The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-30
SECURITY MARKET |S MARKING TIME
 BETWEEN SEASONS
No Particular Trend To Prices And Technical Position
 0VernS Fluctuations
WALTER F. BROWN
 eJr New York Commercial isSed Wire to The Are-HeraId

NEW YORK, July 29.-Most ques- titns affecting values of stock mar ket securities are being considered Just now largely from the academic standpoint for the good reason that midsummer dullness has gripped the stock exchange and the volume of tIadlng has dropped to a minimum. There is no partic;Ilar trend to prices and fluctuations are governed by the technical position Gf the moment with reference to the particular stock traded in. Consequently the daily record of transactions is one or cross currents and apparently purposeless movements. The market IS In fact marking time. Neverthe- less there is a distinct change of sentiment from the pessimism of the preceding weeks and there is more talk Of another boom in stocks. This, however, is extreme, for while there is not likely to be as sharp a recov- err as there was a decline, the realization is coming home that the decline was out of all proportion to the moderate recession in business which actually occurred.
 Fear Caused Decline.
 As has been repeatedly pointed out in this correspondence, the decline was due to fear-fear of a buyers strike, of a secondary" depression
 
 the business experts" and pseudo economists who have been flooding the country with their ideas. Sta tistical information and historical . data are valuable enc ugh if used intelligently, but the most they can do Is to demonstrate the workings of certain general principles. If those same conditions are again present, the same results will be ob- talned. The more conservative sta tlstical organizations call attention to the fact that allowance must be made for the introduction of new factors which they call accidental" factors, 0ut there are always new factors and they must be reckoned in all calculations. The less responsible organzaitions have merely delved into past performances and have con tented themselves with dealing with effects and giving little attention to causes.
 Many "InfOrmation" Bureaus.
 Any number of such organizations have sprung up within the past few years and the ordinary investor, not having the ready means for assem- bling such data, let alone analyzing 1t, has relied on the information thus peddled out to very large extent.
 Hence. when the abnormal activity in business began to expand itself these business advisers" made haste to set themselves in line with what they believed might be a real reac- tion and issued statements accord ingly It was easy enough to get the trading public into a state of mind" so that ordinary between sea sons slowing down of trade and such like manifestations were given an extraordinary significance.
 The buyers strike has not taken place and is not even in sight. The Woolen companies are already re- porting an increase in buying for fall and winter trade, and in fact some of them have already announced. them- selves as sold up for the remainder of the calendar year.
 New Buying Indic1ted.
 The reports of the trade journals indicate a renewal of buying in iron and steel and as has already been noted building operations that have been held in abeyance are being re- stunned.
 Particularly in the textile trades there has been a hesitancy because of the necessity for asking higher prices for finished goods to conform to the higher manufacturing costs, and dis tributors have been waiting for the demand to demonstrate itself instead of anticipating it.
 Had there been such a slowing down in industry as to bring about serious unemployment there might have been some basis for doubt as to the continuation of the country's buy ing power, but nothing of this kind has occurred. Thus far, in fact, none of the dreadful things have happened that were being shouted from the housetops as about to occur The country is getting over its fear and is once more inclined to look facts in the face.
 If another decline sets in it will be due to influences not yet definitely probable, or if there should be col lapse of government in Germany, which is possible, the effects would be felt in greater or less degree, The tendency here Is to regard the Euro pean situation hopefully. For the present at least, little if any change