Show I THE CONDITION OF THE STOCK MARKET I A few weeks ago there was a good deal of excitement In the wheat market I mar-ket and these who were affected by it I whether or not participants in tha movement were Inclined to the Idea that a boom Mltc trxiit in whea vvas going to begin in everything But it did not while there has bean a strong reaction at present the general business busi-ness situation may be described as one of waiting and doubt This is clearly indicated in Henry Clews letter of the 2nd inst Mr Clews says there are sound reasons for this conservative attitude He says there is no dispute about the change in business conditions having very largely increased the value of securities nor is it questioned he says that the earnings of the railroads rail-roads are likely ultimately to reach a point at which even higher than current cur-rent average quotations would be justified jus-tified While he says all this he is very cautious in what he has to say as to the future for he feels the fieM of prediction is a most dangerous one He thinks that it does not follow that it may be undertaken to realize at the present bejrrnntn stage of national na-tional revival the effect hoped for as the outcome of fuller deveopmenls of the recovery In such cases he thinks that too much is taken fcc granted rC this there is no doubt Also it is not to be overlooked he says that there are some Impcrtant contingences in the future to which eecunues would he very sensitive The Cuban question is entering < upon a new phase and we cannot foresee what part our government govern-ment may be called upon to play in it The mysterious action of the British government in respect to silver and the apparent willingness of France to negotiate nego-tiate with us for some expansion of silver sil-ver coinage or for free coinage are suggestive of a possible revival of acme distrust upon that very sensitive question Ten weeks hence congress wUl reassemble and it is not impossible impos-sible that it may afford a disappointment disappoint-ment of the hopIS entertained by the I influential friends of sound money These are possibilities which do not encourage prudent men to discount many months in advance the most sanguine san-guine calculations of the future This is probably the view generally held by those who make a study of the stock markets and it shows that the business revival while real is not regarded re-garded as perfectly stable yet The Herald hoc pointed out repeatedly that the meeting of congress was sure to have a very material effect upon business busi-ness conditions especially so far as the money question Is concerned AS the J time for the meeting of congress approaches ap-proaches this is being realized by many who seemed to Ignore the Influence of congress on financial and business matters mat-ters If President McKinley shall ask for the power to appoint a monetary commission or recommend any radical financial legislation the country will forthwith discover that the money question is not settled and that the verdict of November 3 1S9G is not final In closing his letter Mr Clews says j I The downward movement has nro 1 I uccd on these twentyone active stocks speculative and investment a decline ranging tfrcm 2 to iO9 points and averaging 514 points Since the S3th prices have dropped 1 to 2 I points i further so that at the close o2 the > 1 fo i > > 1 o5i week figures averaged about 7 percent per-cent lower than on Sept 17 The selling sell-ing has undoubtedly been large by certain cer-tain influential professional operators and the mass of smaller holders have done considerable realizing under bear reports of extensive selling by captal ists which rumors however have been explicitly and openly denied by certain of those holders Considering the pressure pres-sure < applied by the bears not only through short sales but also through demoralizing canards and also the largeness of the rcallzings on long stock by bull operators It is rematk able that the fall in prices has not been greater and the fact must be taken as evidence of the great intrinsic s rtig of the market and the readiness of buyers to take steaks at current prices If professional speculators have depressed de-pressed stock so much and with such ease is it not reasonable to conclude that much if not most of the rise in stocks was also due to the operations of professional stock speculators I |