Evening star., 1924-08-27
MOVES CONFUSED
| IN STOCK MARKET
Strength in U. S. Steel Fails
/; to Spread Through List;
Weak Spots.
BY ART p. WEST.
Snecial DiSuatrh to The Star

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. August 21.-Cniteo
States Steel common was quick to
respond to the cptimistic statement
bv Judge Gary. in which 1t was
asserted that new orders in August
had run 10 per cent ahead of July
Along with this there was the char
acteristic. cheerful view of the
future. Steel, common. which had
c.osed Tuesday below 100, was car
ried across 10.
Judge Gary's statement did not
however. arouse much fresh buying
power in the market generally
other leaders were quite strong for d
time. But the upward movement
failed to develop the persistent quality
it had week ago.
q. Specially movements were very
much mixed. On confirmation of the
report that International Telephone
and Telegraph had arranged with the
Spanish government to take over the
telephone system of that country. the
stock reached much the highest fig
ures so far. Earnings are easily
sufficient to warrant an increase in
the dividend, but it would be more
logical for the company to devote its
surplus to its expansion program.
Motors Overlook Chandler.
Automobile shares were not much
affected by the weakness In Chandler
Jordan Motors, in which the market
position is said to have been
strengthened, made new high above
3}. Hudson Motors held its gain OF
the previous days. with further re-
ports of record breaking production
The drop in Chandler below 40
where it was down nearly l. points
,rN11
threw doubt upon the dividend, which
is to be acted upon before September
10. In 1921, around this time, Chan
der sold as low as 3SL, and Yet the
regular distribution was made. But
the margin of safety is extremely
narrow, and on this ground a cut to
4 per cent is considered quite likely
Among the rails buying was re-
sumed in the ST. Louis and San Fran
cisco stocks.
Famous Players Under Pressure.
Famous Players was under consid-
cradle pressure, getting down to its
lowest for the current movement.
The way in which the stock fell
back today suggested the same sort
of professional selling which has ap-
peared in the decline of other Specu-
latve issues like Colorado Fuel and
International Paper. Earnings fell
off quite sharply in the second quar-
ter. equaing about sl.60 share on
the no par common as against $2.70
in the first three months. At the rate
of net income, the first six months
of 1924. Famous Players have been
barely covering dividend Requirement
of IS annually.
National Biscuit and Loose Wiles
were bid up. but there was nothing
new to explain their movement. The
Street thought that the best explana-
tion for National Biscuits strength
was that the chief interests behind
1t have been consistently bullish on
the market. On. its dividends and
earnings, National Biscuit is regarded
as high enough. The stock pays $3
year and is earning about S.
Loose WileS' indicated earnings are
around Sc to 81 a share.
Stewart Warner Gossip.
Opinion is divided regarding the
Stewart Warner outlook. In one
quarter it is said that the stock has
been thoroughly liquidated, while the
company is in d strong financial con-
dition. Increased profits from the au-
tomobile business is looked for in the
Fall. On the other hand. certain Chi
GdBo Which nave DeeH lQen
titled with Stewart Warner are said
to be rather pessimstic and it is
probable that much of the selling has
emanated from that source. When
the company reduced it's dividend
from $40 to S5 it was regarded as a
decidedly favorable action, for earn
ings had not justified the higher rate.
Sharp Breaks Near Close.
The determining factor in the
afternoon market was the abrupt
break in the high priced industrials,
in National Lead and General Elec-
tric particularly. The ease with
which these stocks went down i'm
pressed the street with the highly
speculative character of recent oper-
ations for the rise in this section of
the list. Mercantile Marine preferred
in the last hour was off 5 points from
it's recent top.
The early afternoon move in the
Southwestern rails was quickly
checked. Anaconda continued to be
freely offered at a decline of nearly
a point, but, on the other hand, Steel
common as it got down below 1O9
again ran into substantial buying
CLOSE UNSETTLED.