Evening star., 1923-07-27
ANOTHER SMASH
IN STOCK LIST
Railroads and Oils Start Wild
Selling Which Gains Speed
in Late Trading.
BY STUART p. WEST.

Epecial Dispatch TO Inc Stdr.
NEW YORK, July 27.-Heavy SELL
ing was resumed in the northwestern
. railway group when the marker
opened this morning. 1t had the i'm
mediate effect of discouragins ne"
buying and thereby permitting bear
traders to offer prices down. Some
of the oil stocks were very weak
again, notably Marland and Standard
Oil of California. The street was
surer than ever that further price
cut would come in the very near
future.
When stocks like the Great North
ern preferred, Northern iacine an anu
Chicago and Northwestern were sell
ing in the 70s and SOS, 1t was calcu
lated that the chances were gooo Ior
an increase in dividends from tne
present per cent; rms nope I'd
been abandoned and the stocks nave
been adjusting themselves in the
market.
MarIand Oil Weak.
Such efforts as were made to hold
Marland Oil up around the 40 lever
at which the new stock was onered
were relaxed as soon as the SUP
scription time was up: The absence
of support, along with the nasty
liquidation of stock bought under AZ
with the idea that eventually TINS
figure must be exceeded. is account
able for the present weakness. Inc
bear element made the most out OF
the break in Standard of California
asserting that this represented the
opinion of Standard Oil men on the
trade outlook.
Bethlehem Steel went higher at the
start following the declaration OF the
regular dividend and the publication
of the figures for the second quarter
but later yielded with the rest OF the
market. Two months ago the specu-
lative crowd were giving up the
Bethlehem dividend as lost and were
talking about poor earning results.
Now the figures as they appear In
dicate over per cent being earned
on the common, or nearly twice divi-
dend requirements.
Leaders Join in Break.
The weakness in the northwestern
rails and the oils encouraged a more
general resumption of operations for
the decline, and stocks of the mer-
curial type like Studebaker, Baldwin
Locomotive and American Can yielded
readily.
AS the afternoon went on selling
pressure increased all through the
list. Railway shares. like Union Pa
cific. Reading and Baltimore and Ohio,
which had stood up we'll in the early
part of the day, finally gave way with
the rest. The losses in the leaders of
the motor, steel and equipment group
extended from to 3 points.
The main feature was not so much
the volume of selling, which, after all,
was not particularly large. but rather
the slackneSS of the demand on the
way down. Stocks like American Can,
in which 1t has been supposed that
powerful pool support was ready at
hand fell quite as unresistingly as
anything else. Steel common made a
new low for the year in the last hour,
when IT broke through SO.
Stock Market Features.
The comments regarding the oper-
ating results of the Bethlehem Steel
Company included reference today to
the saving that Bethlehem has ef-
fected since the merger with Lacka-
wanna by eliminating the price cut
ting to which the latter is said to
have resorted. The saving amounts
More is being said about a proposed
deal between Baldwin Locomotive
and large car-making concern. The
combination. 1t is reported, will in
volve a capitalization OF about $780,
100000. The projected company will
be headed. 1t is said. by some of the
leading banking men of the country.
Baldwin Is expected to do gross
business Of at least s100.0O0,000 in
1923, and net income applicable to
the common stock has been esti-
mated at around 40 per cent
Those who maintain bulliSh atti-
tude toward American Can because
of the highly satisfactory earnings
and dividend prospects assert that
there has been considerable switch
ing from Steel common into Ameri-
can Can. This company's operations
IN 1923 are expected to result in rec
ord earnings, and it has been pre-
dicted that the dividend will be in
creased to Sc during the next few
months.