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Show I MARKET'S SHOWING OP VITALITY LARGELY DUE TO PROFESSIONALS NEW YORK, July 19. Tho market or securities last week showed a decree de-cree of vitality that offered encouragement encourage-ment to traders and afforded opportunity oppor-tunity for marketing holdings on a moderate mod-erate scale, but relapsed from time to time in consequence of the attractive higher level of prices established. Tho level attained tne highest point of tho year in the case of a number of conspicuous con-spicuous stocks. Thero were sales sufficient suf-ficient to causo an occasional wavering of the price movement and' an irregular market where new advances accompanied accompa-nied the sot-back in stocks previously advanced. Only a Few Offerings. Tho characteristic feature of the transactions, however, was the comparative compara-tive paucity of tho offerings for sale and the relative ease, therefore, with which operations to advance prices were made effective. Those operations were admittedly largely professional and showed the manipulative devices usual in the professional conduct of leadership leader-ship in speculation. For the success which attended these efforts the strong technical position of the market and the I general improvement in speculativo sentiment must bo allowed credit. This sentiinont found expression from many sources in tho financial, industrial and commercial departments of affairs. There was an unusual number of statements state-ments of hopeful views and opinions on the part of some financiers and capitalists capi-talists m the form of interviews to the i newspapers. These were the moro ef-I ef-I fective in inspiring confidence because of their agreement on the main points of the situation on which the expressed hopefulness was based, and which are sufficiently obvious to tho ordinary observer to be confirmed in the news of the day. Much attention was attracted throughout the week to the question of advances in freight rates b3" the railroads. Much remains to be settled both as to tho policy in this respect to be followed bv the railroads and as to the effect .of such policy on the general business prospects. Outspoken arguments have come from prominent railroad officials in behalf of. an increase, in-crease, the contention being that advances ad-vances in freight rates have not kept pace with the rise in price of materials and labor, so that profits on the present basis are not sufficient to establish credit such as will secure tho uso of capital for expenditure in extensions and betterments. Much of the stagnation in demand for industrial output is held by this argument argu-ment to be traceable to the paralysis of credit under which the railroads have been suffering. It is urged that an alternative al-ternative to rate increases would be reduction of wages, and the frank opin- I ion goes with the argument that a disastrous Btriko would result from such I action. The filing of notices with the i Interstate Commerce commission of proposed pro-posed changes representing freight rate advances show the practical steps taken toward tho adoption of their policy. On tho question of a comprehensive advance ad-vance in rates, however, there is admittedly ad-mittedly wide divergency of views among railroad officials, while representative represen-tative bodies of manufacturers and shippers ship-pers aro ver3' emphatic in protests against a rise in freight rates at a time when industries are depressed and price concessions called for to stimulate re1 vival of demand. Monei' market supplies have continued con-tinued abundant and have afforded ro-sourccs ro-sourccs for holding securities which protected pro-tected the market from any pressure of realizing sales and helped to encourage the taking on of new holdings. |