Evening star., 1923-03-26
STOCKS co LOWER
IN TRADING TODAY
Rally at Opening Proves
Short Lived-Rise in Call
Money Bear Factor.
BY STUART T.. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 26.-Prices
went generally higher in the first
hour of today'S trading, but the re.
covery was not sustained very long
Operators on the short side wher
they found no further liquidation oi
Importance coming in over Sunday
were ready to take profits. and thi:
repurchasing was responsible for the
early recovery in the equipment
shares, Studebaker and other leaders
''"i""~'';: 'etroleum ran up sharp.
iy, anticipating developments at The
g.. ,....s- - al Ine day. Lie street
was looking for split up of the pres
ent shares on a basis of four new
for one old. but it was much in doub
regarding the dividend on the new.
81 dividend on the new would
mean s. on the old. and this much i,
was felt. had been discounted by the
advance across lo2 Railway shares
were again Indifferent to the prospect
of series of very favorable traffic
statements for February, due withir
the next few days.
Coppers and SteeIs Sluggish.
Coppers We're sluggish and so were
the Steels. Among the sugars Puntf
Allegro gave the best account of it.
self. Cuban american rallied a point
at one time. 1t was evident that the
market for the sugar shares was not
uneasy over the Senate investigation
and the charge that prices of sugar
had been unjuStifiably manipulated
The sugar stocks were simply fol
lowing the course of the genera
market. Talk of an increased divi.
dend was back of the jump in New
Orleans. Texas and Mexico.
Reechnut Packing completely ig-
nored the statement attributed TO the
president on Saturday that insiders
this was intended to discourage opera.
1ionS for the rise it failed rather
badly.
Speculative Wall street which al
ways likes an outside explanation fol
every fluctuation. was satisfied to say
about the market today that a re-
covery lasting through the first hour
or so was nipped in the bud by ar
advance to per cent in the cal
money rate and by the uncertainty al
what the Federal Reserve BoaTd
would do at the meeting Tuesday
This was purely superficial version
of things.
The rise in money was a reminder
Wall Street use as they were. But
there was no suggestion of am
serious curtailment of credit. al
least in the near future. There have
the upward movement of the las1
year when the money market has
Iightened like 1t did today and II
has had no effect upon the stock
exchange.
Reaction Natural.
What really happened was a fur
ther perfectly logical reaction in a
market where speculation for the
rise had been overdone, and which
had ceased to respond to artificial
. n Z lion Of fhag no h 1rAsay
going on for the last two or three
weeks. Here and there. at the out
set of the day, pools and professional
operators attempted to rearouSe the
tagging interest.
For a time prices did rally under
covering purchases by traders whC
had sold short last week. But as il
became apparent that this was very
far from being a resumption of ths
real upward movement. liquidation
broke out again all through the list
There was a rush to sell which tlIerr
had been even during the declining
market of Saturday and prices fel
away with considerable rapidity.
Bond Market Also Weak.
Liberty bonds continued to sag
most of them making new lows for
the year. The general bond list was
heavy again. French exchange start
ed in lower. but subsequently rallied
above the Saturday final. At its early
low figure of 6.S6 it compared with
last weeks high Of 693 and meant
the REIMBURSEMENT of two-thirds OF
the entire recovery of the last fort
night.
While opinions differ widely, un-
doubtedly the preponderating judg.
ment Is that last weeks Improvement
In the franc was chiefly due to the
retreat of an overextended short in
terest and Signified no change from
the skepticism felt all along regard
ing the French venture into the
Ruhr.
Owens Bottle Mt New Top.
Owens Bottle reached new high
again today for apparently variety
of causes. The earnings of the com
pany alone seem to afford ground fol
the buying, for owens is making q
profit of upward of SIS, according tc
current estimates.
Moreover a banking group is sai6
TO have been buying owens in the
open market. Talk of a merger OF
Owens with one or perhaps two other
companies also is heard.
The stockholders meeting of the
Columbia Gas and Electric Company
scheduled for April 10. when formal
approval of the three for one split-up
of Columbia Gas shares will be given
will probably be followed soon after
by a directors meeting for dividend
action. The present stock pays Sc
annually and it is rumored now
that when the split-up actually
occurs the distribution on the new
stock will be the equivalent of either
like $S or SO on the present capitali-
cation.
Rapid Afternoon Slump.
When it was discovered that the
rebound of the morning was largely
dependent upon short covering and
that the more important operation
for the advance was not being re-
newed selling broke out again. The
decline of the afternoon was at times
quite rapid. 1t bore heaviest against
the oils. the steels, woolen and car
shares and others in which specula-
tion during the last few weeks had
been particularly lively
Pacific Oil was sold persistently, a
fact that was the more significant be
cause that stock had done so little in al
the advance that the oil stocks ha6
had during the last two months.