Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-08-04
STOCKS GENERALLY WEAK.
Crash, However, Does Not Follow
Death of President.
BY STUART p. WEST.
Special Dispatch TO The Star.

Special Dispatch TO The Star. a..
NEW YORK, August stocks
were generally weak in; the market
today, but there was no such down
fall OF liquidation as had occurred
at similar critical times in the past.
The whole market seemed TO be
sympathizing with the break in rail
way shares. the weakness in which
had already been pronounced r~tore
President Harding's death. GREAT
Northern preferred, which had fallen
three anu d half points on Thurs
Stock on Thirteen Points.
Although it was off thirteen points
from where it. was selling less than
q fortnight ago. lt was NOT surpris-
ing that d fall of such magnitude
should have brought a wave OF SELL
ing into Northern Pacific, the st.
PaulS and other Of the northwest
ern shares, and that this. selling
should have finally involved the en-
tire railway section. The break in
the rails was sufficient to have
caused d point to two points decline,
which occurred in the industrial list.
In the last half hour prices rallied
all around, reducing the early losses
by half. The steadiness of the" steel
stocks was a feature throughout, a
response, no doubt. to the latest trade
reports indicating that the readjust-
ment in the pig iron market has been
completed and that steel producers
are beginning to book new business
more freely without the necessity of
reducing prices.
Copper Shares Firm.
Coppers were also noticeably firm,
even while the early selling was
heaviest. Representative ,industrials
like American Locomotive. Corn
Products and American Can were
we'll taken on the decline and came
back easily. Studebaker and Bald
of the ground lost during the first
hour The rails for tho most part re-
manned heavy to the end.
On the basis of the first six months
opera tions of the Studebaker Corpo-
ration the conclusion has been drawn
tain its volume of net income, must
either do an increasing gross BUSH
ness or raise the prices of it's prod
ucts. Compared with year ago
Studebaker's selling prices are down
more proportionately than it's pro-
duCtion costs. In the second quarter
of 1922 Studebaker delivered 37.252
cars at a profit after taxes of s7,0S6,-
252. whereas in the second quarter of
1928 the corporation delivered 1850
cars at profit after taNes of $780,
202.
The preferred stock of the Steel and
Tube Company of America advanced
today following the announcement
that the motion of the Allied Chem
ical and Dye Corporation for a pre-
liminary injunction restraining the
distribution of the company's assets
had been denied.
Market Problem Ensolved.'
1t was a question of how far to-
days decline on the stock exchange
was due to the shock occasioned by
President. ;Harding's death and how
far it was merely the outworkings of
market conditions already existing.
When business left off Thursday
the downward movement in railway
shares was pronounced Selling in
this class of stocks would probably
have kept on as much as il did today,
regardless of outside happenings.
With the rails breaking right at the
start, in: some instances a point to
two points, it was not surprising that
the selling should have been renewed
In other directions. The resulting
losses were general and extensive.
Still there was not the acute weak
ness that would have been had the
financial community been seriously
disturbed over the political outlook.
No doubt as sentimental influence
the Presidents death contributed to
the keeping down of buying poN er
and so caused the selling to have
greater effect.