New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-20
fiuauriaI
The Financial World.

| II a railroad controversy which for the moment
has chilled the buoyant spirit Of speculation:
and after some days Of rising prices under good
| foreign and domestic buying. has, with some
| other troubles. caused the weeks business 10
close with an irregular decline. The week
| opened with the Atchison issues well TO the
| 'front.' and there is where they are likely to con-
| tlnue. Atchison IL more talked Of now than at
any time since II passed through the purging
! fires Of reorganization: the preferred stock has
come into prominence with a single bound, as It
were; and hereafter 1t Is safe to reckon that It
will be a sort of ready currency Of the market
that is, a stock so active In the trading that
blocks Of shares be done every fraction
up and down. 1t will occupy the place among
the low priced railroad stocks that st. Paul does
/ among the high priced. Like st. Paul It has a
| foreign market as well a domestic.
Before the market received the chill referred
to- the stock rose to 45ia. and the Adjustment
| bonds sold up to 10 Both declined In sympathy
with the general list later. But this Is only OF
temporary account. Whether Atchison preferred
sells for ~ or ~ or ~. any particular day Of
the week Is OF interest chiefly to the quick trad
ers: the thing 20 bear in mind is that tho Atchi-
son Is A rising property: that It's securities are
destined to See greatly higher prices than any
which have yet been quoted for them that the
preferred stock is shortly about to enter the
ranks NJ tho dividend payers; and that under
the conditions In which the company is placed II
IS safe to proceed the theory. and will he safe
for long time yet. that after each speculative
reaction the price Of the securities will go higher
than they went before. This applies TO the Ad.
justment bonds as well as the preferred stock.
AS to the first As. an ultimate price OF 1O5 and
better has already been asserted for them-in
common with other safe per cents.
It was noteworthy how far the affairs OF the
Atchison company had slipped Of notice in
the Street-probably due 70 the recent great
prominence Of leading industrias and certain
other stocks-that when the sudden activity IN
the preferred stock struck attention and started
inquiry. the fact that the company earned
$40 600 600 year seemed 10 break upon many
people as a revelation. Forty millions a year
for a Southwestern road, II was astonishing.
The Atchison will more than forty millions
this fiscal year. The ultra conservative esti-
mate is forty-one the more sangulne Is forty
five The time Will come when It Will make
SO, COO 900 net That will give the full per
cent on the preferred stock.
1t is unlikely that any determinate rate per
annum will he proclaimed when the dividend on
the preferred is declared. The company does
not its way at this time to fixing rate II
has to he ascertaned exactly how far 1t Is safe
to reduce the very large ratio Of working ex-
penses. The road has been practically rebuilt;
expenses have been coming down from about 50
per cent and last year were trile less than IS.
The heavy expenditures which these ratios In
dicated have now about ceased; and ratio
somewhere between 60 and 80 will be estab-
lished. This reduction means much when the
60
dollars
On the whole Il will be seen that the Atchison
securities are 70 speak conservativey. pretty
safe things to trade In anywhere around present
prices.
In stocks considered specifically as the Flower
group II may be noted there are vague rumors-
often preceding the fact-trat Brooklyn Trac-
ton will soon become a dividend payer. The
Governor Is outspoken about Peoples Gas He
says It will sell at 100, ex the right 70 subscribe
for the new issue. In the Federal Steel issues
there was little rattle yesterday. Some people
who had bought them on contracts which
quired no money 10 be put up found they had
more than they could take care OF when the
stocks were delivered and had TO he paid for
Their desire to get out FASTENED by certain
erroneous Impressions in respect to the failure
to form n steel rail pool. In addition. the banks
made sorre trouble about loanng on the stock.
which is natural enough. II being the latest new
thing. They will get used TO ii In time. II Is
only yesterday. so to speak, that they would not
take Sugar In loans The furry OF yesterday
does not amount tn anything-Just litie Incl
dent in connection with a new stock.
The railroad controversy above alluded 10 Is,
OF course the quarrel between the Northern Pa
ciac and the other companies also having lines
connecting with the North Pacific coast. specif-
cally. the Great Northern and the Union Pacific
with rs allied companies the Oregon Navigation
being the chief The Street calls II the row be
tween Morgan and Hi. which is not exactly
correct nut near enough for general purposes.
1t was supposed that the differences between
these interests had been settled nj a conference
held some weeks ago; but IT proved otherwise,
the Northern Pacific refusing to recognize the
contentious Of the others The affair as Il
stands is most unfortunate. especially at this
time; but an arrans ement IS still possible. and
it was rumored late yesterday afternoon that
the controversy had taken on less belligerent
phase
To understand the causes Of this quarrel IS
not easy for the general reader because is
proper explanation requires the illustration OF a
map It conveys no definite impression to say
that this or the other road proposes 10 buid
new lines between certain points In Washington
and Oregon, when such points can only be dis
covered by dgent search on a large map. II
sufices TO say. therefore. that the Northern Pa
cifc proposes to build certain important extern
sions to its lines and the other companies claim
that 1t cannot do this without violating existing
agreements; and they threaten retallatoN
measures.
10 of a N
wolves the speculative fortunes OF an important
group OF securities; and 1t is very natural that
the market should have been adversely affected
when the conference between the parties In IN
terest broke up on Thursday without result