The times., 1899-12-18

can afford to see the price Of his stock on
the New York Stock Exchange decline 10
per cent or more with fair sangfroid when
he knows that the earning capacity of his
company is increasing and when he is in
formed moreover that his rate OF dividends
has been increased, and that his back diyi-
dends are to be paid. And in addition to
these comforting matters such an invest
ment holder is probably quite convinced
that he will only have TO wait a month or
two TO see stock market prices advance
again, and even go beyond what they We're
TWO weeks ago. The whole big speculative
game is to get outsiders to buy stocks at
high prices and sell them at lower figures
through fear or necessity. The investors
are seldom hurt; the insiders are infre-
quently caught in their own traps. Prices
that go down are sure to go up again in
ninety nine cases out of every hundred.
In the present case the railways and the
industrial corporations are undoubtedly in
creasing in value or earning capacity
steadily while this $1,000, 000 is being
clipped off the apparent value Of their
securities.
The Financial Chronicle computes the
gross earnings OF seventy roads for the
FIRST week Of December, 1899, at 80 60S,S40,
an Increase Of sos, ,S44, OF S66 per cent;
seyenty-nine roads for the fourth week Of
November, 1899, at $13, 6T1, 9al, an Increase
of 81 500, ,236 or 1928 per cent; 122 roads
for the month Of November at $62 450 $685.
an increase Of So, ,92S, ,04S and 115 roads
from January /, 1893, to November 80
1899. at $5SS, 603, 315, an increase Of $52,-
03S, $50. During the past week several in
dications as to the present prosperity OF
the industrial companies have appeared
The report of the Colorado Fuel and Iron
Company shows an increase in net earn
ings for the month, Of $500 OO0, or about
100 per cent. The company is earning SUI
ficient 10 pay very large dividend on the
stock With the declaration OF the dlyl-
dend Of g per cent on Federal Steel preferr-
ed the directors decided to pay per cent
dividends Oh the commons in the near future
During the first year Of It's history the
company has earned 6 per cent on the pre-
ferred stock and about u per cent on the
common. The common is selling around
so and the preferred around "a Reports
from a number of other industrial COM
panies would show earnings quite as good.
The strength of the American Smelling
and Refining stock in the face OF the gen
eral depression in the market is largely
explained by the phenomenal business
which the company is doing Whatever
else may happen in the industrial, railway,
or financial world there viii be no stop
page of the operation of the mines pro-
ducing the precious metals. The American
Smelling and Refining Company has de-
posted in the United States mints and as
say offices during the past week from its
refneries 28, 342 ounces of gold, of value
of $5S5. 79O. It's shipments of silver for the
week amounted to 919,072 ounces, at value
of $544, ,09O, making a total of $1,12S,SS
This opinion on the value Of the securi-
ties recently published in the "Statist"
Hondon) is most interesting: The growth
in earnings of American railways testties
to the rapid rise in the tide of American
prosperity, and as the good fortune of the
country during the past few years has been
remarkable, the high water of trade activ-
ity still seems comparatively distant. The
great economies effected during the cur
rency crisis of 1893 to 1896, and the good
crops and large profits from 1896 to the
present time have placed the American
people in very sound position, and they
now have a greater spending capacity than
ever previously. And we need hardly point
out that when a nation of seventy five
millions of people is earning large profits
and high wages, and is making free ex-
penditure the traffic on the railways must
necessarily be great"