Show STOCK PRICES NO CRITERION Business Prospects for Second Half of Year Considered Good GoodBy By fly STUART P F WESt Special for tor The Ibe Ogden Standard 1923 NEW YORK YORE June Jun The lC-The leading question In the markets this past week has bas been whether or not the thc downward movement on the stock exchange has been an accurate measure of ot outside business present and l rom From the th evidence In band hand it has not Professional operators with the th field to them them- themselves themselves themselves selves have haT been able to otter offer down prices price but have not succeeded In forcing liquidation on any large scale by actual holders of ot stocks Admittedly they have hav had sev- sev severa sev several eral cral era weak points to work on One Is the state stat of ot over oer production onel In inthe the oil trade which so tar far has not yielded to successive successive- price cuts ot of the last three thre months Another Is the thc dIsappointing developments In Inthe inthe the Industry which has hM made mado It appear the tho optimistic reference to this class cIss of stocks durIng the for tor- forward for forward ward movement of ot the winter were much overdrawn l i u si Exploiting the th situation In these two quarters to the tho limtt limit Wall Wal WallStreet street speculators have been able ablo to bring about unset unset- unsettlement unset In the price list generally One danger dancer Is that lest business businessmen businessmen businessmen men throughout the th country take this stock market decline too seri seri- seriously ten ten- seri seriously and let It affect their calculations calculations lations It If they were tightened Into think Ing that the th fall In Wal prices was anticipating an Im Import Important ort ort- ant trade reaction later on and nd w ere etc to begin cancelling orders and d cutting down purchases It might lead to some som such result as the present J propaganda of ot Is pretending to expect On the other hand it If they take lIke real facts about credit and mer met mercantile cantile cantlie conditions as they stand what beyond a reas reasonable 8 n partly incident to the season and partly corr corr the too rapid ex- ex expansion ex expansion of Ot February and March l OaT OUi OUTPUT MUST ADJUST examIning the th business data In detAil there are very few tew signs ot of unsoundness The oil trade Is isa a case by itself which will probably probably probably ably have base to be bo adjusted by the refiners getting together and agree agree- ini atre lug In- Into to curtail their buying of ot crude oil The alternative would be b fur fur- further fur further ther of ot prices ending in inthe the weaker companies either going to the wall nail aJl or being forced to re- re r operations to the point where thes would no longer yield a profit It is some such as this that sellers of ot the oil snares snare urine the last few tew days have baa haa In mind STEEL L In other line lines the testimony Is somewhat hat conflicting Pig Pic Iron Is haing ha a moderate slump St el producers are operating at 93 92 per percent percent percent cent as against a high of ot 96 9 and new orders are falling behind pro pro- production production pro production But the decrease of ot tons In unfilled business reported by the steel corporation tor for Mav May was as ex- ex extremely ex extremely moderate In tn view of the ImpressIon prevalent not a a month ago that new orders were coming In very vety slowly The steel corpor corpor- corp corporation corporation or- or on June 1 still had on Its books the th unusually large lai-cc total ot of nearly tons of ot unfinIshed business It II could easily stand an- an another another an another other month or two mOre mor of shrinkage without earnings being hurt It If steel manufacturers felt un- un uneasy uneasy un uneasy easy over the outlook for tor the third ana fourth quarters they would have begun by now to cut prices In an effort eUort to attract new trade The fact that this has haa not hap hal hap hap- happened pencil Is significant of ot what the thereal t real feeling In the steel Industry toward the prospects of ot the second halt half of the year are DECLINE IN IX SUGAR The decline in sugar has been ed up to tar more than it de- de de The rhe fact is that three three- three fourths en ics mem-ics es 0 over oer er fourths of ot the new Cuban crop has ben been n disposed of ot and that speculators speculators speculators have been taking ld ot of a temporary lull in the demand deman to drive the market down But Dut the sales ot of o actual sugar below the six cent level have hav been small The rhe decline has meant little for tor the earnings of ot the sugar companies because most of ot their product for tor forthe the year has hs already been disposed ot of and on terms which are entIre entIre- entIrely iv ly I satisfactory ON FULL TOtE TRiLB TRiLBA A month ago aso a lot was as being sale about the slowdown II in the cotton goods trade How lIow tar far this talk was justified was as established by bythe bythe bythe the census bureau figures on cot cot- cotton cotton cot cotton ton consumption during May These showed sho 43 bales more consumed than In April more than In May last year and save tor for March tooted footed up the total in the history of ot the country The I truth truth ruth here her Is that some of the New England mill mills been down tor for a few days at j a time as they Ordinarily do at this season but that the southern mills are running tull time and are arc makIng no pleas tOl foi curtailment COPPEn PICKING UP Demand tor for copper has picked up considerably and prices have Improved on the other hand con con- condition con conditions in the zinc Ind Industry are arless less favorable So tar far as the gen c cral ual volume of ot distributive trade tradIs Is concerned the th testimony of ot rail rall- rall NJ nines earnings and bank clearings Is to the effect that thero there has been some letup front from the tho extreme high ot of May but that the falling oft ott has been slight and no more than Is normal at this time of ot sear ear DIn POSITION SOUND SOU OU D In it may bo be said that there has been no overstocking ot of goods in the hands of ot merchants and manufacturers There has been no speculation over-speculation that his hes h s not been fully corrected by the do- do de eliDe dine of Ot the th last three months notI I Almost the entire gain cain In the th Walt Wallstreet s reet price list since the th first ot of the years has been lost Under tinder otI I these circumstances It Is Quite foolish to talk about the dangers I I ot of Inflation The Th fundamental po position po-I po Is sound and as aa already I pointed out the only thing thine that happen to Involve a serious rd downward movement would be b the contingency hard to conceive ot of business men allowing a themselves absolutely unnecessarily to become Infected with th the pessImism pro pro- pro professed by the tho element In Wall all all street |