222 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1900. 



winter wheat than in the previous year. There 

 was no marked improvement in the industrial situ- 

 ation, however, and prices of steel and iron con- 

 tinued to decline without stimulating any special 

 inquiry from consumers. The reports from China 

 regarding the foreign legations were sensational 

 and more or less disturbing until the close of the 

 month, when official announcements were made of 

 :ui assuring character. Speculation was dormant 

 during August, and the aggregate of transactions 

 in stocks was but little more than 4,000,000 shares, 

 Against nearly 13,000,000 in the same month in 

 ivi'.i. The influences contributing to this inactive 

 speculation were the presidential campaign, the 

 generally unfavorable industrial situation, and the 

 uncertainty regarding the crops, though concern- 

 ing the latter there were assurances of an average 

 harvest of grain. The Chinese situation became 

 less disturbing, the legations having been rescued 

 and Pekin being occupied by the allied forces, but 

 complications seemed to be threatened by the atti- 

 tude of the Russian Government. The tone of the 

 market was, however, generally firm, and there 

 was a good demand for the leading railroad prop- 

 erties, including the trunk lines, the Grangers, the 

 Southwestern*, and the Anthracite Coal shares. 

 Karly in September a strike of coal miners in the 

 Pennsylvania regions had a depressing effect upon 

 the stocks of the coal-carrying roads. The market 

 was also more or less unfavorably influenced by 

 a large movement of currency hence to the South 

 and to the Southwest due to the demand for money 

 for the cotton crop, and later considerable sums 

 were sent to Western points to facilitate the mar- 

 keting of grain. The partial destruction of Gal- 

 veston by a hurricane, involving the loss of nearly 

 2,000 lives and of millions of dollars' worth of prop- 

 erty, was one of the notably unsettling events of 

 the month, chiefly, however, affecting the cotton 

 situation. The results of the State elections in 

 Vermont and in Maine seemed to give some assur- 

 ance of increased sound money majorities at the 

 presidential election, which feeling was partially 

 reflected in the stock speculation, but the volume 

 of business was comparatively small and the trad- 

 ing was almost wholly professional. After the 

 middle of the month large speculative sales of the 

 Anthracite Coal shares, of the local traction stocks, 

 of the industrials, and of the trunk line properties 

 made the market generally heavy, but toward the 

 end of the month some progress in the movement 

 for the settlement of the anthracite coal strike 

 caused a covering of short contracts, and the tone 

 was generally better thereafter to the close. The 

 tendency was upward early in October, notwith- 

 standing the efforts of labor agitators to prevent 

 the adjustment of the differences between the coal 

 miners and the operators. The prospect of dearer 

 money resulting from the continued movement of 

 currency to the interior seemed to have little 

 effect, for there was a very confident feeling that 

 higher money rates would cause such a fall in 

 foreign exchange as to bring comparatively large 

 amounts of gold from Europe. The notably strong 

 stocks were Missouri Pacific, Union Pacific, Chi- 

 cago, Burlington and Quincy, the trunk lines, and 

 the local traction issues. After the middle of the 

 month the market became active and buoyant, 

 influenced bv assurances of the re-election of Presi- 

 dent McKinley, by engagements of gold in Europe 

 for shipment hither, by the settlement of tln> an- 

 thracite coal strike, and by investment purchases 

 of leading railroad properties, including the prin- 

 cipal trunk lines. Buying of railroad bunds was 

 a notable feature of the movement, and tho trans- 

 actions in these were unusually large. The buoy- 

 ancy continued during the greater part of the 



fourth week of the month, encouraged by increas- 

 ing confidence in the political situation, by a 

 smaller movement of currency to the interior, and 

 by receipts of gold from abroad. The daily trans- 

 actions were quite large and the buying was espe- 

 cially noticeable in Metropolitan Railway and also 

 in Brooklyn Rapid Transit, the latter on reports 

 of a prospective change in the management. Great 

 Northern and Southern Pacific were exceptionally 

 strong, and there was an increasing demand for 

 railroad mortgages, indicating investment pur- 

 chases. A sharp upward movement in Pacific Mail 

 gave color to a report that Southern Pacific inter- 

 ests would be represented in the management. In 

 the last days of the month there was a natural 

 downward reaction in the market, due to profit 

 taking, and though there was a very confident 

 feeling regarding the result of the presidential 

 election, a disposition was manifested by nonpro- 

 fessional speculators to await the event. A sharp 

 advance in rates for money, which appeared to 

 be wholly due to the November settlements, tended 

 somewhat to limit the volume of business, and 

 about the only notable feature was a rise in Penn- 

 sylvania on the announcement of an extra divi- 

 dend of 1 per cent. The activity in money on the 

 Friday and on the Monday previous to the elec- 

 tion checked operations in stocks except by the 

 professionals, but the tone of the market was gen- 

 erally firm. The feature on the day after the 

 election was a sharp advance in the whole list, 

 with enormous transactions both for domestic and 

 for European account. Some of the foreign arbi- 

 trage houses cabled purchasing orders to London 

 on the previous night for execution on the " curb "' 

 at that center on the following morning, and these 

 purchases materially aided in imparting a buoyant 

 tone to the foreign markets for American securi- 

 ties. Though there were large realizing sales in 

 the New York market during the day, the offer- 

 ings were promptly absorbed and the volume of 

 transactions was almost unprecedentedly large at 

 well-sustained advances. The tendency was un- 

 interruptedly upward until the 12th, when there 

 was a reaction due to realization, followed later 

 in the week by substantial recoveries, and some 

 of the leading stocks sold at the highest prices 

 recorded in recent years. The business on Monday, 

 the 12th, it may be noted, was the greatest ever 

 reported at the Exchange, amounting to 1,688,250 

 shares of stock and $5,335,000 bonds. The trans 

 actions in the following week were also large, ag- 

 gregating 7,167,745 shares of stock, against 6,720,- 

 025 shares in the preceding week, and the ex- 

 changes at the Clearing House, reflecting this enor- 

 mous business, were for the week ending Nov. 24 

 unprecedentedly large, amounting to $1,589,539,- 

 179. The market, though less active and some- 

 what irregular owing to realizations and London 

 selling, was generally strong to the close of the 

 month. In December there was very confident 

 buying of stocks, influenced by the generally pros- 

 perous conditions prevailing, which were reflected 

 in augmented railroad earnings promising in- 

 creased dividends. One important event of the 

 month which had a direct effect upon the specula- 

 tion in the coal shares was the announcement of 

 the purchase of the Pennsylvania Coal Company 

 by capitalists largely interested in the anthracite 

 coal properties. Another event was a conference 

 of railroad presidents with the object of devising 

 plans for the maintenance of rates. Rumors of 

 combinations of important railroad interests m 

 the West and Northwest also had a stimulating 

 effect upon the market. Notwithstanding enor- 

 mous sales of stocks, chiefly high-priced proper- 

 ties, by Europeans, the market appeared readily to 



