Evening star., 1923-04-30
OILS AND SUGAR
. LEAD DECLINES
Sharp Breaks Spread to In
cIude Many Leaders-Re-
view and Outlook.
BY STUART T.. WEST.

BY STUART y. WEST.
cpecial Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, April 30.-Operations
for the decline on the stock exchange
took full advantage today of the wide
spread talk of another cut In OIL
prices. further reduction, espe-
cially in the mid continent field, has
been discussed in oil trade circles for
some days past. Many believe that
inasmuch as the big oil interests are
prominent figures in the stock mar
ket. the overproduction OF oil and the
necessity of correcting it by price
cuts have temporarily Influenced SEN
timent in these high quarters toWaru
the share list as a whole.
At all events weakness In the OILS
and the sugars started the market
downward this morning and as the
day went on other sections became
involved until the decline was general
Rail shares Join slump.
Railway stocks. despite the fact
that they had not had the advance
that others had, went down win lns
rest Some special selling appeared
in Rock Island, because. IN contfaSt
to other roads. it showed in March
another operating deficit.
The street was not surprised by the
action or the Sluuebdhtl W. a.
not declaring any extra dividend me
real bull position in TINS STOCK Is
based upon the extraordinary earn
ings. and consequently much was
made of the statement that net TOT
the first quarter was equal to SS
share on Studebaker common
1t is understood that April was
even better than any month so taT
and that insiders look for the second
quarter to SHOW something iIhe SlV
on the stock.
Eastman Kodak was off at one time
nearly three points on the charge by
the Federal Trade Commission that IL
was in a conspiracy to monopoilze the
film business.
Cuba Cane Sugar preferred was the
weakest of the summer group. High
priced specialities like Dupont ana
Stewart Warner We're naturally partl-
cularly sensitive to the selllns move
ment.
Today's Financial Review.
The stock exchange today presented
the chief feature of today's markets
The weakness there had no adequate
explanation in the news.
The speculative element, which al
ways shapes its needs by the course
of the stock tape, professed to be
optimistic over recent developments
in outside trade. A great deal was
said about the overproducuon or oil
and about the necessity OF lurtheI
price cuts as remedy.
Few who have impartially examined
statistics regarding sugar production
and consumption. have any idea that
the government. beginning ITS Suit
today, will be able TO establish its
claim that the rise of the last 1e"
months was unwarranted.
The threat of nation wide buyers
strike is something more worthy o!
consideration. but il was doubted TO-
RI haf absence
spirit of sacrifice such as made pos
sible conservation measures during
the war and in the absence of any ef-
fcctive organization, sugar consunlp-
ton could be cut enough to make an
important impression upon prices
Lun After Expansion.
Nevertheless the sugar trade un-
certaintics were stressed in Specula-
tive quarters interested in seeing the
stock market down. So, too. was the
evidence that has appeared during the
last few days that the demand for
cotton at the mills has slackened and
which was felt again today in a sharp
decline in cotton prices:
The more substantial judgment
that is the judgment outside OF
highly speculative circles, is that
nothing has happened in the trade
situation of the last month to Just1fy
q pesSimistic attitude, that what mas
occurred is a lull following d record
breaking expansion during the nrst
quarter of the year. and that this
pause so far from being an unfavor-
able incident. is altogether desirable.
Credit status Favorable.
1t was decidedly incongruous for
Wall street to be getting itself work
ed up over trade reaction when the
Federal Reserve Board, preparatory
to it's March bulletin, was discussing
measures for dealing with the in
creased use of credit in commercial
lines. Since the first of the year, the
board points out, member banks have
been expanding their commercial
loans at the rate of per cent
month.
The stage has now been reached
where they have about exhausted
their extra resources, due to gold I'M
ports and the sale Of investments,
and in the event of still larger
credit demands will have to turn to
the reserve In the banks.
At present the reserve authorities
do not regard the loan increase as
excessive they do not think it has
outstripped the increase in actual
production. But that they should
think 1t opportune to discuss at
length the possibility of further ex-
tainly indicates that they are not
looking for any important downward
turn.
Prices Lowest Mt Close.
German marks developed fresh
weakness, getting down close to 81
ten thousandths of a cent, or within
only IL of the extreme low. This
tended to discredit reports that the
reichsbank had again entered the
market and was making another ef-
fort to stabilize the currency at the
lower level. On the other hand, for
the thir dsuccessive week. the note
imitation gave proof of slackening.
The low prices on the stock exchange
were reached in the last hour. Bear
traders have had things all their own
way. Canadian Pacific, the only rail-
way stock to do anything of import
ance in the recent market. broke below
161, where it was off points, as COM
pared with the high Of two weeks ago.
Rubber stocks, which previously had
been giving rather good account of
themselves, were conspicuously weak.
Copper and zinc stocks were under
pressure and United States Steel COM
mon got down virtually to its low Of
the year.