New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-08
A SLUMP IN TOBACCO.
THE COMMON STOCK GOES DOWN FROM
% TO 67is.
PASSING or THE DIVIDEND DUE IN FEBRUARY

PASSING or THE DIVIDEND DUE IN FEBRUARY
TIE CAUSE or THE DECLINE.
yc.sn the Stock Exchange opened yesterday morn
,. there was wild time a50u, the biz post where
,ra stocl; 0; the American Tobacco Company is
ali IN Two hundred brokers were crowded to-
-s,her and they all seemed bent seus the COM
NON stock OF the company. within thirty seconds
Sou shares o. the stock changed hands at from -
n - whereas the closing sale Friday was at g.
r., price continued decline until 7OR was touched
rhsu there was rally TO 55ie. af;er which there
WAS an Irregular descent 10 6,i. the final quotation
me to;a. transactions we're 9i04 "ha.f shares"
The tota sales c. all stocks 1896 shares
The preferred stock was lot severely affected by
the dron IN the common 1t opened at eSih. against
me closing Friday OF 1907. ana closed regular at
a.. The sa.es were only 800 full" shares.
The cause OF the connection In Tobacco was all
unexpected announcement by the American Tobacco
Company that. wh.e the usual quarterly dividend
Of per cent on the preferred stock would be paid in
February. the customary quarterly dividend OF 8
Der cent on the common stock. due at the time
would not be paid The explanation was that the
COMPANY required additional working capita. TO
Jared the company Would have a surplus of s. 250-
O.. for in conducting its EXTENDED operations.
u.Ssf quarterly dividend of per cent amounts to
ssS>75a There were two ideas IN Wall street as 20
the passing OF the dividend the common stock.
one was that the company wanted money to fight
t5a Western plug tobacco manufacturers who have
gone into the cigarette making business
taliatocy measure against The company for engaging
IN the production Of plug tobacco and the other was
hat the company was baby hur; by the competl-
ton ~ the plug tobacco makers The spectators
appeared 10 take the latter View. whether it
Adopting the figures Of the company for 1899 the
r.. oNing calculation for the year IN comparison
with the two preceding years was made:
$ On 'i Ss1ssed STOCK $3.50 SSss6 S
.Ra'aac. .......... s2.sel.co s4l1ie,5 sa.a77.ce5
;. ~ -nmoa. '..... lGiico 12.2l.soco 1872 i52 800
j., he foregoing falling off in net earnings Of
-,36l5. p per cent. is shown SIN. the extra
ger cent could have been paid and surplus of
IeI cent lctt over. The surplus account on Jan
uarv 1898 was NlyS2D. adding to which the es-
tin.a;ed surplus for 1885 makes the total pros
secretary Josiah Brown. of the American To-
hacr0 Company. sad there was majority Of ne
ty-seo0ud-st Friday. and they decided TO issue
notice thar the dividend on the common stock would
We don't call 1t a quarterly dividend but Simply
n dividend" said Secretary Brown. We first de,
clare the dividend the preferred stock. and
3i..lends on the common stock Our surplus OF
REPRESENTED 10y investments IN our plant
when Secretary Brown was asked as 20 whether
cerns. he replied that he had nothing g say. on
this point. The company last summer paid Slvn"o
FOR The cigarette business in Canada. and, as re-
ported $4,000 for the Hall factory in New-York.
These two purchases equal In amount The com
Tn ahrupt decline in Tobacco brought out strong
criticism in the Street yesterday and J. :; Bache
start a movement for combining the Stockholders
with a view secure greater publicity ana detall
i.,csentaion on the Board Of Directors Of the
Tobacco Company.