The times., 1901-05-26
IN THE BANKERS CIRCLE.
Local Investment and Speculative
Gossip of Interest.

| LIN LIE DhNhEnD OllbOnE.
Local Investment and Speculative
Gossip of Interest.
| The past week in the local stock market
has been more active and more interest
| ing than any for several weeks. with
| business large and diversified, and with
price changes important, though not all
| in one direction. Three or four notable
| movements have occurred and in all of
these cases there were circumstances, of
fact or Of rumor, that made them par
| ticularly interesting. Mergenthaler Limo
! type stock had sharp upward move
ment, and Washington Traction and Elec-
trio bonds advanced nicely, though not
| TO the same extent as Mergenthaler Tele-
| phone stock was weak. a good demand
| showed itself, and at the end of the week
| apparently was not yet satisfied. for both
! Mergenthaler and the Traction bonds, and
| IN other directions also there was noted
a fair interest, though not what could be
called a buoyant one. The breadth and
! strength of the market are especially
worthy of comment considering the lln-
favorable conditions, both general and
| local The fact that there was no decline
IN prices even no sympathetic recession.
after the suspension of the firm of GUrlev
q Johnson, shows two or three gratifying
conditions to exist. The opinion of care
Iul people was expressed in this column
q week ago that this would be So but
| the fulfillment of this prediction is none
! the less satisfactory
The decline in Washington Traction and
hlectrlc bonds from above 20 to 60 came
20 a matt at the beginning of the week
ana during the last few days the price
ouy1ng, almost as large and perhaps even
more significant than was the selling. The
rumor that caused, or at least accompa-
nied the break in the bonds was that the
interest payment of % per cent, due on
June l, viii not be forthcoming. The
people that sold the bonds on the rumor.
in good faith, are likely to regret their
haste, according to some of the local
holders of bonds best informed regarding
the outlook for the company and its Sc
Cutlties. II now develops that If the in
terest Is not paid it will be- most prob
aoIy, only because plans of reOrganiza-
ton make this unadvisable for some rea-
son. IN other words, those that got the
UP that no interest will be paid heard
only portion of a story which differed
very widely from the whole tale in sig
nlfcance. 1t is the same situation as that
IN lhe mover when the hero reads a torn
scrap OF a letter and infers that his girl
is false when in reality she is only going
on the most innocent Of straw rides.
"
The statement is made on excellent au-
thority that the long delayed reorganiza-
tion of the company and its various sub
sidiary concerns is to take place in the
near future, to be begun in fact before
the end of the present month. A state
ment to bondholders is expected on any
day. Apparently little is known of the
plan by local directors and kondholders
of the company, except as to Its general
scope. 1t is said that the present collater-
al bond issue is to be scaled % per cent,
and that holders of the security are to
receive in return for their holdings 70 per
cent of new bond and % per cent in new
preferred stock one statement not vet
verified is that the new issue will be a
per cent bond. Another rumor equally
without verification is that the interest
on the present issue VIII not be paid on
June / There has been much theOriziug
as TO other details. but 1t has been for
the most part Improbable. one sugges-
tlon X that IL viii be impossible to make
the new bond issue a first mortgage bond
as it viii be out Of the question to force
the holders of the underlying Metropoli-
tar and other bonds to give them up
Provision was made in the law passed by
Congress two years ago for the retiring
of all the underlying stocks not owned
by the syndicate, but IL IS the opinion of
some well-informed people that bonds
could be retired only in one of two WAYS
by the consent Of the holders or by fore
closure.
It is suggested that the largest holders
OF the bonds, the controlling interests, are
undoubtedly aware Of the fun scope Of the
proposed plan. There are very few of the
bonds outside of the hands of the insiders.
Il is said that not more than a few hun
dred thousand dollars of the entire issue
We're distributed If this is true ii is a
fair conclusion that the new plan win be
for the material betterment of the situa-
ton, and that il will be followed by an
appreciation In the price Of the bonds In
the near future. Certainly there will be
no selling of the bonds by these inside
interests because of the reorganization
plan.
The advance in Mergenthaler Linotype
stock from 100 TO around 10 was due ap-
parently TO heavy purchases for out
siders. There was some buying by local
investors also when It became apparent
that little If any stock was to be thrown |
on the market after the panic in the New
York market. The statement is made bv |
important holders of the stock that the |
quarterly report of the company will make |
an excellent showing, business having |
been larger and more profitable than dur /
ing the same quarter Of the previous year. |
The Chesapeake and Potomac sAcuri- !
ties, both the bonds and the stock. de- |
clined on the announcement of the de |
cision Of the District Court of Appeals in |
the matter of the constitutionaiity Of the
Congressional enactment concerning tele-
phone rates in the District. The stock |
especially sold off badly, from around 70 |
TO below 10 and showed little disposition
TO recover any Of its lost ground at the |
close of the week
The local insurance securities do not |
seem inclined to advance from their re-
cent somewhat lower level. The facts
printed elsewhere in The Times regarding
the friction in the insurance field perhaps |
may account for the lack Of demand for
the stocks.
Graphophone common stock has shown
no new buoyancy on account of the decla-
ration OF the regular quarterly dividend
The best bid yesterday was 97s.
AN ECCENTRIC COUNTESS.
The wonderful Articles Found