The times., 1899-11-01

Lou De HEEtIIll LOT the same IGd=bA-
few people in the street heard this
story. and whether il was believed or
mot IT was acted on apparently. Federal
Steel common went TO 50 SIS. and closed
within q small fraction Of the top. The
preferred also had q fine advance. Ma
tional Steel went 20 above 80, and Ameri-
can Steel and Wire common advanced TO
a.. If this advance knowledge of de-
cision of the Supreme Court is really IN
formation and not fiction 1t seems prob
able that there viii be a continuance Of
the boom in these securities all this week.
The boom may continue even if there is
10 truth in the Supreme Court story.
il has been the belief in conservative
quarters for many weeks that Federal Steel
common and preferred were certain to
have fine advance this autumn and
winter for The most legitimate of reasons,
big earnings and the prospect of satisfac-
tory dividends
Louisville and Nashville and Southern
Railway preferred We're perhaps the most
.-uyaEr OF the railway list-rhe reason be-
.s- more talk Cf good earnings The state
m-1t Of she Louisville and Nashville for
tll month of September was given out.
lt shows am increase in the net earnings
ai sIisfu1. This stock advanced TO 81 3 S
r. day Southern Railway advanced to
les ana closed al So. the low price for
.Es lay having been s. as
Norfolk and Western preferred is con
..rs5 tT many 90 be in a better position
80 advance from the present level than
ul'sgllr ur Southern preferred. lt
rat under the protection of any clique.
aH. '.- -h.s reason has been neglected up
.a SHE present time Within the past week,
a.H.E.g there have been evidences that
investors are taking it up with renewed
interest Inyrusicaliy. the price at viii h
U0W selling is Tidicuiously low COM
pared with that OF any OF the standard is
sues The dividend on the preferred is
earned twice over and more, and, consid-
griuE The outlook for the South it is not
gEa-zerati0u TO say this dividend is as
sure as that OF nearly any common stock
ON the list, aud many Of the preferred
stocks II Is selling at little more than half
the price OF New York Central, which is
receiving the same dividend. The London
Statist" in q recent issue had an article
on this stock, advising its purchase. and it
is interesting TO note that London has been
responsible for a large part Of the pUr-
chases made in it recently.
The buying Of the Leather securities for
t4AE lAAAi4aAA va pal ~ NCAlAAiACN, IAee-e7iA
the close in them was not at the highest
price OF the day. All kinds Of theories are
put forth TO account for the interest Of the
Standard Oil crowd in Leather, none Of
them particularly confdence-inspiring One
suggestion is that control Of both classes
Of stock has now been secured and that
with it the new party will merge the two
stocks into one. which shall be small
enough in amount TO receive 6 per cent
dividend on the present earnings basis. The
chief known factor in the Leather situation
is that the company is not now and probab
y could not IN many years earn enough to
pay dividends on the entire present capital.
This should be enough to prevent conserva-
tive people from buying the stocks, even
although manipulation may make them
strong for months to come.
1t is said that the International Paper
Company viii lose money heavily on the
present low water at many OF its mills.
Southern Pacific was one Of the most
buoyant Of the railway securities yesterday.
II is said that a pool is buying the stock
steadily and that the intention is to put the
price many points higher than the present
level. The earnings of the company are
magnificent. II is understood that insiders
are predicting that at least per cent will
be earned on the stock for the current
year.
The other Pacific securities were also
well bought on the decline, Missouri Pacific
getting as high as ~ IA and closing at the
top and the Union Pacifcs both making
small advances and holding all their gains.
Union Pacific common is persistently bull
ed by a clique that shows great confidence
in its operations.
The grangers, with the exception of
Atchison preferred, cannot be said to have
shown much buoyancy. They all closed at
about the opening quotations for the day,
which were considerably of from the close
Of Monday. Atchison was an exception 10
this. with a net gain for the day. The
influence of the St Paul September state
ment was still felt in this stock, the street
showing an inclination to object to the
heavy expenditures for operation" which
il is concluded must include more heavy
Improvements" The disposition of the
company to use all Of its magnificent earn
ings over the present small dividend in bet
termeBts is not a popular one with stock
holders. no matter how much it may be
argued that it is the best policy in the
long run. They. see the largest gross earn
ings In the company's history and despite
immense operating expenses Il per cent
net earned on the common stock and still
only 5 per cent paid to them, and it is per
haps not to be wondered at that there are
protests in many quarters.