New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-02
finanrial.
The Financial World.

vance the week following. and have It so com.
out that these stocks do advance. while nearly
everything else stands still. This. however was
the situation Of the market a week ago. mum.
Der Of stocks were then named for advance. ana
they have more than justified expectations Ad-
vance, In them have been large and rapid
The conditions are a little peculiar. The spec
ulaiion Is not broad enough TO take In m.
whole iist-as 1t dd in January. bat n IL large
enough to give big following to any one oper-
ator. or combination Of operators who can
coed FOR the time in attracting attention n one
leading. or to a group Of stocks Speculation at
once goes all in that direction. and the general
list is let alone indeed traders are likely to sell
out other things they have to be free 10 trade
in the temporary leaders
4 couple Of weeks so ago the whole mar
ko, seemed to be concentrated in Sugar. As this
quoted down. the Flower stocks came to the
front. with Metropolitan, and these stocks were
named last Sunday as being booked for adj
vanccs First it was Brooklyn Traction and then
The Federal Steels I'm the former. the trading
eliminated on wednesday morning when the
price rose to within fraction Of l3I A rise ot
nearly II points from tine opening on Monday,
and Of .3 points from the opening on Saturday.
Yesterday II closed al l3i: a ret gain Of II
points in seven days The word from the Flower
office yesterday was: we shall soon have some
more news on Traction"
Wien this stock had eliminated. the Federal
Steels swung out into the open; ana as said isst
week would he the case. IT was the common
stock which was the most lively. Il Is now offi-
cially given out that ii vill become dividend
payer this year: which probably means AFTER
JuIv. and that the rate will be ! per cent while
the company's earnings on it are between and
10 ner cent The stock had two remarkable
OPENINGS during the week The first was IN
Monday morning. when 2oOOo shares were
recorded as being done all the same time De
tween ~ and 60 Yesterday the opening was
of 10000 shares between ZOE and '212' mat
broke the record. There was nothing IKE tha'
ever seen before The close was '3l2. as against
5lls the previous Saturday II VIII prooaoS
sell easily at - tomorrow.
The preferred has been comparatively quiel'
and was below 81 at the close yesterday AS
this stock Is paving q per cent. it is naturally
exnected that il will be selling close to par De-
fore the speculation in the common dies down.
When Federal Steel common passed steel
Wire common on the way up which it did on
Thursday. there was much lively comment in
the Street As it continued to go up, while the
other stock paled its Intellectual fires five or SIX
noints below the traders began TO ask what
the Steel Wire people were likely 20 do for mat
stock too. is TO become dividend payer IN
July Yesterday they showed signs of awaken
Ing. and the buying orders came which quickly
advanced the price from III TO SO. at which hg-
ure it closed.
We have IT for the coming week that it Is
about time to look out for better things in In
ternatonal Paper. AS is well known this is
one of the Flower group in which some things
went wrong soon after the stock was brought
out. and it was found expedent to leave it 10
the tender mercies of the market for a while.
which is never very kind TO a new stock. II is
understood now that the crooked things have
been about Strengthened out. We are not told
vet nosit,vely. that the stock will start the
coming week: only that no one need be sur
prised If it does.
The Metropolitan people were good as their
word i'm respect 10 their stock. 1t closed at
2J6 Saturday week. went to 263 on Monday.
go next day. and closed at go yesterday. ex-
dividend of IL, per cent They had promised
rise Of ten to twelve points for the week. The
occasion for it was. Of course, the proposition
TO build the underground road. tunnel con-
structed by modern methods Of engineering. and
which besides being roadway shall also be
conduit for all gas pipes, electric cables, etc.
may, with a ten cent fare for long distance
riders be paying investment. There is big
"ir in it. however. under the most favorable
conditions.
The sudden rise in Manhattan was affirmed
by some and denied by others to be on buying
nv METROPOLITAN interests. The argument is
that they could afford to pay more for II than
any one else 1t is obvious that the Manhattan
line with electric traction is different propo-
siton from what it is with steam, In its rela-
ton to the Metropolitan, which is also becoming
an electric traction property. The skill Of the
electrical engineers might be equal TO working
ont plans by which the surface and the ele-
waited lines might both be most economically
operated from the same sources Of power IL
is not beyond probability that such plans are
already natured. If they or II they could
be it explains what is meant in the assertion
that the Metropolitan could afford to pay more
for Manhattan than any one else On the otner
hand it is positively asserted in certain
quarters that the Metropolitan people have
nothing whatever to do with the buying OF
Manhattan. but that things may develop rather
against them Whichever is true it IL plain
that something is up.
The Tobacco stocks are rather out Of it for the
moment as the deal in Continental is evidently
not through yet Mr.. Widener continues 10
tell his friends not to bother about the stock
now. but that they will see 1t sell high enough
to satisfy them all later in the year. Leather
preferred stood still. but this is an industrial
market and its day may come. 1t is the one
big industrial which has not moved. although
the earnings OF the company are larger than
ever they
The railroad stocks cut little figure. The spec
ulaton for the time is In the industrias and
traction stocks. These egitmately afford scope
for much wider speculation than the more set
tied properties. Railroad systems do not show
such sweeping changes in annual earnings as
industrial companies do. That steel company
lately referred to In this column, whose &C
counts showed In period Of ten years. il per