Evening star., 1923-04-12
SHORT Covering
LIFTS MARKET
Prices Rebound From Slump
of Yesterday-0iIs Show
Strength.
NY STUART p. WEST.

by STUART p. WEST.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, April 12.-When pres
.ure was lifted today from the OIL
shares II was the signal for a general
coverinr movement and a renewal OF
b,y,nr all through the industrial Hst.
The prepondering opinion was that
while there had been a good deal or
rea, ,iouidation Wednesday on the
mart of recent speculative buyers OF
the oils, an equally important par. VI
the selling originated with traueis
anxious to get In their snort conItaS
in the market generally. opera.ionSs
~ this character were not continued
TODAY. because it had been FOUND that
in the main body of stocks real holo-
ers refused to be shaken out.
Stocks rallying the easlest Wee
either those upon which snort SEINE
Of the previous day had chieny con.
vereed or those in which pools were
particularly aggressive.
Leaders Go Forward.
Anerican Locomotive, Baldwin
locomotive and Studebaker proved
difficult TO cover within a point TO a
nnint and a half OF Wednesday S
closing prices. New York AIT brake
was bid up sharply on hlsniS IaHol :
q =,
the expectation of dividends later on.
II took. as usual, very little buying
to hiring about Il brisk upturn IN
Mack Trucks. United States RUBBER
and Kelly Springfield were strong
partIy anticipating another advance
In tire prices, but more largely be-
cause certain people OF Importance
believe that on the basis OF treasury
resources as we'll as current earnings
these stocks have been selling out OF
line.
In the oil section the quickest re-
coyery naturally occurred in stocks
which had suffered the most damage
in the decline of the previous days
such as California Petroleum. Pan
American E. Harland and Houston
Oil.
Throughout the street the feeling
was more bullish. the idea being that
the market had given a good account
Of itself under the test OF recent
by showed that IL was in stronger
hands than it had been d fortnight
ago.
Todny's Financial Review.
The principal incidents in the mar
ketS today were an irregular recoV-
cry in stocks. new high for the sea-
son in wheat and corn and renewed
advance in cotton options
In the stock market the important
point was the disclosure that public
confidence in the business situation
had not been shaken by the cuttln
of oil prices and the reports of falling
off in the demand for steel. These
were recognized in their proper light.
namely. putting on the brakes In time
to check an expanding movement that
had been rushing ahead too raSt-
Railway shares were again, as they
have been all along. quite unrespon-
sive to the rcmrkable weekly figures
on car loitdings, which showed that
during the last week of March the
general traffic Of the country was at
a new high for the year and much
the highest for the corresponding
period In all time.
The indifference of the investment
community toward railway shares IN
spite OF this extraordinary showing is
commonly explained in three ways
one is a constant threat of hostile
legislation at the next session OF Con-
gTess; another is that, while gross
earnings are likely to prove all that
can be wished for, net earnings re-
s1Iits are much more Questionable in
view of the exceptionally large ap-
preparations that are being made and
viii have to be made for long time
for maintenance OF roadoed ana
equipment. and the third explanation
is simply the familiar practical view
that sooner or later railway shares
will be brought to the front by the
market movers and then public inter-
est Will De aroused.
Associated Dry Goods.
Since its rapid rise to 50 a few
weeks ago Associated Dry Goods has
become less actiye at lower prices.
Lately the stock has been more or
less active at lower prices. Lately
the stock has been more or less sta
tionary, and this. aside from technical
reasons, has been regarded as re-
lection Of the first quarter earnings
of the company. 1t is understood that
net income. due TO the cold weather
which affected the retail trade gener-
ally. was no better in the hrst three
months than il was in the same period
of 1922. However, there are indica-
tiunS OF Improvement, and the street
has in mind the highly favorable
statement for last year, which showed
approximately SIS a share on the
common stock.
The sudden burst of activity In
Miami Copper which caused II to
open at 80 with a transaction OF Zoo
shares, two points above the previous
closing sale was due TO the fact that
the company has struck the new ore
body, about which there has been
considerable speculation for some
time past. The finding of this new
ore body will lengthen the life Of the
property by very many years. The
present very profitable body of the
mine. Officials of the company today
were exceedingly enthusiastic about
the new development.
Prices Weak In Late Trading.
In the afternoon interest in the
stock market slackened and prices
fell off again. Obviously the early
rally had been dependent mainly upon
short covering and ceased as soon as
the demand from this source had been
satisfied. Statements were circulated,
credited TO unnamed Standard Oil Of
ficisls, that oil production had become
excessive and that the daily averages,
including imports, were running con-
siderably beyond current consump
ton.
While this scarcely told anything
that had not been realized before, it
did lead to some fresh selling in the
last hour or So in the oil shares.
Corn Products was weak spot in
the late afternoon. The selling in
this instance was evidently connected
with the recent advance in the price
of corn, which today touched a new
high for the year. This means an in
crease in operating costs for the Corn
Products Company because 1t Is un-
able to raise prices for it's finished
products 10 keep pace with such a
rise in the raw material.