FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1888. 



329 



erties which \vere most largely oversold were 

 sharply advanced, and the tone was strong to 

 the end of the month. In February the course 

 of prices was downward, influenced by vigor- 

 ous cutting of rates byroads in the Nort'. 

 which soon involved all the Granger lines, 

 and, toward the close of the month, by the 

 strike of the engineers on the Chicago, 

 Burlington and Quincy, caused by the re- 

 fusal of a demand for increased wages, and 

 also by the adherence of the company to its 

 rule for a classification of engineers accord- 

 ing to length of service and the character 

 of the work they performed. Early in the 

 first week of the month the pacific tenor of 

 a speech by Prince Bismarck before the Ger- 

 man Parliament had a stimulating effect upon 

 the European markets, and the improvement 

 there was reflected in our own. This was 

 followed by selling some of the trunk-line 

 stocks on the theory that the fight between 

 the Granger roads would involve Eastern con- 

 nections, but subsequently the action of the 

 trunk-line executive committee in settling ex- 

 port rates and ignoring cuts by Western lines 

 tended to bring about a reaction. During the 

 second week the Granger war was less vigor- 

 ously prosecuted, and the strike of the miners 

 in the Schuylkill region was practically ended. 

 This news aided in a decided recovery. The 

 movement was irregular, although generally 

 upward, in the third week, but during the 

 closing days of the month the engineers' strike, 

 selling of stocks for European account, and 

 bearisli demonstrations caused the market to 

 close heavy. Rate - cutting was vigorously 

 prosecuted by Western roads Thiring March, 

 until near the end, when there was an agree- 

 ment to restore rates ; but while the war was in 

 progress the stocks of the Granger roads were 

 more or less unsettled. Reading was unfavor- 

 ably affected early in the month by decreased 

 net earnings for January. The striking engi- 

 neers of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 

 were warring against the road in every con- 

 ceivable manner, endeavoring to prevent its 

 successful operation with non-union engineers, 

 and rumors that other Western lines would be 

 involved had a depressing effect. The em- 

 bargo upon business in this section, and the 

 suspension of trading on the stock-exchange, 

 resulting from the blizzard of March 12, did not 

 immediately unfavorably influence the market, 

 for as soon as business was resumed purchases 

 of stocks for European account carried prices 

 sharply upward, but toward the close of that 

 week news of the strike on the Atchison. To- 

 peka and Santa Fe, the men sympathizing with 

 the engineers of the Chicago, Burlington and 

 Quincy, and rumors of similar trouble on the 

 Union Pacific, brought about a downward re- 

 action. Then followed a recovery, assisted by 

 the declaration that the strike on the Chicago, 

 Burlington and Qnincy was practically ended, 

 the company securing a full complement of 

 new men, and also by the agreement of West- 



ern roads to cease cutting and to restore rates; 

 but before the close of that week Missouri Pa- 

 cific fell heavily on a rumor, subsequently con- 

 firmed, that the dividend would be reduced. 

 During the last week of the month Reading 

 was attacked on the news that the statement 

 for February would show a large loss in net 

 earnings, and the market was more or less un- 

 settled to the close in consequence of bearish 

 attacks and disquieting rumors regarding the 

 railroad situation in the West. The strike on 

 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy was offi- 

 cially declared off April 4, the attempt to in- 

 duce the switchmen at Chicago to assist the 

 engineers by refusing to handle freight of the 

 company having failed, and this was the first 

 signal defeat of the Brotherhood of Engineers 

 since the strike of 1877. Another important 

 event affecting the stock-market was the action 

 of Congress on the Bond Purchase measure, 

 which was immediately followed by an order 

 by the Secretary of the Treasury directing pur- 

 chases of 4 and 41 per cent, bonds: and an- 

 other event was the breaking of the deadlock 

 in the House of Representatives over the Di- 

 rect Tax Refund Bill, that body having been 

 in continuous session for nine days, thereby 

 obstructing important legislation. The move- 

 ment in stocks was a little feverish during 

 the first few days of the month owing to 

 disquieting rumors from the West, but it soon 

 felt the influence of the ending of the Chi- 

 cago, Burlington and Quincy strike and of the 

 other events above noted, and there was a sub- 

 stantial recovery in the market, which con- 

 tinued, almost uninterruptedly to the close, 

 large purchases of bonds by the Secretary of 

 the Treasury after the 23d almost daily stimu- 

 lating an advance. The rise in some of the 

 properties was so rapid during April, that in 

 May realizing sales and bearish attacks were 

 invited, and the tendency of the market wr.s 

 downward. The course of prices was, how- 

 ever, only gradually changed. In the first 

 week of the month the bears sought to force 

 declines, but their efforts appeared to be re- 

 sisted by purchases for European and domestic 

 account. The Northern Pacifies were favora- 

 bly affected by reports of negotiations for the 

 purchase of a large tract of land; and Mis- 

 souri Pacific and the other Gould specialties 

 advanced in consequence of speculative ma- 

 nipulation. The bears first attacked New Eng- 

 land, Reading, and Union Pacific. Then ad- 

 vantage was taken of unfavorable weather for 

 the crops to assail the Grangers. The decline 

 was checked on the 16th by the news of the 

 prompt taking in London of the Baltimore 

 and Ohio loan for $10.000,000, and this indi- 

 cated the favorable reception of the Reading 

 loan when that should be offered, but in the 

 following week gold exports to Germany on 

 special order were large, the liquidation of the 

 pools in Reading, St. Paul, and New England 

 was discovered, and persistent attacks by the 

 bears carried prices downward until the 25th, 



