The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-31
MART REACTIONS MERELYTECHN|CAL EXPERT DECLARES
No Special Significance At- taches to Trading of Past
 Week
By WALTER B. BROWN. Editor New York Commerciai. Spc- ciaI Dispatch to The Age-Herald.

ctsi Dispatch 10 lnc RSc-Nertios
 NEW YORK, Marcn 5o.--5uch re aetionary tendency as has appeared n the stock market within the last to days has been merely of tech nical character and quite in ac- cordance with the expectations of those who have been closely follow ing it's trend. There has been noth- ing particularly significant about 1t within the week. there has been q substantial recovery but with some slight sagging tendency on Thursday prior to the stock exchange holiday on Friday.
 The most significant feature has been the nervousness displayed as to what might he the outcome of the meeting of the federal reserve gov ernors at Washington held during the week. There seemed to be a fear of further advance in the redis- count rate and reports rom Wash ington We're awaited with interest Nothing of the kind transpired and it seemed finally to dawn upon Wall street that it was working itself into a ferment of excitement without any particular reason.
 Psychological Reaction.
 As matter of fact, it has all been a psycholical reaction based upon fear of imitation and a secondary dc- preSsion. It has had its inception among the business cycle theorists who have drawn their conclusions from past performances. At least one prominent newspaper that ought to know better has sought to prove that the industrial boom was top heavy and could not last, while mak- ing an effort to demonstrate that in flation had already set in to a degree to justify apprehension. The writer has maintained all along that the present industrial activity will pre- ,..,t ,i.,,, a,,I hot as long as it continued upon it's pres ent basis there was no cause for apprehension. He has refused to be- lieve that the boom was top-heavy or that there was any reason to ex- pect it's collapse. This view mas been verified by the statesments issued by the federal reserve board and by informal views expressed by the gov ernorS at Washington. There is, in fact, absolutely nothing to get ex- cited about, but on the contrary, business can go forward with the utmost confidence. secure in the be- lief that activity will continue throughout the remainder of the cal endar year unless there should be some new development that is not at present foreshadowed.
 Impression Wrong.
 Wall street or at least a good part pf the trading public that is now in terested in it, seems to have cu- rious conception of the federal re- serve law and the significances of the rediscount rate. The total bills rediscounted in all the 12 federal re- serve distEicts combined are about IS per cent of the volume represented by the peak of the imitation. This volume will increase during the com mg months but it will represent only natural expansion to care for the increased industrial activity. An ad . rance in the rediscounr rate would of itself mean nothing in particular, or at least would not be as signifi- cant as if the volume of rediscount- ing were much larger than it is. The stock market would interpret the ad- vance as check upon imitation, or in other words recognition of it's existence and the assumption would be. therefore. that present levels of stocks are too high.
 The first sign of imitation would be an accumulation of stocks in re- tai1ers' hands. The federal reserve board in it's survey of business con- ditions during March very distinct ly states that goods are moving through wholesale and retail chan nels in a very satisfactory manner. This. therefore, does not look very much like inflation
 O O O
 Manufacturers Busy.
 The automobile manufacturers, for example, have been buying their sup plies practically as they needed them fearing to increase their in ventories in view of their unhappy