The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-01-17
Tumble i'm Telegraph stocks.

The following. which we copy from the
financial article of the Cincinnati Enquirer
of yesterday, Win prove interesting to
many OF our readcrs: M Z
One ycar ago the stock of the Western
Union Telegraph Company sold, aud was
rather in request, st par; to-day it Is worth
about 10 cents on the dOllar-or rather, VIC
might say, it is selling for that. Its true
value may be arrived at when IL is known
that, first and last, il has been what Is
termcd watcred almost 300 per cent. Two
reasons are given to account for the great
depreciation. First--and we think the
most truthful-is that fromabout S0,0O0O00,
the original capital, II Is now swelled up to
the enormous sum of S22,0000O0, requiring
S2HO,OOO annually, TO pay the stockholders
ten per cent, 10 say nothing of the vast ex-
pense of keeping up the lines and office ex-
penSes, which must necessarily be very
large. The next reason given Is, that the
Directors refused to declare dividend on
the LIST inst, This last reason is not with
out weight. Ii is known to all that the
company have been, and are now, making
great efforts to connect the Old aud New
World, and have thereby expended large
sums of moncy-how much, is known only
TO the Directors, for it must be borne in
mind that 1t Is one of the closest corpora
IHions of which we have any knowledge; the
stockholders know but little, IL any thing,
about the inside affairs, nor have they at
any time. - - ..
| The Company, by their refusal to declare
the usual dividend, or no dividend, simply
declare to the world their inability to do so,
and this fact taken by itself would be suf-
iicicnt to knock down the stock, but when
taken with the other fact of the vast issues
of new stock from year to year, the only
wonder is, that they continued to pay divi-
dcnds as long rs they did and that the
stock commands the per centage that it does.
Its true value is not more than about 271Sc
ON the dollar and to this figure it will APP
proNimate before 1t again takes it stand
among par values. ,... tt
The United States Telegraph Company's
stock is selling at abont iiftY cents on the
dollar. How long the holders will be ena-
bled to obtain this figure we are unable to
say.a...If f.... ..-.,-... .. ........... ,t
1t opened up shop with considerable
flourish, and proclaimed its entire ability
to go triumphantly through. They, too,
have, III the short space of half-dozen
months, followed in the footsteps of their
illlstrious preceptors, and declared stock
dividend of fifty per cent. win they stop
there, or go on. We are credibly informed
that an exceeding fat contract has been
given out, and that some gentlemen that
are far removed from that line of business
nave TAKEN Ito put up many hundreds OF
miles of wire--and that the Stock will make
its appearance much more frequently In
this and other markets than heretofore.
We do not vouch for its truth, but give it
as matter of public interest as it came to
us. We hope, however that all things will
be done dccently and in order. We before
said that this stock is now selling at fifty
cents on the dollar. 1t must cause the Di-
rectors to feel a pleasurable emotion to see
their Stock selling for more than that of
their naughty and imperiOus antagonists,
who heretofore have failed to regard them
as respectable competitors. .-..l IIl