Evening star., 1925-02-11
CAST IRON PIPE
SCARS STILL HIGHER
Features Wild Market If
Specially Shares-Some
/ Weak Spots Noted.
by STUART p. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star. .--
NEW YORK, February H.-The
stock market today was very fixed
affair, with rather wide fluctuations
among highly speculative specialties
ands reactionary tendencies among
certain standard issues, notably the
Independent steels.
Tuesdays spectacular jump in Cast
Iron Pipe, which rose to still higher
levels today, and the overnight sto-
ries about w. c. Durant, who has
been credited with having made huge
profits in the stock, effectively adver-
tised several other issues with which
he has been commonly identified. As
consequence there was heavy trad
ing at higher prices in such stocks
at Independent Oil and Gas, Worth
ington Pump, Savage Arms and Radio
Corporation. The buying in this
group attracted the greatest attention,
while the oil shares re-established
their leadership as the session went
on.
Studebaker More Active.
A flood of gossip was let loose
about Studebaker and the powerful
buying behind it. But this was
highly speculative talk. There was
nothing new in the situation of the
company to account for the advance
10 As; it was simply a case of a
stock which had done little for sew
eral days coming into the foreground
again.
Heavy proft-taking continued in
General Motors around rs, but other
motor stocks were strong. The Max
we'll issues were in demand and
Pierce Arrow preferred ran up to 81.
There was unusual activity in Pack
ard Motor from 151z to 16. The
movement extended to some of the
motor parts stocks, notably Stewart
Warner
Bethlehem Steel Weak.
The weakness in Bethlehem Steel
did not come as any surprise to those
who have maintained that the situa-
ton in the steel trade was~much more
uncertain than it was made out to be
A month and a half ago. Bethlehem
earned only S2.56 share last year.
1t improved considerably in the fourth
quarter and showed strong financial
position, with a ratio of current as
sets to liabilities of 5l5 to 1. But 1t
is a question whether Bethlehem's S
earning power has grown up, or is
likely to in the near future, to the big
increase in capitalization necessitated
by the taking over of the Lackawanna
Stel, the Midvale and the Cambria.
Specialties In Big Moves.
1t was a neld day Tor 1nduStria al
specialties. United States Cast Iron
Pipe at ESQ was the most striking
spectacle. Universal Pipe and Radi-
ator. on account of the similarity of
business, was bid up close to 81, but
later on yielded sharply under profit
taking. Foundation Co. made high
following the increase in the divi-
dend from IS to an $S basis. Some
of the same following in Cast Iron
Pipe were seemingly back of the rise
in Worthington Pump. Savage Arms,
Allied Chemical, Air Reduction and
Sears Roebuck were other stocks Of
the speciality class which were bid
up more or less violently.
North American Strong.
With selling orders withdrawn from
the market in North American than
stock went forward easily. Reports
of a decisive change for the better in
American Sumatra's affairs were re-
sponsible for the sudden jump in the
preferred stock and for the rise in the
common above 20.f
No pretense could be made about to-
days market that it was in any but a
highly speculative stage. Stocks, in
the eyes Of real buyers, do not sud-
denly become worth 5 to 10 points
more overnight, and the upbuilding of
shares of the speciality class-the type
where 1t is always hard to judge real
valueS-waS more reckless than on
any day in several weeks