Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-20
DICTUM ON STOCKS
EXC|TES COMMENT
Editor Hamilton Causes Sur.
prise at Statement on
Price Manipulation.
BY EDWARD C. STONE.

Local bankers and brokers have been
commenting freely on the statement
made before the local Bond Club by
William Peter Hamilton, editor Of the
Wall Street Journal, that the New York
stock market is and can be manipulated
only to a very small extent. In spite Of
the tremendous breaks or advances that
take place from time to time, he insists
that the stock market can be given an
appearance of strength or OF weakness
by manipulation for very short time
only. This is the way he put 1t before
the Bond Club:
LET me take another point on which
people seem to be doubtful or suspicious
that of manipulation; the implication
being that the stock market is Tnanipu-
lated against the general public. Now
1t is possible for man of large re-
sources to manipulate one or two stocks
III the general market is going in his
direction. 1t is possible for a number
of such men to get together and ad-
vance a large group Of stocks-for a
short time if the general movement Is
upward.
"But it isn't possible for any combi-
nation, any financial combination in
the world however large, however great
its resources, to manipulate stock
market which contains over TOO active
stocks. 1t simply can't be done. You
can manipulate part of the market to
give an appearance of strength for q
few minutes, but as for the whole of
the market being manipulated at the
will of any big clique it can't be done.
Let ME show you how wide the interest
IN the stock market Is.
Dow, Jones q Co., as you know, pub
fishes financial telegraph news ticker
service throughout the country. Three
years ago the financial ticker was only
In three cities of the United States, and
washington was not one of them. At
the present time that institutions fin
ancial news service, placing the person
as Wall Street itself, is in 90 cities.
think there are IL tickers in Richmond
and 20-odd in Washington.
Don't you see what an enormous
public interest there must necessarily be
in the stock market when 1t is possible
for brokers to provide such q service
for their customers. You can't swing
that body of public opinion to suit your
own purpose. It Is impossible. And
that Is the reason for the wide general
interest that has been created in the
market. It puts tremendously broad
basis underneath it."
Mr.. Hamilton believes the publishing
Of brokers loans every week is mis-
take. THE amounts change from day
to day" he said. 1.-THE collateral is
being changed all the time, extensions
are made here and Withdrawals are
made there and the collateral Is raised.
Some of 1t may be bonds, some may be
stock carried on margin and the proper
ton of those in each separte account Of
each brokerage house changes from day
to day. Now how is it possible, even
at the request of the Federal Reserve
Board how could any bank possibly
segregate those securities into particular
groups to show which were marginal
stocks and which were not? It is
impossible. We know all this but the
public insisted on having this total OF
brokers loans disclosed to them.
II have no right to speak for Wall
Street and certainly not for the Fed
eral Reserve system, but perhaps the
Federal Reserve system is sorry It gave
out those brokers' loans It is one of
those pieces of information which does
more harm than good for the reason 1t
shows only one side of the problem,
1t can never possibly tell all the truth.
wish there was some other better and
more accurate way of rejecting the
general volume of business.
be said to the contrary, is still the
barometer of business for the reason
that just as Wall Street is the reservoir
OF the little trickling streams Of capital
so the stock market is moved by all
that everybody knows about everything
No one begins to know it ALL Most OF
us are wise after the event, but every
thing that everybody knows about any
thing that may effect values finds fts
Wav into Wall Street
Never in my 80 years experience
mas the stock market failed to indicate
the general trend Of business. If some
one says these are different times and
that the stock market has been going
up for the last six years"
Local Bank Stock Sells at $50.
In yesterdays trading on the Wash
ngton Stock Exchange 10 shares oil
National Savings & Trust Co. stock
sold at $50, around the price Level
maintained in this issue.
Trading was rather light in other Sc
curtttes also. Ten shares of National
Bank Of Washington sold at 303, Mer.
chants Transfer & Storage common
sold to the extent of rs shares at lie
and rs shares of Peoples Drug Stores
preferred sold at 1857.
Carpet Corporation, which has just
been listed, figured in a 50-share sale
at 20 and five shares at %. The first
transaction on the local board was made
few days ago at IS. Federal-American
Co. common sold yesterday at 1924.
In the bond division 81 900 Capital
Traction IS sold at 9l Washington Gas
IS figured in three $500 sales at 975z
and IN one 81 900 sale at 971a.
Local Insurance Sales Improve.
Insurance sales in washington dr.
ing September showed a IL per cent
gain over the corresponding month q
year ago.
Delaware led all States in the coun.
try with the exceptional increase of 13T
per cent. Seventy-seven per cent Of
the companies reporting figures in.
creased their production in Delaware
during September. The South Atlantic
States showed an average gain of IL
per cent during September. For thu
first nine months of 1929 these State!
showed an average gain of per CEN
over the same months of 1928. For tn,
IL months just ended the South At
1antic averaged gain Of per cent.
In September the volume of insur,
ance sold in the country as a whole
was 16 per cent larger than in Sep
TENDER, 1923. Every section of tn,
country showed a gain during tn,
month, and only six States failed Il
equal their production during Septem
Der, 1928
virginia reported a gain Of II pc
cent Maryland an advance Of IL pc
cent and West Virginia a gain of pc
cent for the month under review.
FORD BUYS ENORMOUS