The times., 1899-05-16

The general idea in the street is that th'
Flower stocks will be weak. AS matter
of fact, the outlook for these stocks is the
best in the entire list, some shrewd people
believe. II 1t is acknowledged that Mr.
Flower and his associates were good busi-
ness men their reasons must have beer
good for picking out Brooklyn RAPID
Transit and the Federal Steel securities al
the ones 10 purchase. And these COM
panies have not been impaired in Their
earning power in the least by the death OF
Mr.. Flower The earnings of the Brooklyn
Rapid Transit Company on Sunday were
s35. 600, or $4,000 in excess of the same day
a year ago. An increase in earnings OF
more than 100 per cent. il one year is not
a common thing in any company, even in
any Flower company. There are any num-
ber OF careful people familiar with this re-
markable system who are willing to state
in all seriousness, that it is the greatest
corporation in existence at the present
time as far as prospective earning capacity
is concerned. II has the same future as
the Metropolitan Traction Company, ex-
eept that It's territory is far wider, and far
more capable of increasing in population.
The company has not yet paid any diyi-
dend. and for this reason the public has
unwilling TO buy Its stock. There is every
reason to believe that six per cent. divi-
dend will be paid this year, and that a
much larger amount will be turned over
to the stockholders in the near future.
Chicago Gas is earning eight per cent.
dividends and is paying six per cent. There
is a very good promise that seven per
cent will be paid in the near future. There
were brokers Offices in New York last
Saturday that offered TO buy for their Gus
toners all the Chicago Gas they desired
to take below 1l0. The stock went down
10 I01 on Saturday and then recovered
quickly to 112. 1t opened yesterday morn
ing on heavy buying at 1l5 and after re-
ceding to 1I3, closed the day at ia is.
The Federal Steel Company is turning
away business every day because of its
utter inability TO keep up with the work
il already has on hand. This business
pays it something like ten per cent. more
this year, on every dollars worth, than il
would have paid last year, on account of
the tremendous advances in prices of all
steel and iron products. One of the inter-
esting developments in the work of the
syndicate now putting in new railways in
this city, has been its inability to get rails
and construction iron on time, or within
weeks of the contract time. Another has
been tine tremendous prices ii has been
forced to pay for everything. One of the
members OF the syndicate in an interview
with Times reporter printed in this issue,
talks of these difficulties and goes so far
as TO state that the syndicate was very
nearly ready to purchase its rails in Eu-
rope, because OF the tremendous prices
demanded by the American firms These
facts should be full of the greatest sig
nifcance TO any owner of stock In a steel
and iron company. They mean that the six
per cent. on the preferred stock of the
Federal Steel Company is as certain as
Government bonds and that above this
dividend there viii be twelve per cent. or
more at a very CONSERVATIVE estimate for
the common stock. The preferred is SELF
ing below so. and the common below so.
The same arguments are as true of the
American Steel and Wire Company.
The question to be considered at present
by people who wish 10 buy stocks is as to
which are likely 10 be stimulated 10 activ-
ity first after the depression and the wild
ness of the next few days. The Flower
stocks primarily-the Flower peopl say.
In the balance of the list the probability
is that some initiative OF good buying
from strong people will be required before
the public will wish 10 participate in the
movement The desire for Americans
shown by London in the past few days has
been one OF the noticeable features of the
market. There is good reason to believe
that this foreign buying will continue as