The times., 1899-12-23

| further British disaster in South Africa
| is received. The London market will be
closed over the holidays until next We'd
! nesday. The New York Stock Exchange
| will be in session today, as usual, adjourn
| ing at Il o'clock until next Tuesday.
| Sugar was the weakest stock on the list
| all day until within a few minutes of the
! close. II was sold off TO ia 1-2, nearly 8
! points lower than the break on Monday
| 1t was said that the break in the stock was
! caused by selling short by Consolidated
/ Exchange people, notably the man who has
! come into prominence in the recent bear
market with winnings alleged TO be more
! than million dollars On all the reces-
/ sions there was heavy buying by important
! people, and it is believed that on almost
/ any day, perhaps today in fact, there is
! likely to be grievous trouble for these gen
/ tlemen Brooklyn Rapid Transit which
! was attacked so viciously earlier in the
/ week. was comparatively strong yesterday,
! showing good supporting orders at all
/ times. 1t did not sell at as low figure
! as the previous low, and recovered wei be
/ fore the close. Brooklyn was one OF the
! stocks attacked by the Consolidated Ex-
change people, and their failure to dis
! lodge any more long steck is likely at any
time to start them to covering heavily,
both in this stock and in Sugar, The
J
out by the bears were numerous, but no
new information of any kind regarding
them could be learned. Sugar opened at
/ 1l9 1-2, sold off to ia ID and then ad
yanced at the closesto lis. Brooklyn opened
at 63 12 went as low as 81 "a, and taen
advanced at the close to 63 rs, thus show
ing gain for the day.
The grangers were among the weakest
! securities in the railway list all day, The
selling by Boston Of Burlington being par
ticularly heavy. This sock went to ia Ia,
the lowest price of the year, and cOsed at
l16. St. Paul went as low as 1l2 IA, and
then advanced to III at the close Rock
Island declined as far as 100 3-4, nearly
point above the low price of Monday, and
then advanced to lO1 7-8 at the close.
There was good buying by investors at the
low prices in these securities, and it is
said that there were large orders to fill at
a slightly lower level. 1t is not believed
that the decline will extend further in the
group. The present prices are int. insieally
very low for the character of the securi-
ties and the business of the companies.
The outlook for the securities of the At
! Gibson is most interesting. It is known
that there has been heavy buying OF the
preferred stock by insiders and people in
position to know the affairs of the COM
pany, but the prices have declined heavily
in the recent break nevertheless. The pre-
ferred went as low as 81 yesterday. within
! a point of the low price of Monday, and
closed at 30 IA. The common went to II.
/ A considerable saving of expenses has been
! effected by the company recently, in addi-
tion 10 that shown In late earnings state
ments, and it is said by people VINO ought
to know that this saving will be permanent,
as it has been largely through the com
~ ef~-, % gvnl VTrgr l.
forces. A telegram from San Francisco
states that the AtchisOn will shortly enter
actively into the Central and South Ameri-
can trade. through a combination with the
I Kosmos Steamship Line.
Consolidated Gas was one of the strong
features of the market. The rumors that
the New York gas war has been settled
were more POSITIVE than at any time here
tofore and it seems probable that there is
some foundation for them this time. The
fact that both the large New York com
panies put in bids TO furnish gas on large
public contract on Thursday at the same
price, 92 II cents, is said to foreshadOw
an early public announcement that har
Tnony has been restored at last. The end
ing of the gas war is of more Importance
to the stock market than might be supposed
by one unfamiliar with the ins and outs
of the fight involving. as it does, the in
terests of some Of the heaviest holders Of
stocks in the country, prominent among
them the great Standard Oil Trust itself.
An attack on the coalers generally vas
made. Reading first preferred declined to
42 Ia Delaware and Hudson to 10 l-2, and
jersey Central to no The prices IN this
group are as far from the actual value of
the securities as those anywhere else in
the railway list. Tie earnings on Read
ing firCT Z1-fII no at
the rate OF fully S per cent, for instance.
The statements OF these companies recently
have been uniformly fine. The stocks are
considered excellent purchases for invest
ment or for speculation with fair margins
at this level.
The Pacific securities suffered with the
remainder OF the list Northern Pacific
common getting TO IS IA, Southern Pa
cifc 10 81 1-2, and Union. common 10 80 1-2.
American Steel and Wire common was
very strong compared with other parts of
the list. il advanced during the early
part Of the day and seemed well supported.
The fine statement given out semi-ofi-
cially this week regarding the earnings OF
/ the company and the dividend on the com
mon stock to be expected in January had
an excellent effect The prospect of a large
dividend on Federal Steel common also
Hdu q SLeduy4AB erect on Iuat STOCK, DuJ II
sold off nearly to the low price of Monday,
nevertheless.
The gross earnings of the Big Four for
the second week OF December We're $685.
O21, an increase Of S33, 929.
The Pan Handle earnings statement for
November is as follows: Gross, s., ,652 $50;
increase, $179, ,296: net earnings S4Sl .074;
increase. IS, ,439; surplus, S149, $40; decrease,
$40 243. For eleven mOnths ended Novem-
ber 80. the gross earnings were: $16. .3S9. .S6S.
an increase Of 81, 635 6S1 The net earn
: ings were 81, an ,531; increase, $194, ,034 The
surplus was 81 10000 increase, $236, 1876. /
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