Evening star., 1924-07-27
%STOCKS REACH
NEW H|GHtEVELS
RaAs, Sugars, Public Utility
Shares,an Others Climb
In Saturday Trading.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE GAINS
Reports of Improved Business Con.
ditions Chief Factor in Lively
Upswing. .
BY the Associated Press.

. BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, July 26.-Stock prices
! continued to respond today to reports
of. improving business conditions
moving upward on a large volume OF
! trading under the leadership Of the
/. rails. sugars. public utilities and
merchandising issues. Twenty-four
stocks established new high prices
for the year during the brief session
I. including six rails, five public util-
tiles. six merchandising issues and
seven miscellaneous industrials.
! Heavy buying Of American Can
I which crossed 120 for the first time
| since it's sharp decline earlier in the
year. was one of the days features
, Other pivotal issues also improved
Baldwin closing point higher at
Ills and United States Steel and
Stude ebaker closing fractionally higher
. at 101 Il and 371s, respectively.
,.ScIIins Orders Quickly Absorbed.
The market had to contend with
the usual volume of week end profit
taking, but selling orders were well
: alb rorbed. Market. letters of the
larger commission houses devoted
! more attention to foreign affairs, sew
eral expressing the opinion that a
settlement of the reparations ques-
tion at the London conference with
the completion of arrangements for q
lGerman loan would act as great
stimulus on domestic business, par
ticularly that of the metal industries.
Further accumulation of the rail-
road issues resulted in net gains OF
"a point or more in Rock Island
Wabash, while Baltimore and Ohio
common and preferred, Nashville
Chattanooga and St Louis, Pitts,
broke through their previous peak
prices. Lehigh Valley, New Or
,leans, Texas and Mexico and Rock
:lsland Z per cent preferred each fell
shack point on profit-taking. Cop
4pers held firm with Kennecott, Calu-
s}met and Arizona and American Smelt :
tfng preferred selling at the their n best IS
public utility group Were recorded by
Consolidated Gas. Brooklyn Union
fGas. United Railways investmen MT
common and Public Service of New
sJersey 8 per cent preferred.
- General Electric Scars.
General Electric was the outstand-
ding industrial speciality. soaring more
,,than points to a new high RECORD
AAt 255. or nearly 60 points above the
tkear's low. Kinney & Co. led the
lEround by climbing more than
tboints to 74as, other strong spots
!ibeing Montgomery Ward, Sears Roe
Ahuck and Associated Dry Goods
nStrength of International Harvester
uefected the reviving prosperity OF
,ahe Western agricultural communities.
q Foreign exchanges improved slight
1y despite the adjournment OF the
,i-ondon conference over the week
itnd. Demand sterling ruled nearly
a cent higher at s4.40, while French
francs showed a gain of about
points at 5.11 cents;
u An increase of s97.452.060 in loans
discounts and investments was the
Feature of the weekly clearing house
;Statement. Increases also were
;fhown by most of the other principal
tJtemS including S1.0S1, 900 in cash in
Swn vaults. s2.67s.0O0 in the reserve
.pf member banks in the Federal Re-
i9erve Bank, sS4. $50. 900 in net demand
tNeposits and s5.s46.o0o in time de, de.
,S6?S,674.000. leaving excess reserve
isf s29,S75,3 ,390. a decrease Of $S,7s6,S5O.
/. Wall street Briefs.
4, NEW YORK. July 26.-Net operat-
Hing income of the first 90 class / rail
.foads to report for June aggreE Eated
W21.5o6 900. compared with $26. 63.OO0
n the same month last year and
ilrues totaled S13S.157 900. against
.ts161. 10000 in June, 1923. a decrease
i,bf 14.2 per cent.
=, Wall street witnessed some i'm
zprovement in industry this week, al
Though it was spotty. A turn for the
better developed in steel buying,
(which if long continued, market ana
1ysts said. must be reflected in pro-
iAuction expansion. The metals start.
lid to discount a favorable outcome OF
tconditions abroad. and producers OF
cooper. lead and zinc were treated
ITO a price advance. in the midst OF
(Which there developed somewhat
Hbroader demand for these commodi-
,ties. The textile situation showed no
,lsign of bettering. as indicated in
further curtailment at mill centers.
Crop Situation Studied.
= The financial district still was in
,,clined to pay considerable attention
ito the Western growers an entirely
because Of the unfavorable- trend of
hadvices from growing centers was
lied to believe that certain crops
Knight prove to be short to greater
textent than earlier suggested.
III The present high prices for grains.
hnotably wheat and corn, have brought
Thew situation, in which they have
lbeen confronted with prosperity
mot easily visualiZed several months
fhgo. The Canadian wheat prospects
hhave been a large factor in this us
NNeme out of, the Canadian Northwest
YaIls far below the yield of last year
a. Just what would be the effect on
fhe steel industry as whole in the
ievent the Federal Trade Commits
isions ruling on the pittsburgh plus"
,.plan should be upheld in court ap-
,pears to be in doubt, although it has
lcreated in certain financial quarters
Ia belief that the independent makers
jOf steel would suffer rather than
i.profit by the change.
u Consolidated Gas Strong.
y Further strength in Consolidated
iGas, which sold at the highest price
ilyet registered on this movement, was
,good buying. The move in Colsoli-
Vdated Gas started shortly before the
iFederal court confirmed the special
Iinaster's report in the dollar-gas
obligation upholding the contention
lbf q subsidiary of the gas company
sThe decision was Of particular import
Ibecause a dozen or more other suits
9by various subsidiaries Of Consoli-
Hated Gas Company are pending
(which hinge on the same legal points
ST Is expected that later this year the
,Consolidated Gas Company will dc
Enhancing aggregatfng upward oi
ts40.000.O0O. =
Il, Rails Draw Following.
n BY dint of steady pressure a fol.
flowing has been created among the
sfails. according to leading brokerage
houses. Thus far there has been ne
5eign as to what suggestions will
Semanate from the Interstate Com.
smerce Commission in. it's proposed
revised plans for consultations among
athe railroads. To judge from the
many rumors now current as tc
.mergers certain bankers and rail ex-
Necutives have in mind steps fol