Evening star., 1923-06-18
PRICES GO 0LOWER
IN HEAVY SELLING
Bears Drive Many Stocks to
New Lows for Year-OiIs
Lead Break.
BY STUART =. WEST.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK, June lS.-After the
way the Saturday stock market had
held up in the face of unfavorable
news, the weakness today was dis
tinctly disappointing.
OF course. it has been realized all
along that the oil trade was a weak
spot in the situation. Just what is
back of the position here is not easy
to get at.
The street was full of gossip again
today about large oil interests get
ting ready to crush small competitors
by repeated price cutting, and the
talk was that if such IL war were on
it was influencing sentiment in high
quarters toward the entire market.
Bears Pound Oils.
But this was speculative gossip
pure and simple. The day opened
with bear traders exploiting to the
utmost the 25-cent per barrel de-
cline in Pennsylvania Crude Oil AS
oil shares were driven down to new
lows for the year, the attack spread
TO other quarters and met with a
greater degree of success probably
than its promoters had been antici-
paring.
OIL shares were no weaker than
other groups which did not have the
same trade problem to confront.
Stude baker was violently aSSailed.
despite the record breaking earnings
of the company and the unusual way
in which new business has held up.
Those best informed on Chandler
Motors affairs have maintained that
il anything is sure about the motor
industry. it is that Chandler'S per
cent dividend is safe. Yet this stock
made a new low for the year and
was quoted TO yield 1ol2 per cent.
Sugar stocks Also Break.
Interests which have favored the
sugar stocks stuck to their position
that the Cuban producers would show
up extremely well in their earnings
for 1928. but they did not carry
their convictions into the market in
the shape Of effective support.
Sugar stocks nearly all broke >
points or more before there was any
check.
The efforts which ten days ago
seemed to promise success to enlist
outside interest in the railway
shares wete quickly abandoned. The
tide was flowing too strongly down
ward in the rest of the market and
such rail leaders as New York Cen
trail Atchison and Southern railway
were off points or so from last
weeks high. The ease with which
American Can was forced down was
rather disconcerting to those who
nave regarded this stock as likely
TO be one of the most powerfully
supported on the list. Rubber and
tire shares were again conspicuous
~ weak at new lows for the wear
They were simply moving with the
general market.
kelly-SpringfieId Gossip.
A few days ago. while the tire
company shares were rejecting the
reduction in tire prices. it was hinted
that Kelly gfield might deem il
advisable to do new financing for the
purpose of refunding its outstanding
$lp.oOO.OO0 per cent sinking fund
notes and thereby get the ADVANTAGE
or lower interest rates. Today. how
ever, 1t was said that Kelly Spring
field would not do any financing of
the sort at this time.
Details are lacking in the rumors
or another copper merger, but there
IS feeling in Wall street that an an
nouncement will be made in the not
distant future regarding a new COM
binatlon. Not so very long ago it
vas reported that Ray and Chino
might merge, and now the names of
two other companies are understood
to be linked with them.