Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-27
STOCKS CONTINUE
TO LOWER GROUND
Heavy Selling of Railway
Shares Sends Many
Further Down.
BY GEORGE T. HUGHES.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, May 27.-The stock
market was unsettled again today by
heavy selling of the railway shares. A
long list Of new lows was established,
both in the rails and in the indus
trials, although the latter made better
resistance than the former
Liquidation In the carrier stocks was
in evidence from the start. Three adj
verse developments stimulated offerings.
First there was the refusal of the In
terstate Commerce Commission to init
ate an inquiry into the transportation
situation, second there was q disap-
pointingly small increase in car load
ings for the week, much less than the
seasonal rise, and third, there was an
other batch of very discouraging April
earnings
1t was the highest grade CT seasoned
dividend-paying railroad shares that led
the downward movement resulting in
new lows for N. Y. Central, for Union
Pacific, and for Atchison Omission of
the dividend by Pere Marquette brought
a five-point drop in the common stock
of that road Illinois Central sold I'M
der $50 a share for the first time in a
generation. st. Louis-San Francisco
made new low and Baltimore & Ohio
duplicated its previous low following
publication of the April figures.
There was the usual searching out of
weak spots in the industrial list and
many sharp declines National Surety,
the dividend rate on which was cut from
SIS to 50 annual basis. broke 6
points. Eastman Kodak sold off to a
new low and Union Carbide, offered in
large lots, broke through its previous
minimum price. The regular rate was
declared by Johns Manville directors,
but the stock made new low, Just the
same.
Scant comfort was to be had from
the weekly iron and steel trade review.
Production was estimated to be down
to 43 per cent of capacity, against A
per cent week ago. For time dur
ing the early trading United States
Steel was well supported, perhaps be-
cause of the rumored formation of a
banking pool to come to the rescue of
the market. Whether there was any
foundation for the report or not, it had
the effect temporarily of inttmidating
the short sellers. However, before noon
United States Steel was slipping and
was within fraction of its extreme
low. American Can made a slightly
better showing during this period and
most of the time was up on the day
Judging from the tape. the Street
PAID QLCle ACLenLlOn 10 redSSurlng sLate-
ments from the White House Banking
opinion expressed at today's meeting Of
the National Foreign Trade Council TO
the effect that there was mo reason
for the extreme pessinism rampant"
was likewise ignored. Export copper
was reduced 4 cent pound and for
eign sales stimulated. Copper stocks
were inactive around their previous
lows.
Auburn Auto took one Of its now
famous nose dives during the morning,
adding 10 or IL points to the 14-point
break of the day before, after which it
recovered somewhat. Auburn Auto has
become a favorite trading medium with
the daring spirits in the Street, who
sell it in odd lots when they think the
marFet Is going down and who buy
when thev believe the trend is upward,
all without any particular regard for
the merits of the stock or the outlook
for its business. AS a matter of fact,