Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-02-16
VIOLENT DECLINES
| IN STOCK MARKET
Further Selling in Late Trad.
ing Sends Prices to
Lower Levels.
BY STUART p. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, February 16.-The
selling movement which featured the
stock market late last week was ex-
tended today and prices generally
went. lower.
The losses amounted to l TO
noints before any support was en-
countered. Then the bidding up of
a few of the medium and low priced
rails had the effect OF steadying the
entire list and short covering oc-
Cured in sufficient volume to hold
the decline in check. Where stocks
went against the tide special causes
were at work, such as the eXpecta-
tion of favorable dividend action or
merger possibilities.
Opening Very Weak.
Selling was very heavy as business
began in United States Steel. II
broke through the support at 125 and
carried the stock down close to 124
Then there was a moderate rally
The short interest in Bethlehem Stee
and in Crucible was enough to holo
these stocks better than some of the
others, although they were again in
very free supply. Republic Iron and
Steel broke another 2 points despite
statements that the company had
earned in January at the rate Of Sc
4 year on it's common shares.
The oils faded away easily. Losses
of a point to point and half oc-
CURED in such stocks as Pan Amer
lean, Pacific Oil, Phillips Petroleum
Independent Oil and Gas and Cali
fornia Petroleum. There were no de-
velopments in the oil industry to &C
count for this movement.
1t simply represented prof1ttakin
in a market which had stopped go.
ing up.
Pool Moves Abandoned.
Operations in the recent pool favor
ties of the speciality class were pretty
much abandoned. Some of these
stocks came down very sharply
Worthington Pump was off sever
points from last weeks high, snC
Universal Pipe and Radiator was down
similarly. There was heavy selling
of Montgomery Ward. Baldwin Loco.
motive was evidently getting read.
for the unfavorable report for 1924
which has been discussed for some
time. The stock was very weak. Dr.
Pont ran up above 40 on the an
nouncement that the stock had beer
placed upon a $40 basis as against the
previous So.
But later in the day the Street was
inclined to treat this as something
" uiSH IIdo uCCll PiClty "SlI IoES-
stalled.
Railway shares moved very un.
evenly. The sudden rise in Atchison
amounting to some 3 points, was
rather surprising in view OF the fact
that it was not long ago when the
stock went on 81 basis and that a
further rise has not been considered.
But this had sustaining effect on
other members of the diYidend-payins
rail group. Reports were we'll de-
fined all last week, initiating the
St. Louis-San Francisco, and paying
So dividends. The buying today
which was resumed even while the
rest of the market was weakest, had
this incentive behind it.
Missouri, Kansas and Texas was
strong on merger talk, and so for a
time was Chicago Great Western pre-
ferred. The remarkable success OF
the New Haven loan, put through
without the aid of banking syndi-
cate, was reflected in q temporary
advance of a little over a point In
New Haven stock.
The st. Pauls broke again to new
lows for the year, and were not far
away from their lowest for all time
This, with the continued heaviness
in the bonds, made an unfavorable
Impression.