The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-31

issue, or an amount equal to one-siXth of
the amount of his holdings 1t is said that
the large holders nearly all took their full
amount of new stock, but that in some
cases smaller holders failed 10 avail tham-
selves of the opportunity The subscription
was largely by Washington investors,
though some outside capital was also sub
scribed. The stock not taken according to
the pro rata allotment was subscribed in
full by syndicate organized for the pur-
pose. composed largely of local capitalists.
Lanston stock has been selling recently
in the local market o.. und Il, or near the
lowest price ever attained by it. Friends
of the LaDston Company advance the in
teresting theory that the price has been
kept down by the syndicate, which has now
| taken the balance of the new issue. 1t Is
| suggested that holders of the Old stock,
| seeing the price SO low. and not seeing any
profit in buying the rev issue, have re-
Trained from doing so, and that the syndi-
cate has thus been able to secure a large
part of the issue. These people express
the opinion that Lanston Will row soon ad-
| vance or points and that the syndicate
Will then be able to sell out to a willing
| public at IA or Is.
The statement made by the Lanston
| Company when it offered the new stock for
| sale was that number of large orders for
machines had been received which it was
1
ing new working capital.
Local brokers who have followed the
course of Lanston Monotype stock and that
| CT Mergenehaler in recent years call to
mind, in connections with this new Issue
| OF Lanston, the street opinion regarding
| the two stocks three years or more ago.
1t was then quite generally predicted that
| Lanston would advance rapidly and that
Mergenthaler would decline One circular
( letter issued by a prominent brokerage
1rin on June 80, 1897, contained an express
sion of this general professional orinion
in the following form:
The market for Mergenthaler stock is
very weak today, and we are inclined to
! the opinion that it will go still lower; our
reason for this opinion is based on the
fact that the Lanston Monctype Machine
! Company has just concluded the sale to
an English syndicate of all its English
! rights, exclusive of Canada and Australia,
for the sum of 81 100000. The sale con-
firms our former prediction that the Lans.
ton machine will become a strong COMPETE
tor of the Mergenthaler, and it is. in our
judgment its superior in many respects.
The present price is: Mergen,
thaler, 116: Lanston, II 1-2"
This opinion, like many others concern
ing the two securities, was wonderfully
wrong. At the present time, three years
after, Lanston is selling at the same pcice
or a trife under. The bid price yesterday
was II rs, and u 1-2 was asked no sales
being made. Mergenthaler meanwhile has
| advanced to 1873 rs bid and>1S4 rs asked,
about 6S points, or more than 80 per cent
Meanwhile holders of Lanston stock have
drawn no dividends, while MergenthaIef
holders have drawn SEQ in dividends, or
more than so per cent on SIG. the price
in 1897. A holder Of ten shares Of Lanston
purchased at II IL in 1897 would have
now exactly what he put into the invest
ment, and would have lost the use of his
money. The sum OF SIG invested in one
share of stock of Mergenthaler in the same
year would have Noted $50 in dividends
and S6S in increased value, so that at pres
ent his account would show a total profit
of SIPS, or more than 100 per cent
The recent decline in the price Of local
insurance stocks is attracting much atten-
tion on the street. The cause of the de-
cline is undoubtedly TO be found in the
local insurance fight which seems no nearer
solution from week to week. AS yet there
has been no open cutting of rates, but it
seems to be the general belief that ute
war is likely TO be precipitated a q ay
time. The prices of one year ago on in
surance securities compared with the
present level are most instructive. At the
end OF July 1894 Firemen's was selling at
80. and yesterdays bid price was 30. Cor
coran sold year ago at 60, yesterdays
price was SO; Potomac, 71-63; Arlington,
152 1-2-125; National Union, 12-10;
Columbia 40: Riggs, 1-2-7 is;
Peoples 1-2-5 ga
The insurance securities have not been |
the only ones to suffer during the past |
year. however. In the entire stock list OF |
the local exchange there have been only |
four or five advances in price. Outside the |!
bank stocks there have been only two adj |
vances. Capital Traction sold year ago, |
when only 3 per cent dividend was being |
paid, at 81 ga It's present price is 1902 SIS. |
District Title Insurance stock has advanced |
from bid to 3 3-s bid in the year Bank |
OF Washington was $40 bid last year, and |
now the bid is $50. Metropolitan Bank has |
advanced from 4s1 bid to 625, and Central
Bank from $50 to 200. Capital Bank is /
now 40 bid, while year ago it was only /
125 bid. The trust company securities
have held their own fairly we'll. Gas
stock is of points, and Telephone oE
Is points. Mergenthaler is of is points.
t..t has more than made this amount up
u the dividends paid. Lanston is off
SJ5i,its or SO per cent. The graphaphone
securities are both off slightly. Pneumatic
Gun Carriage is off from 80 cents to u
cents.
|