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Show BANKS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST COPPER STOCKS Refuse to Make Loans in Many Instances Unless Other Securities Are Put Up Along With the Coppers. By Thomas C. Shotwell. By International News Service. N-EW YORK July 12. St. Paul Htock sold at par today for tho first time since the pnnlc of 1007. Al- though this price has been expected ex-pected for tho last two years, the actual transaction caused considerable alarm. Northwestern nroko 2 points and New York Central and Union Pacific turned weak, both selllnp down to the lowest prices in recent weokn. Amalgamated Amalga-mated Copper also sold down to the lowest price on this movement, Tho general gen-eral market was unsettled and observers thought thoy saw cautious covering of short contracts on the part of leading professionals who wcro undoubtedly selling sell-ing St. Paul. At about the samo tlmo Texas companies sold at a new high record of 120, tho tobacco stocks and American Can wcro firm. New York Cltv railroad 5 per cents were also a point higher, and Standard Oil stocks wcro up to 9S0 bid, tho highest price on record Grain was higher In Chicago, following light receipts. These light receipts wore undoubtedly due to bad roads caused by the heavy rains that havo been of so much benefit tho lost few days to the crops. Known movements In monoy indicated in-dicated a gain In cash by the banks, thereby largely correcting tho bad statement state-ment of a week ago. Banks are discriminating against copper cop-per securities. They aro refusing In many Instances to mako loans at all unless other securities accompany the copper. This has given strength to the persistent rumors of a secret surplus of copper that is not being reported by tho producers. t Tho figures given out by tho copper producers nru all oitlclal and to question their genuineness Is to question the honesty hon-esty of all the producers in America. The copper Industry got a bud reputation repu-tation flvp yearn ago because of tho false statements made by one or two of the leading agents. One of them in particular, par-ticular, who was chiefly responsible Is no longer connected with the traders. Others are now suffering because they were qnco In bad company. St Paul stock also surfers from a former for-mer policy of unfair dealings with the public- Moro than two years ago. when announcement was made In this column that tho road would be compelled to cut Its dllvdend and that tho stock would sell under par because of the new extension ex-tension to tho Puclllc. a leading director of tho company not only denounced the forecast as foolish, but went so far as to Bay tho directors wore considering an Increase of the dividend at that time. Such official statements destroyed public confidence In St. Paul, and now that It Is selling at par It has no friends In the J Investing world, although tho stock Is now approaching a level where It begins : to look like u good Investment ngaln. Anothor factor that may have hurt tho market today was a computation of the capitalization of several of tho new Industrial corporations that have been listed on tho exchange. This shows that In one week stocks wcro listed having hav-ing a capitalization of $154,000,000. Of this stock $50,000,000 was preferred and $101,600,000 was common. Out of this total $81,111,000 was to represent nothing noth-ing but good will, patents and prospective prospec-tive business It appears from this that the era of watered stock Is not ended. Official figures on the "-oduetlon of coke show that moro than 20,000,000 tons will be nroducod this year, thus breaking break-ing the highest rocords of tho past. |