Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-19
STOCKS IRREGULAR,
WITH Trend HIGHER
Rally Follows Many More
New Lows That Came
on Heavy Volume.
BY GEORGE T. HUGHES.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, May 1o.-arregular
price changes and narrow fluctuations,
compared with Mondays specie cular
demonstration, characterized trad1ng IN
the stock market today.
Heavy volume, many more new lows
and then rally was the order of events
during the morning hours. The mar,
ket acted normally after so violent q
break as on Monday. At the start, SELL
ing orders predominated, part OF them
from impaired margin accounts, al
though there are not so many OF them
nowadays, with public interest at q
low ebb, and In part from further liqui-
dalton. This phase was succeeded oy
a covering movement from traders With
profits on the short side and the list re-
covered moderately.
Spectators for the decline were IN
no rush to take in their contracts, but
enough of them did deem the time
propitious for accepting profits TO raise
the general level of prices. Little at
tention was paid to the news. There
were more reports of financial difncul-
ties abroad and Of selling coming from
London. but the story was not empna-
sized today as on Monday.
ONLY a languid interest was taken IN
the new cut in the Federal reserve bill
buying rate or in the reduction OF IN
terest rates on demand deposits by the
clearing house There was animated
discussion of dividend prospects, put
only one or two important companies
were to act today and there was no
fresh information on the subject.
During the first half hour new lows
were set up for American Telephone q
Telegraph, for United States Steel, ana
for General Electrict but the losses were
all Y0rnVHTpd
noon, United States Steel sold at par
again, but had difhculty in maintaining
its position. Estimates that the Steel
Corporation was operating at only as
per cent, against AZ per cent week ago,
restrained buying.
The rails were . shade higher on
short covering After Atchison, Balti-
more & Ohio, and New York Central
had made new lows they all rallied a
point or two. The real test, however.
will come when the April earnings
statements begin to appear. They are
due any day now.
A special drive was made against j. /.
Case, which had resisted pressure re-
markably we'll in the preceding session.
The stock broke almost points. Corn
products was in supply at the low Of the
year and Union Carbide went to new
low. followed by Columbian Carbon.
The market sagged again in the aft
ernoon, but on quiet trading. The IN
ion Pacific April statement was given
out showing a drop in gross from $14,-
and cut in net from $1,262, 638 a
year ago to S650,322 this year. This
dismal showing more than Offset re-
ports of conferences between repre-
sentatives Of the carriers on the cam
paign for an increase in rates.
The Interstate Commerce examiner
recommended denial Of the request of
the Southern Pacific to acquire stock
control of the st. Louis Southwestern,
on the plea that it was against the pub
lie interest. He added that If the COM
mission did ultimately permit such con-
troll the Southern Pacific should be re-
quired to purchase minority Cotton
Belt stock at price Of par for the pre-
ferred and 1892 a share for the COM
mon. To add a touch of irony, st.
Louis Southwestern common sold at
10hs, new low, just after the an
nouncement was made.
Texas Corporation directors reduced
the dividend on the capital stock from
So TO 50 annual basis by declaring
a quarterly dividend Of so cents a share.
The stock ran up point or so on cover
ing. It had been deemed to be possible
thde btlS oANlOehu WOulU NC OHllLCcu en-
tirely. American Surety directors put
their stock on q "a basis against So
previously paid. National Surety
dropped points. Amusement stocks
we're very weak, Fox Film leading the
way toward lower levels. Eastman
Kodak went to a new low and United
States Steel toward the end Of the
fourth hour broke through SO for the
first time Columbia Gas was the weak
member Of the utility list
(CopyrtRht. I931)