New-York tribune., 1898-01-02
financial.
The Financial World.


they opened In January. They are not far from
their highest OF the year. as a rule. As the weet
approached It's close business fell away ,n,o
customary holiday dulness: neither will II star,
into boom at ten o'clock tomorrow mornlnr
The workings OF the money market Will tend n
keep business dull for some days at least I,
there Is to be a January rise, IT VIII probahlv
take week or ten days TO get 1t going in gooa
shape.
Az the trading narrowed down Il concentrated
Itself in what coming % ne known q,
the traction stocks" that is tho stocks of ci,v
railroads. II has been found necessary 10 %,
convenient name for these. just as IL was
necessary to get a name for that class knoUn
as ''ihdustrials.' Manhattan Is included in N.
fractions as It's fortunes are more or less bound
up with those OF the surface roads. The slenx
OF speculative deal In these stocks were very
apparent last week. and were referred 10 In thi,
column. Indications are that they Will be lead
ers the coming week. IL the general market be
favorable. The buying OF Manhattan has the
appearance OF being done for a pool and the
common impression Is that Il is a pool with
Tammany connections. Whether there is any,
thing substantial behind the movement, ia
open to question. There Is plenty Of rnys-
terry. One might incline 10 be sceptical.
but sceptcism as a guide for action In
this case might prove expensive. consld-
ering how on farmer occasion Manhat.
tan doomed when the Tammany crowd took
hold OF II. Metropolitan Traction with its : por
cent regular dividends and scrip" extras OF 20
per cent, Is in the best possible situation for
manipulation. especially since none but insiders
know the real value OF the stock as based on
the financial condition of the company. As to
st Nat,
the company's bonds an attractive invest
ment: for they are ) per cents selling about 49,
and II the stock is worth present prices these
bonds are a safe purchase up 10 par
The movements Of the various gas securities.
some listed and others unlisted absorb In a
large degree the attention Of the Street and Il
Is generally conceded that a ~ greater
blunIerlng than the attempt to take in the
Equitable Company has not been seen in Wall
Street The first step. In the publication ~ an
advertisement Offering to absorb the Equitable
stock. was blunder for II published WIKI
out previous consultation with the officers or
stockholders of that company, and evidently
without expert knowledge of the Equitable
Company's business The next blunder was to
agree to purchase the Equitable stock at GER
tain price without knowing whether the earn
ings Of the company justified IT, Tne third
blurdGr
tract when the contracting purchaser found
he had not made good bargain as
he thought he had. He ought to have
known what he was buying before he con-
tracted TO buy; but having made his con-
tract. it was poor policy to try and back out OF
II. For see the effect-t has tainted all the Sc
curlties which were to be the basis Of the new
issue. and by consequence. this new issue itsel;.
Or state II in another way The New Amser-
dam Gas Company vas TO Issue stock and bonds
renresentlng certain properties IL had purchased.
or intended TO purchase. Obviously II was nec-
essary. in order to float these probably 70 nave
the public entertain the highest possible opinion
of the value Of these purchased properties buI
having made the contract TO purchase on ''e
principle Of buying pig In poke. the contract
ing purchasers announce that they nave mace
o roIstake that the property is not valuable
as they supposed it to be. Then it follows tna'
tho New Amsterdam securities cannot represent
as much value as 1t was supposed they wouia'
The Equitable people stand on the contract
They say it was none OF their seeking 30 lar
they have positively refused to bulge from this
solid ground, and the affair promises 10 go ih'o
,ho courts with the certain result Of making the
New Amsterdam Gas Companys securities
abou. as easy TO float so much lead. Nom-
l
don't amount to anything. They only represent
tine quotations made by the insiders lor thef
unsold and undstributed holdings
Leaving this muddle nrom which the puono
will certainly be the gaineD to such settlement
as the parties In interest may be able to reach'
ono NAV look with more satisfaction 70 the IN
vestment side Of the market and note the
steady. undiminishng demand for bonds Ihe
absorbent power OF the investing classes IS 20
large as TO surprise the bond dealers IL il'u''
Gates a growth Of wealth In the country a'
large which is most gratifying and which ''
IS no gainsaying. When bonds are uhsaiaO's'
which they certainly are at certain periooS' "
&c sure proof that the country is In some way
suffering a setback When the demand Is as
! large and as steady as the bond dealers ma II
70 be now, Il Is equally good PROOF that ''''
| country is doing we'll. There IS no surer 'es"
II is one of the best indications for the year
before us.
Bearing on this point, the much-discusseu
cent speech OF Bishop Potter on the eco"'i'''0
+ outlook IS of interest at this time. one iedu'"'
naoer took him severely 70 task FOR MS s'a'e'
rnent that we were approaching the cohul''o"
/ y. older countries, where profits would not We
made so readily they had been' p'S"oP
Potter as a Bear" was the way IL put j" ~
II the bishop was a bear because OF MS - =
as above expressed, then some OF the 'eau"9
bankers OF the country are also bears Tor '"e'
! entertain the same views. We are reany ap
nroaching the condition where profts cannot NC
made so readily as they have BEEN anu o,'e
certain. conclusive proof that we are is III ,'''
falling rate Of interest ana the risins prices iO'
bonds. Ia this therefore. sign that 'he 'o"n-
try is retrogradIng? Just the other way II
a sign OF accumulatng wealth, with incres'Seu
socwritv-increased security for life and prop
ertv For this is certain, that large prohts
o.rr,. with them high interest rates; and hgn
interest rates poor security. This is true all inc
,,.or,d over In proportion as the principal OF
loan is considered insecure the lender VIII de-
,d rate Of interest corresponding to thai
,,securty. II he gets his principal and interest
l"9NN -, pa, ha had 10 take the