Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-04
STOCKS IRREGULAR
ONL|GHT TURNOVER
Firmer Tone Appears After
Early Period of Liquida-
tion-RaiIs Sag.
BY GEORGE T. HUGHES.



NEW YORK, December 4.-Fresh
attempts TO depress the stock market
today met with only temporary and
partial success. Trading remained in
small volume, with nothing but sporadic
liquidation, and that principally in the
railroad shares.
Weakness at the close on Wednesday
persuaded professional operators for the
decline that the market was ripe for
reaction and accordingly they offered
stocks rather freely at the start today
First quotations were almost uniformly
lower and for an hour or two the mar
ket sagged. Losses in the rails were
larger than in the industrials. but both
classes were under mild pressure.
Carrier Stocks Decline.
Among new lows in the carrier group
were those in st. Louis-San Francisco
Nickel Plate, St. Paul preferred and
Lackawanna. Earnings of Lackawanna
are running, according to the latest CAL
culations, at an annual rate of less than
81 sha.e. so that it would seem the
extra 81 paid in recent years was none
too safe, to say nothing of the regular
Sc disbursement. At any rate, the stock
showed poor recuperative power.
st. Louis-San Francisco has lust paid
its 81 quarterly rate, but here, too, the
mar ket is in doubt as 10 the continuance
of payments at the present level. The
selling in the st. Paul issue looked like
recording losses fer income tax purposes.
AtchiSon was down 2 or points in the
early trading. Better resistance was
offered by Union Pacific and Chesapeake
81 Ohio
Declines in leading industrials during
Inc forenoon were confined to fractions
TO- the most part. United States Steel
met good support just below the pre-
vlous close and the same was true of
Westinghouse and General Electric. Air
reduction and Allied Chemical had set
packs, but made partial recovery. OF
the important issues General Motors
made the best showing.
Other Changes.
Special weakness appeared in Canada
Dry Ginger Ale, where the selling was
due to doubts about the SIS dividend.
Canada Dry is in strong financial
position, but the margin in earnings
above dividend requirements is not
large. 1t would seem that a reduction
had been well discounted in the price
OF the stock. Drug, Inc, was another
stock to sell off 2 or points, for some
reason that did not appear on the
surface
The utilities ranged lower with the
rest OF the list, notably American TeIe-
phone & Telegraph and North Ameri-
can. There is supposed to be a large
short interest in both. The food stocks
were firm under the leadership Of Bor-
den Co.
New Low Reached.
Led by the rails, today's early mar
ket dropped into new low ground on
the movement.
Once again, it was railroad earnings
that proved the basic argument for the
liquidation. New lows were common
in this section of the market. st. Paul
preferred at 105s, Delaware, Lacka-
wanna g. Western at 85i4 Nickel Plate
at 8012 and Frisco at SO, all were at
new bottoms and cne-half to point
under Wednesdays close. The balance
of the rails had more sedate declines.
Money renewed unchanged at 2 per
cent. Trading during the first half
hour amounted to 200,500 shares,
against $4,000 Wednesday.
United States Steel acted well. After
a lower opening it dropped nearly a
point, but then made a partial recov-
cry to 145Ik Active favoriteS, such as
Vanadium, American Can, Allied Chem
ical, Fox, Warner Bros. General Elec-
trio Westinghouse. Radio, Montgom-
cry Ward, Union Carbide and United
States Rubber dropped fractionally to
over two points.
General Motors led the motor group
downward. american Telephone at
1861 and North American at 7034 were
weak utilities. Oils, mining stocks and
specialties followed suit.