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Show SHEAVES OP STOCKS PROM EUROPE DRIVE PRICES DOWN Increased Volume of Trading on the New York Exchange; Steel Falls Below the Minimum. . .......Jlgg By BROAD AN WALL. By International News Service. NEW YORK, Dec. 23. War has taken the "Merry" from Christmas and the Lusitania brought sheaves of stocks that drove prices to official ralnimums and ousted Steel common from the floor of the exchange to the New street gutter. Trading on the exchange today was Increased in volume, but neither tho extent ex-tent of the offerings nor the decline In prices encouraged buying or developed support. Steel stocks were heavy. United States Steel common fell from the opening open-ing price of -13 to the minimum price of 48, where 5O00 shares were offered when the exchango closed. No trade could take place below this figure on the floor, but the stock changed hands outuide at 472- Bethlehem Steel common dropped abruptly Si points to 42L Too much enthusiasm en-thusiasm bad encouraged a weak following, follow-ing, that flew outjyon, the first signs of a reaction. The preferred shares were unchanged un-changed at SS&. Copper Stocks Sag. Copper stocks were sagging. Amalgamated Amalga-mated lost 2i points. Buying of the metal has thinned down and holiday dullness was responsible for fractional declines. Ati the production has not be;n Increased a sharp recovery la looked for with the turn of the year. International issues were heavy. Union Pacific lost 3 points. Northern Pacific sold down to 975, and Southern Pacific dropped to SI on a renewal of rumors that a new bonrl issue was pending. St. Paul fell from 87j to 85. Coal stocks Blumped. Reading dropped from 1443 to 1401, and Lehigh Valley lost more than 3 points. Foreign selling was noted in Brie, and the price dropped to 2U. Rumors of pending dividend reductions were emphasized by the announcement of the Pennsylvania company that the semiannual dividend would be 1 per cent. A year ago 4 per cent was declared. The entire $80,000,000 stock of this company, which operates the Pennsylvania system west of Pittsburg. Is owned by the Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania railroad. This, in conjunction with other recent dividend reductions throughout the system, may. Wall street feara, have an adverse effect upon the Pennsylvania 6 per cent present payment. Tho Pennsylvania shares dropped 43 points. Small Declines Numerous. Small declines were numerous, Illinois Central losing 2 points, while euch -Inactive stocks as General Motors tell 6 points. The close was weak, with the street anticipating a general lowering of minimum prices. In some quarters the I hope is expressed that minimum prices would be entirely abolished and the market mar-ket left to the natural sway of the laws of supply and demand. Specialties held up well. Central Leather lost but a fraction for the day and Beet Sugar closed only a point lower. Notwithstanding the weakness In prices, many commission houses were openly optimistic op-timistic anticipati ng a quick recovery from the present depression. Bonds were heavy. Nearly one-third of the day's business took plae in Consolidated Con-solidated Gas convertible 6s, which : moved between 100 and 109. I An old-Ume banker with wido esrperi- ! ence was detected balancing his books today. "My holdings I considered prime, yet at the end of the year I find my income reduced 25 per cent, to Kay nothing of the depreciation in. the principal, and this the war has done to me in spite of my experience and extreme conservatism," he said. |