The times., 1899-10-29

the American Steel and Wire common and
preferred. The average gain in price has
been points. The railway list has b en-
much the most satisfactory, as, with the
exceptions OF Sugar and American Tobac-
co, the gains in the industrials have been
small.
The grangers have been active and buoy
ant this week as they have been during
the entire month despite the cTOakings Of
the bears that prices in the group are al
ready sufficiently high. II is not TO Be eX-
pacJed, perhaps, that the higheT-priced
grangers VIII advance with the same rapid
ity as many of the low-pTiced stocks, but
when current earnings and future pro poets
are taken into consideration, and when 1t
is remembered that the present prices Of
these stocks are many points below the
levels Of former prosperous periods, there
is certainly no reason 10 suppose that they
viii fail to make good advances. AS for
Atchison preferred and the Great Western
securities, the most careful people are tie
most bullish regarding them. The news Of
interest regarding the grangers yesterday
was the statement of the Burlington for
September. The increase Of the surplus
for the month was 1901, 491, or about 40 per
cent The ST. Paul statement for the
month viii probably be given out this
week.
The statement Of the Reading for the
month Of September shows an increase in
net earnings of SIS, 035 The present rate
Of earnings of the Reading provides for +
per cent on the first preferred stock, and
a substantial balance for the second pre-
ferred. and il is considered certain that
dividend viii be paid on the first in the
near future. The coalers have been one
Of the features Of the past week, although
their activity was confined almost entire
" TO one half hour OF one day. II is be
.Iieyed that all OF this group will make
! good advances in the near future with the
possible exception Of Lackawanua, which
has already doomed up tremendously on
/ the persistent TumoT that this company
viii buy out the Jersey Central. Reading
/ first preferred is perhaps the favorite Of
/ the group with spectators, though there
/ is a strong following for Ontario and West
\ ern for very good reasons. If the stock Of
/ the latter company is to be divided in the
/ near future there is every reason 10 be-
/ lieve that the insiders viii buy it heavily
! before that time as the proposition is an
/ excellent one
! The American Steel and Wire securities
were attacked vicioUsly during the first
( hour yesterday. There is good reason for
/ believing that the low prices resulting Will
prove TO have been the bottom figures Of
/ this movement. The street was filed with
advice TO sell the common, as the lowest
quotation Of the day came over the wire,
i 45 3-4. When the tipsters were the hot
. test on its trail a quick improvement be-
gan which carried the price up two and
/ a half points. The close for the day showed
a good net gain. The supposition in all
this is that Nj. Gates has been buying the
. stock as be was selling 1t q few months
ago when all the advice was bullish. It is
I difficult 10 understand however, how he
( succeeds in persuading so many people TO
send out his fake advice. Such experiences
as this are not Of the kind to give the
public confidence in the Steel and Wire Sc
curities They viii pronaDly advance but
there are many other steel and iron com
pany securities with equal and better pros
poets that may be speculated in with much
more safety. The Federal Steel stocks are
sure Of dividends this year, and conseTva-
tive people are Of the opinion that they
viii both sell al a much higher level in the
near future.
Louisville and Nashville and Southern
Railway preferred continue their superb
advance yesterday, both securities reaching
the highest prices Of the year. This means
that Southern preferred sold at the high
4 est price on record, ana llal LOuisNille
has not been so high before since 1890
Southern common was also very strong
yesterday. reaching 13 rs, the high
est price since 1895, when it sold
for time at IA. The buying Of
all these securities by the insiders is heavy
and persistent Southern common was TAX
en- in thousand-share lots all day yesterday
The public. however, is also active in them
The confidence Of the directors of the lines
and Of the public seems 10 be exceptional
~ well founded With the present earn
ings Of the Southern averaging very nearly
II not quite 5 per cent on the preferred
stock, its price below 60 is certainly no
intrinsically high. The common is one o
the cheapest Of the low-priced issues, ac
cording TO its prospects.
A movement is expected by well informed
people in American Cotton Oil in the neal
/ future.
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