Evening star., 1924-04-05
Stock Market Recovery Held
Due to Logical Adjustments
Record Past Week Typical of Wall
n,s. Streets Habit of Making abrupt
Rushes-MMny Issues Benefited.

peak some time ago, and now are on
the down grade. The result is that
the extraordinary gross earnings re-
ported month by month since the
swallowed up in expense accounts,
but are showing in the net. This
means for most Of the carriers con-
tinuance OF a very satisfactory surplus
available for dividends and, II the gem
eral business volume Is maintained at
anything like the present, and if moth
ing goes wrong in the presidential cam
paign, it undoubtedly means resumption
or increase in numerous dividends.
Cotton Trade Necessary.
The most important development in
.he business situation during the
week was the sharp recovery in cot
ton prices, accompanied by a; substan-
tial increase in prices for cotton
goods. 1t is not yet clear by any
means that cotton-mill owners can
| make money at existing quotations.
But 1t is clear that mill curtailment
the demand for print cloths and other
cotton manufactures. This renders II
safe to say that the cotton trade has
turned the corner.
On the other hand, there has been
no Improvement in other agricultural
lines. Wheat prices continue to sag
and there is real depression in the
cattle industry. 1t is good politics,
especially in presidential year, to
push measures of relief like the Nc
the assistance of government credit,
to aid the wheat farmer to success
fully market his product But the
ultimate solution of the problem will
of this sort. The essential fact is
that competing countries with lower
labor costs can greatly underSen the
American wheat raiser. Under these
circumstances, no dependence can be
placed longer upon the foreign outlet
for the American surplus. The wheat
farmers must be made to realize that
they Will have to cut their production
to suit the requirements of the domestic
market alone. The IL per cent reduction
reported in winter wheat acreage, with
the prospect of slightly larger per-
centage in the spring wheat area, In
dicates n good deal of progress, but
so far II has evidently not been enough.
Money supply Equal to Demand.
The investment demand. both for
old and new securities. is we'll sus-
tained, founded as II Is upon the
signs OF superabundant money
supply. Time loans and commercial
paper are now being quoted at the
lowest of the year. The danger al
ways is under conditions like these
, that new capital offerings will be
pushed to excess and the market be-
come overloaded. But this stage has
certainly. not yet been reached.
The latest reports are that new
business coming into the steel COM
panies has fallen off from the very
high level of a fortnight ago, and
that competition Is on the increase.
But if the second quarter is not to be
as favorable as the first, the state
ments for the three months ended
| March 81 are going to make an ex-
cellent showing, and this is what the
| market at the moment is more inter-
| ested in. The oil data are very con-
| fiIcting. The curtailment of output,
which went on from September to the
| middle of March, has been checked,
| and production is on the increase.
But SO far the increase has been
| small and does not threaten to affect
prices. If the oil companies can get
! present prices for their big surplus
| of low-price-cost crude in storage, it
| will mean large earnings and quite
possibly q series of dividend in
creases- 1t Is this that the market
for the oil shares is reckoning upon.