Evening star., 1923-05-28
TRADING LETS UP
. IN CLOSING HOUR.
1oday's Market Irregular,
IWith Many Gains-Raids
i on Some Leaders.
BY STUART y. WEST.


NEW YORK, May 2S.-Prices start
cd in higher on the stock exchange
today. with leaders of the list get
ting slightly above the Saturday final.
Very soon. however, realizing sales
commenced to show all through the
industrial list. Their effect for the
first hour or two was partly neutral
ICED by a demonstration in the rail-
way list. But in the early afternoon
the favorites of last weeks recovery
were off a point to two points.
Wall street had been afraid of
something happening at the Chicago
conference, called to discuss the rad
ical side of the railway revaluatlon
question. that would be disturbing
to holders of railway stocks. This
was why the rails did not participate
to the extent that the industrials did
in the recovery of the latter half or
last week.
Earnings Help Railroads.
When it was found that nothing
sensational had happened in the Chi
cago gathering, operators for the rise
turned their attention to the railway
list They were helped by another
series of highly favorable earnings
statements for April. The net IN
creases in the case Of New York Cen
trail, Baltimore and Ohio and Atchl-
son were particularly noteworthy
and these three stocks were all PROM
inent in the advance.
At their highs the leading rails
were up a point to , points. Among
the low priced issues Southern Kali
way was heavily dealt i'll at an az
vance of over point. becausce the
earnings reports indicate that slo
share on the common is not an I'M
possibility for the current year.
American Can. soon after the open
ing. got above 104. rise of over l.
points from last weeks low. but sub
seuuently Welded with the other spec
ulative leaders to profit taking sales.
Western Maryland Reports.
Reports continue to be heard re-
rardinG the merger of Western Mary
land with some other railroad. Some
of these reports link Western Mary
while others give the road to the
New York Central. The Western
Maryland is Rockefeller road. The
April earnings continued at record
charges for the first four months,
were higher than for any similar
period.
The gross in April was more than
10 per cent larger than that of the
same month in the previous year
strike. In the case of Western Mary
land May and June heretofore have
shown up as the best months of the
year, and there is every reason to be-
Iieve that they will so continue. The
result will be the best half year in
the company's history.
Mexican Seaboard Higher.
Mexican Seaboard issues got into
high ground for the year again today
on further news regarding the new
pool struck by the company in the
Toteco district. Despite the fact that
many of the Company'S wells had
run to salt water il was still in a
position to get enough oil to continue
it's 50 dividend The opening up of a
new light oil field in Mexico in which
Mexican Seaboard appears to have
the choice territory has a value that
cannot be estimated.
In the afternoon the market quiet
ed down and. in fact. grew quite
dull. but stocks like California Pc
troleum and American Can came back
"A point or more from the forenoon
lows. Continental Can was active at
an advance of over a point. The in
terestS back of the market for this
stock say that 1928 earnings will be
still larger than those of 1922. which
were equal after preferred dividends
TO approximately sS a share on the
new common stock outstanding.
They also predict a dividend increase
later in the year. Coca Cola had an
other run-up.
Todays fluctuations on the stock
exchange threw no further light upon
important opinion regarding the
financial outlook. All they indicated
was that professional traders who
had made money on last weeks re-
covery were taking their profits in
some directions and putting these into
new ventures in other quarters of the
list.