New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-25
fiuanfial.
The Financial World.

this year. All pervading ana universal In the
feeling Of satisfaction with the immediate past.
and of confident hope for the future Every
body seems to have made money, and To he sure
OF making more. TIE good times have followed
so quickly on the long period of business de-
PRECISION. that the change Is doubly grateful:
and the promise Of The future is bright It
removes the apprehension of a possible relapse
to former dependency. The country seems
fairly to have entered one Of those periods NJ
prosperity which just as marked features ~
it's economic history. as the periods NJ Do.
preston: but as the latter usually last longer
than the former. the prudent man will he care
full to lay up store in these times against the in
evitabe day when he VIII again have present
need TO draw past accumulations.
At the close Of last week, II looked n the
market would take resting spell at least TIL
after Christmas, and in several cases leading
operators privately advised intending purchasers
to wait till then. But couple OF days seemed
all that the impatient public was willing To wait.
and the buying orders came in such volume that
these same operators were spurre6 into imme-
date action The market got n boiling again.
and continued TIL nearly the close on Friday.
when extensive profit taking made a slightly
irregular close
The Flower party the leaders. as usual,
and the Flower stocks were to the front all the
time So much money has been made in follow
ing the lead of this house the Joke has become
current that all you have 10 do il 70 throw
thousand dollars into the window there Monday
morning and draw out five thousand SATURDAY
night. Some Of the points coming from that
quarter have been unusually accurate. For ex
ample. when Federal Steel common opened AZ
A. on Thursday morning, the point was given
Wolld N beFo
next day It sold at 1913
1t is understood that the Governor has given
the word for next week that the granger stocks
will be leaders. and that Rock Island in par.
ticular will be selling close 10 100 This
the current gossip on Friday afternoon
Also he said something about Brooklyn Rapid
Transit
Recently, when the word was passed round
that Louisville and Nashville was going 10 pay
n dividend. and that the stock would sell above
20, It was reported that this came from The
Flower office. The report was erroneous. II did
not come from there. but from the Belmont
Office Louisville has not acted we'll lately II
has stuck between 63 and 81. and stuck there 50
long that II is time for the Belmont Office ~
bestir itself and do something If this stock IN
boiling bull market. and with a dividend com
Ing does not sell up in the 7Os points from the
Belmont quarter will be no better considered
than those from the SeiIgman establishment
One OF the Ltrking features OF the marke,
was the extraordinary movement in the B. e. q
issues. The new preferred ia selling about IS
the new common up to .S1a, but closed
Friday at 81 Now in respect 10 these stocks Il
may be said that the 3. & o. preferred Of the
reorganzed company is worth what any
ably secure per cent stock IL worth. What Il
IS worth on that basis. any one can Judge for
himself He Is safe in buying the stock for tho
a per cent dividend It will pay. AS 10 the
mon stock the present price is certainly all that
any one ought TO pay 1t may, in fact be con-
sldered that a price OF 30 represents enthusiasm
rather than judgment The manipulation Of the
stock in the market Is comparatively easy, no.
cause there is a very large amount OF it perma-
nently withdrawn from sale. and which must
be held uuiSe irrespective OF its market price.
It Is. however, just as well not 10 indulge IN
illusions. The people VINO are the least liable
TO indulge IN these are the largest holders ~ the
company's securities dncudng the common
stociD. They consider the Y. & q. ~ the
great properties of the future: but they do not
counsel the buying OF its securities at extrava-
CANT prices The absorption Of the 3. & ..
Southwestern necessitates increase In the
bonds and stock OF the 3. e. o proper, as these
will be exchanged for those OF the Southwestern
system. The success of the operation is assured.
a syndicate having taken all the new securities
What the members Of this syndicate offer to the
public may be taken with absolute confidence.
They never offer anything AZ prices which are
not lower than the investing public is not will
ing to pay after the securities have been dis
tributed.
The Atchison directors wisely RETAINED from
making any statement as 70 the period for which
the l per cent dividend was declared The
chances are this simply. Atchson preferred
will first become 3 per cent stock: but may
eventually become ; per cent stock. which 70
the limit. 1t Is understood that the II terest on
the Adjustment is will re made sem annual,
instead OF annual now: but there Is much
work involved in the change and some expense
Half yearly interest would rot become payable
before May next. The bondhoders may get II
then.
In respect to Union Pacific II NAV &c well 10
remember that the next dividend on the Pre-
ferred is not due till April next. Almost GER
tainly in the next fiscal year the dividend VIII
be increased to per cent; and just as certainly
in this fiscal year 1t will not-a rrmors' re-
ports, and sure points to the contrary not"th-
standing
There was no increase In the New-fork
Central dividend, but the advance IN the s'oCN
was sufficiently explained by the large surplus
reported over the dividend paid All the lines
between Chicago and the seaboard ought TO 90
well next year. The Panhandle stocks penn
sylvania SYSTEM, are acting well. and tner
back ,rs say they will sell much higher.
The pre- sent food OF business was originally
started by big wheat crops. for which there rose
a world wide demand As bearing on the
general situation now II may be noted that me
export demand for wheat AT this time Is me
largest ever known: that this is coincdent WIN
the smallest visible supply in Europe ever r.
ported and the smallest visible here. with inc
ei,g,o excen,ion ~ last vear The boom In the