The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-13

ofdividends paid on these stocks for the IL
| years was S6.719 $50; the amount PAD ID Was
~ leaving excess "a tb m ye onsi
or Soc, 425 per annum, or less than half OF per
cent the capital stock, and still less than that
on the average selling price Aseertalning me
| loss, or difference between the Selfng price OF
these companies Jan. l. 1882, Sl4, S2S,3 $40, ana
the selling price Jan. l. 1892, $l4, 600, we
nd IT. TO o. BE 7aaS15 Deduct from s5 5at 9 9e
and it viii appear that the "a companies lost
$l33 125, besides intereston their capital Tor
10 years.
Now, combining the two sets of figures. we
| find that the 65 companies had an average cap
ltal Tor the 10 years of $50. 4l5,5O0; that tne
selling price OF the stocks. jan J., 1882, was
S7o,324,725 IS; that the selling price Jan l. 1892
was $5S,G0l 1888; that the total dividends paid
amounted to S31 lac, 1853; that the amount OF
cash paid in was s6.135,ooo Deducting the
16I net cash received by stockholders, or on al
average OF $2,5O0,516 per annum;; This IS
equal to 4.s6 per cent: on the capital stock.
The average selling price ascertained as before
was $64. 463, 304. On this sum the average div
ldend was 3. S7 per cent. The loss in value OF
al the stocks Tor 10 years was $11 ,722, 842.
Deducttng this from the dividend leaves $13,-
2S2, or 2. 06 per cent. on the average value
of the capital invested.
The change Iii yaitIe of manufacturing stocks
may OF course be said to depend in par upon
the years selected. Ii the selection OF one year
was during a PARTICULARLY prosperous time ana
the selection of the other year was during q
not be normal SO far as general business IS
concerned, however, the year 1892 is reckoned
as good as the year 1892, and the comparison
OF those two years would in that view appear to
be a fair one. Such OF these stocks as appear III
Martins report for 1881 average even higher
than they did in 1882, and in 1880 somewhat
lower, but not nearly as low as In later years.
On the other hand there was continuous anu
large crease of value in these stocks, amount
ing to substantially 20 per cent between 1882
and 1885 and moderate increase amounting
to about Der cent on tile remaining value since
that time.
1t is evident from these figures of selling price
at ditferentperiods that these corporations as a
whole, have been paying out i'll dividends more
money than they have earned during the past
ten years, proper depreciation being taken INTO
account.
This certainly is not record OF in
ordinate profits. but of very moderate
ones. Of course some of these corpora
tons have paid much higher dividends
than others, and it may be that in some
years these profits have been very large.
But the average, and that is the fair test
of an industry's earning power, is not
large but very moderate. Indeed it is so
small that if it were absolutely known
before hand that no larger profits could
be earned few capitalists would put their
money into them. The truth is that the
manufacturing enterprises which earn
big dividends are exceptional. Occasion
ally it is true doubtless that a corpora
ton particually well situated OF particu-
larly we'll managed has earned great
profits, but these cases are exceptional
and these big earnings have generally
been confined to brief period. In al
most every department of manufacture
competition is so fierce that it requires
the best of management and the strictest
economy to make any profit at all.