Evening star., 1923-01-24
RAILS GO HIGHER
IN STOCK MARKET
l.
lndustriaIs Allowed to Lag
Behind in Today's Very
Irregular Trading.
BY STUART r. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 24.-The
stock market today developed traits
which it has not exhibited for a long
time past 1t favored the railway
shares at the expense of the indus
trials.
The ordinary reading of this change
of procedure would be that railway
stocks were being taken up in order
to help the pools and other large
speculative interests to unload their
holdings of industrials. 1t is doubt
full whether this was the case in the
present instance, but at all events
railway shares have suddenly come
into favor, while the industrials have
been suffered to lag behind.
The main reason, rs pointed out on
Tuesday, was that with the adjourn
a month off. and little likelihood of
an extra session, Wall street sees the
stage being set for better market
in the rails. At the same time car
1oadings continue to break all records
and this means that gross revenues
will be at maximum, although
the roads will for months to come
Rave exceptionally large operating
expenses.
Weak Spots Outside Rails.
There were no special features up
to midafternoon in the railway snare
movement today. These stocks, most
of them moved forward about equal
", the most prominent being South
ern Pacific above 80, Baltimore and
ohio above a., Southern railway
again crossing 80, and st. Louis South
western, in which it was suddenly
parative earnings it was not selling
In line with Southern railway.
With the exception of the sugars,
which were decidedly strong, the in
dustrial list moved very uneveniy.
and there were quite a number OF
weak spots.
The California oils were heavily
Sold on better appreciation of what
the recent reduction in crude oil
prices in that section will mean for
the earnings of those companies.
Old line leaders in the steel. motor
and equipment groups. for the greater
part of the time, did little up to late
afternoon.
Exchange Is Slightly Lower.
Outside of the stock exchange in
which there were some interesting
fluctuations and the bond market
where several important individual
changes occurred, the financial situa-
tion today presented little that was
new.
The foreign exchanges went slightly
lower. foreign government bonds con-
tinued heavy. although they did not
break through their low prices. the
excitement of the two previous days
in the cotton market quieted down
and the changes in tie grain market
were of small Importance.
In so far as these movements threw
any light upon sentiment regarding
the Ruhr situation, the last twenty
four hours had brought no difference
in the outlook. 1t was just as much
"A question as 1t had been the pre-
ceding day, whether the German coal
strike would be a strike and cause a
recession in the French attitude
dustrial leaders are trying to bring
about.
- London Market Steady.
The London security market was
steady with the exception of French
government issues. In England the
position is different from ours be-
cause there is the unemployment
developed to the extent it has over
here. Nevertheless the strength
shown on the London stock exchange
all through the Ruhr crisis. taken
along with the action of sterling. has
demonstrated that the English finan
cfal mind has been working like ours
and has arrived at the conclusion
that whether or not events across the
Rhine are going to lead to serious
consequences, they will not have any
lasting unfavorable effect upon the
finances of Great Britain and the
Cnited States
The heavy selling of the oil shares
which unsettled the afternoon stock
market showed that recent specula-
tions in this quarter had been con-
siderably overdone. 1t was particu-
1arly true of the stocks of companies
doinS business in the California ter
ritcrity. where there has been an over
supply of oil. and in consequence
prices of crude have lately been "ut.
Whole List Weak mt Close.
Oil shares continued to lead the
market down during the final hour
Professional operators concentrated
their efforts against these stocks with
the idea that their weakness would
unsettle the entire list. In this ex-
pcctation that they were not disap-
pointed.
Prices yielded all along the line. al
though the rails held better than the
industrials. General Asphalt was q
weak feature and the street again
said that Tuesdays declaration of the
preferred dividend would be the last
in some time.
Mercantile Marine preferred was
also conspicuously weak. for no new
reason. however. 1t has been openly
admitted by heads of the shipping
trade that the outlook for their in
dustry is not good.
lConvriobt 1907