
the Allied Chemical and Dye Cor
poration, the results were somewhat
disappointing to some people who
had looked for a higher rate of net
income applicable to the common
stock. The balance for the common
in 1922 was, however. two and half
times the amount reported in 1921.
The most significant thing is the
company's balance sheet which shows
net quick assets increased from $67,-
4o5. 900 in 1921 to $76.1S9.o00 last year,
and government securities held by
the company were more than times
as great as they were in the previ-
Gus twelve months. Bonds of AL
He'd Chemicals subsidiaries were re-
duced from S7,367, 900 to S2.1SS.000, and
depreciation charges increased ST.
000,00
American Ice Advances.
While American Ice was advanc-
ing again today people who had talk
ed of recapitaliZation as well as of
11- hn nnr Ny nf n
large part of ice preferred, still
maintained, in face of denials. that
something of the sort is ahead. A
stock dividend, it was said. is a possi-
bility.
Added to the bullish information
regarding the operations of Shell
Union, particularly it's production of
light and heavy grade oils was the
rumor today that an increase in the
dividend of the company was forth
coming. Some expect the present 81
rate to be doubled.
Afternoon Price. Best.
The high prices on the stock ex-
change were reached in the early aft
ernoon. At that time stocks in which
short selling had been most active on
previous occasions were up two to
three points.
In other directions, where there were
not the same large short accounts to
work upon, the rise was much more
moderate. When, in the last hour,
short covering purchases slackened,
prices fell back over part of the
ground gained.
The most plausible explanation for
the action of railway stocks in the
recent market is a purely technical
one. Outside traders needed advice to
buy rails and enabled more important
interests to unload at high prices
railway stocks. which, in view of
threatened adverse legislation, they
were quite willing to exchange for
other classes of investments.