280 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1899. 



and then there was a more active and a stronger 

 market than had been observed for nearly a 

 month. One notable feature was a steady ad- 

 vance in Great Northern preferred, while Dela- 

 ware Lackawanna and Western and Chicago and 

 Northwestern were higher. There was a broader 

 market for stocks in the closing week of the 

 month, influenced by favorable traffic returns, by 

 the placing of large orders by several roads tor 

 rails and for equipment, by the consolidation of 

 the Pullman and the Wagner Palace Car Com- 

 panies and bv the announcement of the intended 

 distribution of new shares of New York Central 

 stock at par. The local traction stocks were 

 quite strong, as also were the anthracite coal- 

 properties. Though money was active and higher 

 on the Stock Exchange, the security market was 

 generally strong, and it seemed to be favorably 

 influenced early in the month by the result of 

 the State elections, which indicated gains for the 

 dominant political party, thus encouraging efforts 

 which were expected to be made at the ensuing 

 session of Congress for the radical reformation 

 of the currency. Another favorable influence, it 

 may be noted, 'was a fall in the rates for foreign 

 exchange. The stock market soon grew irregular, 

 however, in consequence of realizations, and the 

 notably weak properties were the local traction 

 issues and some of the recently organized indus- 

 trials. The railroad shares w r ere, however, well 

 supported. The announcement on the 15th, by the 

 Secretary of the Treasury, that he would pur- 

 chase $25,000,000 4- and 5-per-cent. bonds, for 

 the purpose of relieving the monetary situation, 

 had a stimulating effect upon the security mar- 

 ket, and the tone was buoyant and the advance 

 in prices quite decided, due to rebuying to cover 

 short contracts, and one prominent feature was 

 a good demand for railroad mortgages. There 

 was also exceptional strength in New York Cen- 

 tral, caused by reports that the lease of the 

 Boston and Albany road would be ratified by the 

 stockholders. Gradually more settled monetary 

 conditions and improved dividend prospects ex- 

 erted a stimulating influence upon the market, 

 and the tendency was generally upward for the 

 remainder of the month. One feature toward the 

 close was an advance in New York Central and 

 in Pennsylvania, on reports of a contemplated 

 union of interests with a view to the establish- 

 ment of more stable and remunerative rates for 

 trunk-line traffic. The market for the industrials 

 was unfavorably influenced early in December by 

 the decision of the United States Supreme Court 

 in the Addyston Pipe Line case, which decision 

 was interpreted as unfavorable to the combina- 

 tions of capital known as trusts. The recom- 

 mendation in the President's message favoring 

 legislation by Congress, having for its object the 

 regulation of trusts, also tended to have a de- 

 pressing influence upon these properties, and the 1 

 whole market declined. The fall in prices grad- 

 ually grew more decided, in consequence of a 

 bearish demonstration upon certain specialties, 

 notably Brooklyn Rapid Transit, and in the week 

 ending the Kith the tendency of the market was 

 almost uninterruptedly downward, influenced by 

 the selling of securities for P^uropean account; 

 by the increasing tension in the London discount 

 market, accompanied by movements by the Bank 

 of England to attract gold from New York; and 

 by the disturbed condition in Boston, resulting 

 from the embarrassments of the Globe National 

 and the Broadway National Banks of that city. 

 On the 18th, during the panic in the New York 

 money market, elsewhere noted, the selling of 

 stocks was general, and in very many cases the 



lowest prices of the year were recorded. There 

 was a partial recovery following the restoration 

 of confidence in the monetary situation, but the 

 stock market was more or less feverish there- 

 after until the last week in the year, when there 

 was quite a general recovery in prices of leading 

 properties, with good buying of investment stocks 

 as the feature, and the market was strong at the 

 close. 



Total sales of stocks at the New York Stock 

 Exchange for 1899 were 172,882,462 shares, against 

 112,099,957 in 1898; 77,324,172 in 1897; 54,490,643 

 in 1896; 66,583,232 in 1895; 49,075,032 in 1894; 

 80,977,839 in 1893; 85,875,092 in 1892; 69,031,689 

 in 1891; 71,282,885 in 1890; and 72,014,600 in 1889. 



The following shows the highest prices of a 

 few of the speculative stocks in 1898 and the 

 Jiighest and lowest prices in 1899: 



The following table shows prices of leading 

 stocks at the beginning of the years 1898, 1899, 

 and 1900: 



The Crops. The early indications pointed to 

 a smaller yield of winter wheat, owing to un- 

 favorable conditions resulting from extremely 

 cold weather in February, and the outlook for 

 spring wheat was far from satisfactory until 

 June, when prospects improved. The Russian 

 crop of wheat was said to be deficient, and, as 

 this report seemed to indicate the probability of 

 a continued demand by Europe upon our sup- 

 plies of grain, prices advanced at the distributing 

 centers, stimulating the liberal marketing of re- 

 serves from the previous year's crop. Corn made 

 good progress in July and in the later summer 

 months, and the expectations then of an unprece- 

 dented yield of this cereal were fully realized. 

 As the harvest of spring w r heat progressed there 

 seemed to be good evidence that the yield would 

 be fully as great as that of the previous year, 

 and the prospects for oats were regarded as ex- 

 cellent. The cotton crop made good progress, 

 and early in the picking season there appeared to 

 be assurance of a yield nearly as large as that 

 of the last year. When the crop began to come 

 into the market from the plantations, however, 





