New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-12
GAINS IN RAILROAD EARNINGS.

",
OF the seventeen railroads which have reported
their gross earnings FOR the first week of June
twelve companies which report gains return an
aggregate of ss53,32s against $500, $40 for the
week Of 1874 gain Of sl6O,3Ss, or 23.14 per
cent. The other five companies, wlsch return
losses, including Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul
with loss Of 9,745, and Milwaukee, Lake Shore
and Western with loss Of S2l, 500, give an aggre
gate Of SCI 293, against s697,515 for the week
Of 1854 loss Of Ss4,22 or IL per cent The
net gain of the whole seventeen companies is
SILL &C, or 5.G2 per cent. For true appreciation
Of the general results and Of how few losing COM
pancs reduce the net increase, reference is made to
our table OF earnings, which where possible gives
the figures Of three years.
The Iowa Commissioners as yet have gone no
further than 10 present to the speculative public
a possibility. They may or may not undertake to
ruin every railroad in the State and thus impOv
crish their own people No action yet has been
taken that cannot be withdrawn without dShonor.
Only proposition has been made. But the Iowa
State Commissioncrs-innocently, of cOurse-have
thrown their influence with the party Of specu-
lators who for twelve months IN alliance with GER
tain railroad officials, have sought to be wreckerS
of values. Considering the strained relations be
tween the Chicago, burlington and Quincy ana the
Chicago and Rock Island companies, which were
hade public by the correspondence during the
Nrch strikes, 1t perhaps is not strange thai II Is
TIN Iowa Commissioners who are the first to pro
pos, action on the question of railroad rates. The
eHee Of all this bad news IN to-days market was
not atOunding 1t probably was disappointing TO
the p.stlcuiar clique which has had speclI Oppor-
tunitles for early information OF Western man
ayers Intended actions. Long stocks did not come
out freels but all good buying was checked and
me Deas' between themselves bad the making
OF prlces-1r OF quotations. 1t was singular to
note that properties far removed from
the authorfy Of the Iowa State Com
mssiOncrs we're affected about the sane
Us those most tnder their control
Rock Island declined oaly l-2 per cent and
St Paul only IS per cent Northwestern has IN
the State OF Iowa only 80 miles of road out OF lie
total of 42OG miles, but its common stock declined
81 per cen,; il did so because IL was freely sold
by leading bear witt an air Of desperation
lhe reported transactions in the stock aggregated
23, COO shares. Making due allowance for trans
actions resulting from matched orders the short
interest IN the stock was increased some 10000
shares. II todiys real buyers tomorrow should
refuse 70 loan heir contracts, the stock would
corner itself Tie same interest that sold Chicago
and Northwestern pressed Lake Shore down 10
80 5-o. Manhattan declined per cent 10 s4a
"a IA, but Missouri Pacific held fairly steady at
20 l-eaG9 1-4a69 80. Philadelphia and Reading
was sold of TO 81 "a. The whole market was
subject TO nothing except bear influences.
Where they were prizes were heavy with consider
able activity, while he properties they neglected
were dull and fairly steady. If the proposal of
the Iowa Commissioners is 10 be the permanent
guide for all the railr0ds in the Western country
one may well hesitate before buying the first
mort cages OF Weston railroads But who
believes that the whOh thing is anything more
than an attack upon Yates ST the Stock Exchange?
When contracts are filedand stock secured against
puts" tonnage again probably will have the
making of freight chdres, as it did after the
granger movement of 1897. The market closed
weak in tone ut about the lowest prices.
TIE DAY IN THE BOND MARKET
Government bonds were Iuiet and the bids for
the 1-2s were of l-S PEI cent 1t makes no
AT for n
ments now are high or low compared with the
prices paid by the Treasury last August and
September. There now is only zone legitimate buyer
as are offered on the basis of about IA per cent
for money. The Government price now Is some
2 per cent higher than the quotation before it
began to purchase The So, 100000 offered 10 the
Treasury last week, and which are still for sale,
could not be sold in the open market at l "a for
the As and / % fer the lbs II he Treasury was
not in the market. Annexed are the nominal
ounfafiOuS