New-York tribune., 1901-12-29
financial.
The Financial World.

pedred as TX IL was safely booked for further ad-
vance. despite the troublesome way that money
was working and the more troublesome wav !.
threatened to work Pleasant anticipations OF
such advance. however, were shaken by thu
performances of Sugar. which punched hole in
the market by dropping something like IL point.
in two days-and this after the Street had bssn
flooded with straight Havemeyer tips to buy /,
for a sure rise of at least 15 pointsi Psouls
who hold Sugar for the dividends rueanfr,
those who have bought the stock and lais I,
away. are of course not touched by these rars
fluctuations. but the margin buyer is in df
ferent position: and the margin buyer had
bad time of it. The rapidity with which susa,
went from some figure around 125. when the
tips alluded to were first heard OF numerouslv
in the Street TO 1885, was calculated to innair
confidence. Rumor has it that not only was "A.
professional crowd which deals In the Offices az
a certain prominent hotel cleaned out; but 'also
the help. from the head waiter down IL IA Al,
legged that a resident who is reputed to have
sure information on Sugar always on tap gave
out the tips TO buy IL in the 20s-hence tha
slaughter of margins. The most rapid smash
ing the stock got was last Monday afternoon .
when of sudden the bottom seemed 70 dron
out of it. This. however. only carried it down
to 1904 il was the next day that the routed
forces threw over their stock--or ther brokers
for them-and the price dropped four or Ave
points more. On Thursday the turn came. and
presumably the people who had engineered the
rout gathered in the stock they wanted. This
is fair inference from the fact that the recov-
cry was even more rapid than the fail. 10
point advance being recorded on that day from,
the lowest figure. Yesterday the stock sold
above lis
II was quite out of the question that the gen.
eral market should do anything hut sag while
Sugar was making its sensational drops on Mon
day and Tuesday: but the way 1t recovered and
followed the lead upward. after the turn on
Thursday morning. quite remarkable. It
looks as if the Amalgamated Copper break and
the Sugar break. with their depressing effects
on the list at large were isolated cases; that
stocks generally were more easy TO put up than
to put down and that when the effect OF some
temporarily depressing force has exhausted IT.
self, the rebound is immediate and decisive.
More is gained In one day than has been pre-
viously lost in a week.
In reference TO Copper. II may be said that the
stock has the look Of going up further. After
getting down close to 60 1t is now above 20. At
the latter figure Il is Of course quite different
proposition speculatively from 125; and eonced-
ing that the statement put forth by the directors
as an apology for reducing the dividend. Is
confession of business incompeteney such as
men are very rarely willing TO make, IL may
yet be true that Amalgamated Copper at going
prices may be dangerous short sale
The continuance Of large railroad earnings Is
the sustaining force in the market. A few reads
have reported decreases. but these are accounted
for by unusually stormy weather conditions in
the territory they serve; and comparison is
made with big earnings in the corresponding
period last year. when the winter was mild. The
problem before most Of the railroad systems at
this time is how TO move the volume Of freight
pressing upon them. Some of these systems
have reached the limit OF the capacity. They
can no more. for they have not the physical
means TO carry more freight. The last car and
the last engine is working. and the demand IL
still for more. The principal trouble seems to
be in respect to motive power-the loaded cars
are waiting, but the engines to move them ara
not to be had We hear this complaint very
strongly from coke. coal and iron centres. De-
laws inability TO get deliveries, congestion at
terminal points-these are the general COM
plants. On some large systems Of roads, the
railroad officials say that their chief trouble is
from inadequate sdings. terminal facilities. and
the like. Whatever may be the special cause.
all alike speak OF a congested state Of traffic:
which means that the country's great engine Of
TRANSFORMATION is working 10 its fullest capacity
II might be argued that while this is a bull
argument in one sense II is not in another; that
If prices have gone up 10 the level Of railroads
working TO their full limit there is no room for
further advance. Against this it can be an
swered that railroad men assert that another
years business at the same rate is assured, and
as the companies paying dividends are paying
out only a moderate proportion of what they are
earning they are accommodating assets-whether
il be in money spent in improving their prop
critics. or otherwise-while such conditions exist
Then too they are railroad stocks which are not
now paying dividends. but which these condi-
tions will bring to the dividend paying level.
1t was noted here last week that the coal
stocks would probably be we'll to the front. ss
the state of the anthracite trade was all that
could be desired. The Reading issues are now
the only stocks which can be said TO be still
speculative, the other anthracite stocks having
gone up to high investment figures The Read
ings have done well the past week They we're
steady 10 strong even when the market was
weakest. and made good advances when the gen.
eral list recovered from the Sugar depression.
Control of the Reading property may get become
ests What is certain. however. IS that the earn
ings are considerably larger than the reports
appear TO indicate
Much interest attached 20 the publication OF
the Union Pacific report for the last fiscal year.
II is rather complicated document now. as the
U. P. system includes several legally distinct
companies; but the net result is that the COM
pany is shown TO have earned about per cent
on its common stock, and it is paying out less
than half this sum- the certainty OF increased
dividends in the future is apparent. The con-
trolling powers in the company, however. are IN
no hurry in this matter. When the increase Is
made. they say, it will be permanent
The year drawing to a close will be rerneri-