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FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1894. 



bilt properties. The tone was generally strong 

 until the last few days of the month, when, the 

 short interest having been eliminated, the mar- 

 ket was deprived of this support, and Sugar was 

 unfavorably affected by the settlement of the 

 tariff schedule by the House Ways and Means 

 Committee, while New England was at first 

 strong on the appointment of permanent re- 

 ceivers, subsequently falling on reports of an 

 intended assessment upon the stock. The 

 threatened failure of the Government loan, 

 through opposition in Congress, had an unset- 

 tling effect until the end of the month, when 

 news that a New York syndicate of bankers had 

 taken the loan stimulated a recovery, and the 

 market closed strong with the most important 

 advances, compared with the opening, in Cotton 

 Oil, Atchison, Canada Southern, Central New 

 Jersey. Chicago Gas, Whisky. Louisville and 

 Nashville, the Grangers, the Vanderbilts. Mis- 

 souri Pacific, the Wabashes, and Western Union. 

 About the weakest stocks were Sugar and North- 

 ern Pacific preferred. The market was irregular 

 and generally lower during February. It opened 

 strong, influenced by the successful placing of 

 the Government bonds without disturbance to 

 the money market, and there was a good de- 

 mand for "the Vanderbilt and other investment 

 stocks during the first few days. The specula- 

 tion in the railroad list then subsided, and the 

 attention of the traders was directed to Sugar 

 and the other industrial stocks, and Chicago Gas 

 was the favorite. This property fell off early in 

 the month on the passage of an ordinance by the 

 council authorizing an opposition company to 

 lay mains, and it was quite active for the re- 

 mainder of the month in consequence of ma- 

 nipulation alternately by the bull and the bear 

 party. A decline in wheat about the middle of 

 February forced the Granger stocks to very low 

 prices, and after this to the close the speculation 

 was largest in these properties, in Sugar, Whis- 

 ky, Chicago Gas, Lead, and General Electric. 

 The market closed generally strong, influenced 

 by covering of short contracts in the Grangers 

 and in the industrials. During March the trading 

 was largest in Sugar, the Grangers, Louisville 

 and Nashville, and Western Union. There was 

 a rapid rise in the first-named stock of 12 points, 

 followed by a fall of 9, on the 6th. The advance 

 WMS due to manipulation which compelled a cov- 

 ering of oversold stock and the fall to a settle- 

 ment by one of the leading bears. This move- 

 ment made the other industrial stocks feverish, 

 but gradually there came an improvement in the 

 Grangers, and after the middle of the month the 

 whole list was strong, buying being stimulated 

 by the declaration of dividends on Sugar. St. 

 Paul, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Rock 

 Island, and Western Union. The prospect of a 

 veto of the seigniorage bill, which passed the 

 House on the 3d and the Senate on the 15th, 

 encouraged European buying of stocks, and 

 toward the end of the month improved railroad 

 earnings and a revival in the dry-goods trade and 

 in some of the manufacturing branches tended 

 to make the tone quite strong at the close. The 

 most important advances, compared with the 

 opening, were in Sugar, Cotton Oil, Atchison, 

 the Grangers, the Vanderbilts. Lead, Louisville 

 and Nashville, and Union Pacific. The seignior- 



age bill was vetoed on the 29th, and the veto 

 was sustained in the House on the 4th of April 

 by 144 yeas to 115 nays, and this temporary set- 

 tlement of the silver question more or less favor- 

 ably influenced the market early in April, though 

 the Grangers were freely sold for European ac- 

 count, and General Electric was broken down on 

 the publication of the annual report. Toward 

 the middle of the month the market was irregu- 

 lar and lower, being affected by the opening of 

 the tariff debate in the Senate and by indications 

 that final action would be greatly delayed, arid 

 some influence was exerted by engagements of 

 gold for shipment to Europe. 'Then came news 

 of a formidable strike by the American Railway 

 Union on the line of the Great Northern, and 

 also of the movement of the " Army of the Com- 

 monweal" toward Washington, accompanied by 

 the seizure of Northern Pacific trains by a con- 

 tingent of the " army." The tendency of the 

 market was generally downward for the remain- 

 der of the month, especially in the Grangers and 

 in Chicago Gas. The greatest declines, compared 

 with the opening, were in Central Pacific, Cen- 

 tral New Jersey, Lackawanna, Erie, Electric, 

 New England, Northern Pacific preferred, Read- 

 ing, the Grangers, and Union Pacific. The shares 

 of bituminous coal roads were influenced by the 

 strike of coal miners, which assumed serious 

 proportions by the end of the month. Early in 

 May this strike spread to Maryland, Ohio, Indi- 

 ana, Illinois, Colorado, and to fields in other 

 States, and by the close of the month 117.000 

 miners were reported idle, and the coal famine 

 affected nearly every road and important indus- 

 try in the West. The " Army of the Common- 

 weal " dwindled in numbers as the advance 

 guard approached Washington, and on the ar- 

 rival of the leader at the Capitol he was arrested 

 for violation of police regulations. The business 

 in stocks was chiefly confined to Sugar, the other 

 industrials, the Grangers, Atchison, the other 

 Southwestern, Reading, and Western Union. 

 One feature during the early part of the month 

 was a fall in Reading, due to the abandonment 

 of the plan of reorganization, while Atchison 

 and New England were affected by reports of 

 intended heavy assessments. After the middle 

 of the month Sugar was actively manipulated, 

 and it fluctuated widely by reason of the opera- 

 tions of pools in this city and in Washington. 

 Toward the close, rebuying of all the leading 

 stocks to cover short contracts made the mar- 

 ket generally stronger, although, compared with 

 the opening, the declines were important in 

 Sugar, Cotton Oil, Atchison, the Coal shares, 

 Manhattan. New England, Northern Pacific pre- 

 ferred, the Grangers, Union Pacific, and General 

 Electric. The strike of the bituminous coal 

 operators ended by the middle of June, and the 

 stock market was generally strong during the 

 first halt' of the month. The settlement of the 

 sugar schedule of the Tariff bill made the stock 

 of the company quite feverish, but there was 

 good buying of the Grangers, General Electric, 

 and Chicago Gas. After the middle of the 

 month Atchison and Union Pacific were freely 

 sold, and there were bearish demonstrations upon 

 the Grangers and Missouri Pacific. On the 24th 

 the news of the assassination of President Carnot, 

 of France, had a disturbing effect, but there was 





