Evening star., 1925-02-05
SOUTHERN RAILWAY
DAYS BIG FEATURE
Oil Shares Again Pushed Up-
Ward-Shipping Stocks
Also Go Higher.
by STUART p. WEST.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, February 5.-The price
movement on the Stock Exchange to.
DAY set faster pace than it had
reached earlier I'm the week.
Speculation in the oil shares went on
afreeh, although recent favorites re-
lnqulshed leadership to other members
of the group. The moderate improve
ment in United States Steel common
was a helpful feature. Continued buy
ing Of the shipping shares in recogni-
tion of the improvement which Is
taking place in the industry they rep
resent, and the campaign for higher
prices in a number of the rails were
outstanding incidents.
Southern Railway Reaches s2.
Southern Railway reached 90. bu,
subsequently yielded to profit taking
sales. The buying movement went on
in st. Louis-San Francisco and in ST
Louis and Southwestern, in the latter
case despite the fact that the earn
~ of the last six months have been
~paratively disappointing. Mis-
i%lri Pacific common went above 4C
Tn larger transactions, and the pre-
jerred made d new high. This was a
further result of the Confidence which
Wall street feels in the new elements
which have come into the manage
ment.
There vas further short covering
in the st. Pauls, but nearing 25 the
preferred stock ran into the usual
selling. Chicago Great Western pre-
ferred sold above 80, and Western
Maryland issues and the Wheeling
and Lake Erie were taken up.
Lehigh Valley Gains.
The dividend-paying rails did not
attract as much attention as the non
dividend payers. Nevertheless, Le-
high Valley went up over a point. and
Reading was strong. Missouri Kan
sas-Texas preferred reached a new
top, and Kansas City Southern at 80
was close to its high for the year and
within 21a points of the top, made in
December, 1924. Rock Island was ac-
lively bought for a while. and so was
Missouri -KansasTexas common.
Oil stocks were prominent through
out, but were very uneven in their
fluctuations. Skelly encountered a
lot of selling as 1t crossed 80 again
and realizing sales were plainly felt
in Phillips Petroleum, in Texas Com
pany and IN Independent Oil and Gas.
General Petroleum had a remarkable
advance into new high ground, and
SO did California Petroleum common
and preferred, Texas Pacific Coal and
Oil, in which developments of i'm
portance are hinted at, was bid up
on a big turnover
American Locomotive Top.
American Locomotive passed its
former high figures. The action of
the stock indicated that the extraor-
dinary rise of the last Sthree months
has not attracted selling by the big
holders. The steel shares did better
than they have on any day for the
last week. Colorado Fuel was the
strongest member Of the group, but
this may have been due to the antici-
patton of announcements regarding
of the company.
= Shipping stocks were very Strong e
again and the recovery in the
Central Leather preferred had an
important holdings of the stock ac-
across 80.
Independent Oil and Gas.
W. c. Durant, automobile manu-
facturer and a prominent figure in
Wall Street, has been credited with
the big buying in Independent OH
and Gas, which has been very active
and strong in recent weeks. Today
the report that Mr. Durant had
bought control of the company was
said, in usually well-informed quar-
ters, to have been confirmed.