Evening star., 1923-08-03
BREAK IN MARKETS
NOT ANTICIPATED
Wall Street Leaders Find No
Reasons for Any Heavy
Selling of Stocks.
BY STUART p. WEST.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

| Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK. August 3.-The COM
plete suspension of business in the
| markets today made 1t impossible to
/ judge just how Wall street will take
| the news of President Harding s
death. Experienced observers of A.
| nancial conditions. however. when
| asked for their opinions were almost
! unanimous in saying that the effect
| would be comparatively small. They
based this statement on the ground
| that the new administration will not
adopt any changes that would be dis
| turbing from a financial point of
view.
Successor Is Conservative.
This, of course, is the all important
| consideration. The country does not
| know much about Calvin Coolidge.
but going by his action in the Bos
ton police strike and the rest of his
lrecord as Governor of Massachusetts,
1t certainly does not class him as
radical
successor to the Presidents chair
| just now who had radical tendencies
/ would be viewed in the financial dis
| trict with great uneasiness. But as
Wall street saw matters today there
| was no occasion for apprehension on
| this score. There was no reason for
business men to become more eau
tious and cut down their operations.
and there was no reason for people
owning securities to want to sell.
Market Action In Past.
On the two other occasions in
more recent times when a President
died in office the sequel was that
business went on as it had before
| This was true in 1881 after the as
;assination of President Garfield. and
IT was true twenty years later in
President Mckinley's case. To be
| sure. when Wall street got word in
the first week of September, 1901.
that the President had been shot the
market broke badly. But this was
because the speculative structure had
become surfeited in consequence OF
| ing.
Before Reserve Boards Day.
/ 1t will be recalled that 1901 was the
year of the Northern Pacific corner.
| There had been an extraordinary spec
ulation in the spring. which was re-
| newed in the summer after a chance
/ had been given TO get over the dsas-
| trous effect of the Northern Pacific
| Episode. Wall street loans became
| overexpanded, and the banking posi-
| ton. without the support of the Fed
| erai Reserve system. was facing the
/
! period with considerable misgiving.
| This was the situation on Friday.
| september 6. when. after the close of
| business hours, word came of the at
| tempt on Mr.. Mckinley's life.
| The two-hour session Saturday on
. the stock exchange was turbulent
| one. with a demoralized fall in prices.
! Then ensued a week of uncertainty.
1 during which hopes were raised by
| the bulletins from the sickroom and
1
| in stocks. The news of the Presidents s
| death, coming Friday, at midnight,
| was unexpected. and the Saturday
| market broke severely again.
Shock Quickly Passed.
| Margin traders. caught unprepared.
/ were forced TO unload hurriedly. But
i there was no dumping over of invest
yestors focked in to buy at the low
prices temporarily made after the
wave of speculative liquidation. When
the new President. Theodore Roose-
Welt, announced that there would be
| no change in the policies of govern
ment. the financial and business COM
munities were exceedingly reassured.
| 1t did not take more than a few days
! for Wall street to get over its shock.
| When il did. the market went on its
| normal course, and SO did business
! outside.
So far as the markets are con-
| cerned, the present position is very
different from that of twenty-five
! years ago. Instead of overspeculation
| we have had four months of almost
I uninterrupted decline. during which
| stocks have been brought down to
| what is admittedly a low level. In
| stead of weakness in the money
| market there is almost unexampled
strength. Nobody would care to pre-
dict the temporary course of the
| speculative movement. but the essen
| tial thing is that the Wall street
| markets are far better prepared for
| such a shock to sentiment than they
have been on other occasions in the
past.
Further Statement Awaited.
Business men will await with inter-
est what President Coolidge may have
further to say regarding the program
of the new administration. He has
already briefly announced his purpose
of carrying out the Harding policies
There is no reason to doubt that this
| will give the same reinsurance as the
| similar statement which Roosevelt
maze after Mckinleys death. What
the effect will be upon the situation
! in Congress. whether Mr.. Coolidge's s
| advent will or will not have any effect
| in the way of com posing the differ
| ences in the republican party, is a
question which is not within the prov
ince of a financial writer to discuss.
In the main the Wall street view. SO
far as it COULD be gathered today. was
that the political outlook would not be
| changed.