The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-30


of securities and the distended short in
terest it required a fine quality of nerve
to stay short over the holiday. A great
many of the bears did not have the nerve.
The outlook is good. Many who have been
bearsh until this week and many who
have expected nothing more than mar
row professional market now look forward
to general Improvement during the first
two or three weeks of June. OF perhaps
until the nomination OF President Nc
Kinley to succeed himself.
The most important of yesterdays news
should, perhaps, be considered the an
nouncement made with little flourish of
trumpsts that another advance in the price
OF sugar has been made. Refined sugars
Will now sell for ten points higher than
they did at the beginning of the week.
This means that the total advance during
the past three weeks has been % cents on
a hundred pounds. or a quarter of a cent a
pound. There has not been such an i'm
portant advance in the price before since
the beginning of the sugar war. One or
two more raises would place the price
where it was when the Sugar Trust was
paying IL per cent dividends and laying
aside large surplus in addition. Already.
experts in the trade say. the margin be-
tween raw and refined sugar is sufficient
ture These three successive advances
made by the trust and closely followed by
the rival refineries, are thought by most
market observers to talk much louder OF
settlement of the war than all the gossip
recently SO prevalent There is, in fact,
very little doubt now that some agree
ment has been reached that the business
shall be conducted hereafter on a profitable
basis. II was said in the street yesterday
hnf Nr l.
tation with the independents several times
recently, and that an agreement is already
in force.
The effect of these developments has
been to overthrow the calculations regard
ing the coming dividend. 1t is pointed out
that If the war is settled the old dividend
rate may be established again. Perhaps
this should not be expected Immediately.
At any rate the shorts have god reason
to be frightened over their position in the
stock, and 1t is quite possible that sharp
advance in the price may be the result.
The price advanced more than two points
yesterday. to lis 1-2, and the close was at
III IA showing a net gain of more than
point.
The strength of Sugar undoubtedly had
much to do with the buoyancy of the gen.
eral market. The steel stocks. the grang
ers. the Pacifcs. and the traction securi-
ties were all bought when this stock be-
gan to advance. The steel STOCKS are at
|'tractihg more than usual attention, owing
to the excellent report OF the Hoop Com
pany, which emphasizes the absurdity OF
| much of the bear talk regarding the group
+, recently and even more. perhaps. because
| of the dividend soon to be declared and
paid on American Steel and Wire common
stock The Hoop Company report shows
, that the concern has had a most pros
porous year, and that it is at the present
time in an excellent position with large
surplus. The Steel and Wire dividend will
be ! ga per cent. and it will be paid dur
ing the first week of July. The books will
close three weeks from now. The quar-
| terly dividend will be per cent of the
present price Of the stock. 80. 1t is not to
be wondered that a quick advance is
looked for in the stock. Yesterdays gain
was a point or So Federal Steel made a
gain nearly as large. Tennessee Coal and
Iron advanced to "A and closed ct the top
price. Another story of interest regard
| ing the steel companies and their securi-
ties is to the effect that meeting of the
| Colorado Fuel and Iron Company will be
| held In short time, at which the entire
back dividend on the preferred will be de-
| clared.
Following the April statement of the
| st. Paul, there was issued yesterday the
! statement OF Burlington for the month.
While neither of these statements shows
any very large increase in net, they are
| both satisfactory and both perhaps better
that was expected. The gro:s increase of
the St. Paul for the month was $347, 704,
| but the increase in operating expenses, IN
Guiding heavy betterment exp nlitur, S.
was nearly as large as this, with the result
that the increase in net IVES Cny $I,5i2.
| The statement of this company for ten
] months shows gross earnings of So, 1856 S2S,
an increase of S3,i52 122, but in this case,
| too, the operating expenses have been i'm
| mense, beyond all record, and as a result
the net earnings are only si1 SS5. 735, de-
crease of 1870, 1876 The earnings for the
entire year are certain, however, to APP
preach very near TO II per cent on the
common stock If they do not equal that
figure.
The Burlington statement exhibits the
same general features. The gross earnings
for the month Of April show an increase Of
1855, o57. and the net earnings an in -rease
of only s9,3I2 For the entire ten months
of the year, however, the Burlington show
ing is better.
IL SHOuiu De pointed out Regarding tEeSe
two companies and their earnings that for
two years now they have both been making
very heavy expenditure for betterments,
which have been charged to this very elas-
tic operating expense account. This is a
most conservative plan, however It may be
disliked by stockholders at the present
time. 1t means that during the coming
year and the years to follow all these bet
terments will be reflected in greatly re-
duced cost of operation. And there is the
further point for holders of these securities
to remember that all bettermente during
| the past year have been made with the
prices OF iron and steel and other materials
| immensely inflated. Every reduction in
i prices. while perhaps bad for the steel and
iron companies profits, works directly fcr
the benefit of the railways. 1t will be
possible to make equally extensive i'm
provements during the coming months at
| much less cost than they were made re-
Gently. The chcapness of money, the pres
ent low prices of the granger stocks, and
the fine crop reports from all over their
territory make the street generally most
optimistic regarding them. Burning on go
as high as 12S Ii yesterday, but decline
later in the day to f27 1-2. st. Paul ad-
vanced to JIG 5-S ard closed at III Is
Rock Island advanced TO 107 and closed at
the top price for the day. Atchison pre-
ferred vent as high as Il is, and a 50
closed at the top.