New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-04-23

of about j Der cent from the earnings in the
same week in 1887, when they showed q gain OF
which have already reported for the second week
| in April present gain of per cent on thu
Of sss second NEARLY Week the Of ApI
cent on p the week Of 1855 The gain for the
second week of this year on the s earnings Of the
increased mileage OF the roads reported: And
yet the unrefor:ed pessimsts continue to assert,
In nrint that railroad earnings are declining,
and THAT that, despite the plain facts stated above.
and also the other fact printed by The Com
mercal and Financial Chronicles" that seventy
for the month Of February, show gain Of
$685. 1886, or about l-2 per cent !, is interesting
to note that this resulting aggregate includes
such heavy losses for the month as Philadelphia
and Reading $507,750, Burlington and Quincy
s374,I43, and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
sl99oOo making loss BY these ss three roads OF
ings of other roads, producing The net gain for
the whole seventy-for companies as above stated.
STEADY GROWTH OF CONFIDENCE.
The last week has witnessed O progressive
growth in that confidence which two weeks ago
was noted as then budding into life. Probably
the principal factor in the more rapid growth
exhibited last week was the prompt acceptance
by the Treasury Department of the separate action
by the two houses of Congress as authority to
use the surplus in the Treasury for the purchase
ately issued his offer to receive proposals daily
on and after tomorrow until further notice for
the sale to the Department Of United States
and 4 I-2 per cent bonds While it is not sup
posed that during the usual spring period Of mon
etary case, and while money is in abundant sup
ply, many bonds will be offered to the Department
at @ PRICES II is ,acs tRa' an nr
plus, when the money is needed for commercial
and mercantile purposes, has been established IL
will act like the governor of a steam engine, reg
ulating the accumulation and disbursements by
the Treasury according TO mercantile necessities.
1t will prove an invincible barrier to such methods
as were resorted to last summer and autumn to
create scare concerning the money market, and
which then did eventually result In temporary
period Of fictitious scarcity OF course, there
never was the slightest danger to be apprehended
from the large amount Of deposits which the Gov,
eminent recently has been carrying in the National
banks. The Government was amply secured by
the deposits of bonds with some Sa24 per cent
margin for such deposits as 1t left with the Dans
The Government deposits were the accretlons
from individual deposits and remained with the
banks absolutely at their control as they were
before the deposits of the many were placed to the
credit of single account The Government could
have no possible occasion or reason for drawing
against its deposits, except for the payment OF
its current liabilities, which simply would be
redistribution of accumulations, leaving the
money in bank the same as IL was before It was
passed to the credit of tho Government. Never
theless, for speculative purposes the hue and cry
was raised of great danger to the financial stu
alton because of the large Government deposits,
and a month or so ago not without some
effect in adding to the sense OF insecurity ana
uncertainty which partially then prevailed. The
new departure has destroyed the possibility OF the
further use Of the fallacious argument for the
benefit of operators with peSSimistic views
CONDITION OF THE SHARE MARKET.
| The Stock Exchange markets last week contin-
ued to reflect the revival of confidence shown in
| non-speculative circles For nearly all descrip
tions of railroad bonds there was an improved
demand and general advance in prices The
business not large, however. it being limited
| by lack of supply. In the share market only
q moderate activity was shown, but there was
steady hardening of values, which was maintained
from the beginning to the end of the week with
out material fluctuations. Besides the other IA
| yorable influences at work. there were not want
| ing indications that at least portion Of the
| Western speculative railroad managers were grad
| ually putting their speculative accounts in ac-
cord with the interests of the stockholders of
their respective companies And this, despite the
continued bearsh utterances of the special organs
protesting to reflect the opinions of leading rail-
road men. In fact, it by no means is certain that
the railroad official who at the existing figures
talks loudest of is not the one or
the number who is buying stocks the most rapidly.
When the secret history OF the bear Speculation
of the last twelve months is written-if it ever Is
it cannot fail to surpaSs in interest the story OF
any fiction ever yet published. With years
tonnage for the railroads, the largest ever known
and SURPRISING the antlc1patlOnS OF the greaUeSb
optimsts of the country, with at many periods
during the year an absolute scarcity OF cars 70
haul the tonnage offered, there has for nearly
twelve months existed q continuous and progress
i've war Of rates between the lines running west
from Chicago. It matters not that the war never
yet has reached an equality with the exaggerated
reports of even what it was six months ago, those
exaggerations being uncontradicted, If not sane
toned, by majority of Western railway OIL
cials, has resulted in q depression in the market
value Of securities which has proved rnlnous TO
many innocent stockholders not all Of whom were
spectators. In the first column OF the suoJolned
weekly range will be found the average prices OF
April 23 1887 They show that last nights
prices almost invariably show large declines from
the figures Of one year ago. Burlington and
Quincy yesterday sold at 81 IA per cent lower
than a year ago, and yet the company in the year
ended December 81 1887, carried 1000, 600 tons
more freight and 5000 more passengers than
in the year $50; and its annual report for last
year, which certainly was not made up with the
intent of making things appear better than they
are, shows surplus of net earnings over and
above per cent dividends PAD OF so SoO1 R6c
Island shows decline Of 16 per cent:
Chicago and Northwestern II 3;s per cent and
preferred 3 1-2 per cent st. Paul 10 So and pre-
ferred "a per cent; Omaha ID "a and preferred
per cent Union Pacific z 1-2 per cent and
Northern Pacific, 1-2 and preferred 10 per cent
Not few of the companies represented by the
stocks named will show in their reports for the
calendar year of SS7 better earnings than they
did for $50 The decline in other stocks generally
was from sympathy, with those for the stocks
any class of stocks dem0ralized by the reported
condition of affairs in the West. All the logic OF
events, together with the consistency of the
methods continually employed, point to the almost
inevitable conclusion that the Western railroad
was the outsrowth Of the failure OF the
monetary scare to materially reduce values at the
Stock Exchange.
The business of last week amounted to l 4o1, 13l
shares, against 1,177,220 for the preceding week
The stocks which were most active included Phila
delphia an Reading, New York and New England,
Richmond and West Point, st. Paul, Delaware
Lackawanna and Western, Union Pacific, Oregon
Transcontinental and Western Union, but the deal
ings covered more than the usual number of stocks
The Northern Paciics and incidentally, the Oregon
TranscOntinental were conspicuous for their
strength, the preferred stock and Oregon Trans
continental closing with advances of per cent.
Philadelphia and Reading made nearly all its gain
of IA per cent in the last days of the week on