The times., 1901-06-23

! As-N-HN""
Mexican .......... C52O79 Loss 1929 Il
Total @17,119,o22 Gain 81. .s&o i99 81
The statement with much show of posi-
! tivene-- IT the beginning of the week that
| the Union Pacific had bought out a con-
| trolling interest in the st. Paul, the va
| riations of this story later, and the grad
ual realization that it had no particular
| foundation except in the fTlendllness that
| undoubtedly exists between the two SyS-
TENS haze been the chief developments
| of the week that directly affected the
market. Reference TO the table or price
I fluctuations given above VIII snow now
! little the net effect of these stories has
been. The closing prices on Union "a.
/ cfic and st. Paul yesterday were very
| near the level of the week previous Inc
! story alluded to in this column yesterday
( that there had been an exchange of S2o,-
900. 900 in st. Paul stock for like amount
of Union Pacific was simply delayed edl-
| tion of the original rumor apparently.
| There is no foundation for this idea, eN-
| cept that it IS known that fairly large
blocks of both stocks are held by the
same parties. In the case OF ST. Paul-
Union Pacific il will be community of
interests distinctly and not control,
one way or the other. This may be stated
with much positiVeness on the best au-
thority Such being the case, it is felt by
many careful people that these securities
are selling quite high enough for the pres
ent-
Another interesting story that had its
rise and fail during the week was that
regarding the alleged purchase OF the cor, COL,
orado Fuel and Iron and Tennessee Coal
and Iron Companies by the Steel trust.
Early in the week both the Colorado
stock and the Tennessee had big bulges,
and later they both sagged OH Dddly'
though even now their level is much high
er than * was before the talk of a deal
was heard. Whether there have been any
negotiations or not is a matter OF Hluch
mystery. despite the very positive storles,
giving details of the terms that were
fioated at one time. Yesterday contrlpu-
tion to this situation was despatch from
Chicago to the effect that J. j. Mitchell,
JOhn Lambert, and others have returned
to that city from New York, unsuccessful VI
in their efforts TO sell out the Colorado
Fuel and Iron. The despatch further
stated that the terms offered by these
gentlemen to Mr.. Morgan's people were
considered too high. This is not TO oe
wondered at if Messrs. Lambert ct az
wished a share each of the common ana
preferred Steel for one snare OF CoIotauo
Fuel and Iron.
The nositia1 of the securities Of the
lesser lines in the West, not yet ABSORBED
by the community of interests, shouIu pe
of mere immediate Importance 70 Steh
ers after rcasoEable-priced investments
than the outlook for St Paul ana Cnlcn
Pacific 1t is certain that St PAU al
1Se is luxury as an investment oI d
speculation No one suggests for a mo
meut that Union Pacific is on the par
gain counter above ll5, while the dividend
is only 1 per cent. It is concelVaole tnat
both may have a further advance with
Ia rger dividends or for other reasons
which may arise, but speculating foT Such
a rise is a gamble for rich men. On the
other hand such stocks as the Chlcago
and Great Western securities, Mlnneap-
oils and st. Louis, Iowa Central, ana WIS
consin Central are legitimateiy entitled
to good advances, whatever may occur
to the community of interests plan, and
may have sensational bOoms II this plan
proves a success. It viii not be possible
to complete any possible scheme Ior tne
effective elimination OF competition WIN
ont an understanding of some kind with
these lines. The effect Of shrewu guesses
along this line has been seen IN new
activity in these stocks during the past
week. Further advances in price are
! likely.
William CossItt Cone & Co. say Of the
steel securities: stocks Of the United
states Steel Cooperation were conspicuous
for their firmness. practically based on
the recent utterances OF JUICE 1ai
Chairman Of the Board OF Directors OF
the United States Steel Company, VINO
stated that tho necessity Tor the large
exuenditures IN new construction is ma
| terially modified by tn recent consolida-
tion Of stock ownership and therefore
the amounts to be appropriated IN TINS
direction win be very much less than tney
have been in the past However, cohsid-
erable is being done in the completion of
work in progress at the time TINS com
pany was organized. The changed condl-
| increase the net earnings OF the sub
sidiary companies This is one of the
| things which the combination was IN
| tended to secure, and as net earnings
have been shown large enough to pro-
vide for dividends On both classes OF
stock prospects favor stun larger mar
gin of protection than has yet been hg-
ured on. We are of the opinion, as eX-
pressed in former letters, that par for
| the preferred is a figure that will be left
behind by n number OF points before
many daVs and that the common. is more
| than likely TO get sharp upward move
ment before the time arrives for action
on the dividend"
The latter part Of the week saw a sharp
advance in the Wabash securities, ap-
parently based on the May earnings
statement. The figures of the statement
1901 Changes.
Gross earnings gs......... sl.llI6S3 Inc. Slls,sl4
| Operating expenses..... l,Oa2444 Inc. llS,S6l
Net earnings. s.......... $aa92ao Inc. s5,45a
From July L
Operating expenses. II, ,73O lSl Inc. 72O,ssl
Net earnings. $l89G390 Inc. S274,79i
II may be estimated from the figures
for eleven months that the net earnings
for the year will show an increase Of
about $3.50 600. This will provide a sur
plus after interest charges of about $780,
900 Deducting S2l000O for interest on the
about $3.50 900 for the 81 bonds, or about
2 per cent 1t may be said with no re-
serVatiun that considered strictly with
reference to the present earnings of the
company the present prices of the securi-
ties are too high. There are possibilities