The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-01-11

tinued TO the close. News of British vic
| tory in South Africa would make renewal
OF this buying most probable. The outlook,
however, is still very uncertain. Before
| long intrinsic conditions are sure to result
| in much higher prices. but in the imme-
/ date future TOO many uncertain matters
| intervene.
Sugar opened at 100 and advanced to
100 10 During the early afternoon it
tumbled to III 1-2. There was slight re-
! covery before the close to 12O S-s. opin-
| ions have been Various regarding the sugar
! situation recently. owing TO a variety OF
rumors and assertions from sources sup
posed to be more or less nearly identified
\ with the company. On the one hand. there
| is the simultaneous advance of 10 cents per
! 100 pounds on all classes Of sugar. by all
refneries. This has much the look OF the
| beginning of the end of the sugar war 10
many. Others continue 10 reiterate their
! statements that the trust is losing money
/ and paying dividends out of its surplus
| President Havemeyer. at the annual meet
| ing of the trust yesterday. made the fol-
| lowing remarks on the subject of divi-
dend: Il cannot. of course, say what your
| directors will do in the matter of the decla-
ration of dividends in the future. Such
declaration can be made by them alone
and will be made under the situation whlcn
will then exist. ] am very sure, however,
that when the duty of determining the
amount of dividends is imposed upon them
/ they will take into careful consideration
the reduction OF profits which has resulted
from the policy which has been pursued. i
do not believe you will desire them 10 de-
| clare any dividends which would weaken
the financial strength of the company. or
render it less able in the future than in
! the past 10 look ahead with feelings Of
confidence toward the result of any policy
which may be deemed advantageous. /
say. with as much force of statement as is
possible. that / would oppose any such
declaration II is. of course, possible that
this statement may mean all that ii seems
to on its face but there are many who do
not believe Mr.. Havemeyer is entirely in
genuous in the matter. 1t will be seen
that the gentleman is only opposed to any
dividend that will weaken the financial
strength of the company" etc. and that he
does net assert that the coming dividend
will do any such thing He may desire 10
get stock at a low price. Offers we're made
in the street yesterday to sell the next
Sugar dividend for . per cent. but this is
an old ruse and costs little comparatively.
eton if IL is taken up TO the extent OF
few thousand shares.
The present remarks of Mr.. Havemeyer
recall an incident that occurred on
former occasion when there was talk OF
passing the Sugar dividend. At that time
Mr.. Havemeyer believed and so told his
directors that the passing of the dividend
would be the right thing TO impress the
poverty of the company on the attention
of Congress. The directors took the mat
ter under advisement. A day or two after
Mr. Havemeyer and Mr.. Rockefeller had
conversation regarding the matter, at
Mr.. Rockefeller's suggestion. Mr.. Have
meyer was told politely, but very plainly,
that if the dividend was passed he would
lose control of the Sugar Trust and pass
out of The equation entirely TO give place
to people who believed in dividends. The
regular quarterly 3 per cent was declared
on time as usual.
II is not often that such a violent de-
cline as that in Sugar yesterday takes
place at the same time as a sharp advance
in another part of the list. The Baltimore
and Ohio securities advanced while Sugar
was declining. The common stock opened
at Sc 12. an advance over night, and 1t
went as high as SO. closing at SIS 3-s The
preferred opened at 73 SIS. advanced 10
15 Ia and closed at "A 81 The buying
vi iHf sbOStS Was lOT luslutTS was
considered excellent No particular rea-
son for the movement was suggested ex-
cept the early contamination of the Van
derbilt- Pennsylvania Baltimore and Ohio
deal. In a general way the industrial Sc
curities may be said to have followed
Sugar during the day, and the railway
stocks Baltimore and Ohio.
The steel and iron securities were un-
deniably weak, a fact of much interest at
the moment because OF the dividend devel-
opments of the week the first tangible evil |
dences of the great prosperity OF the COM |
panies Federal Steel common declined to |
As IL, and the close was AT so. a good net |
loss for the day. Steel ard Wire common |
declined to &c, but recovered to a. l-2 be- |
fore the close. The preferred stocks both !
showed net losses for the day Federal /
Steel seems very safely a per cent stock |
FOR some time TO come. The earnings Of
he company were much more than double
his rate during the first year of its his
lory. The first dividend has been declared
and 1t is now said with much positiveness
hat another dividend of 1-2 per cent will
be declared next month. Wire common is
10 be made a per cent stock, according
% the best information o5tainable.
Tennessee Coal and Iron declined to
20 rs. and closed at SO. where 1t opened
Reports from friends of the company are
excellent regarding its immense business
md rosy" outlook. The steel turned out
1t its new steel mill is OF the best quality. |
and the net profit on The finished steel
rom the time the ore is taken out of the
ground will be. II is said, greater TO this
company than to any other in the world.
Northern Pacific common was weak In
he morning. but later in the day advanced
"A I'D nk