New-York tribune., 1902-01-26
Guaunai.
The Financial World.

appearance OF a good bank statement The AZ.
cnne yesterday was so marked as to excite much
discussion. because the statement with its heavv
increase in the surplus reserve was ons av.-
way calculated to give prices a lift. -Never,,.
less. from some quarter there was an fnnmeaIa,.
outpour or stocks The net result for the vess
Is. that with few exceptions the closing o,o,,
tions yesterday for the leading stocks wer, t,,.
about the same week ago. or a little Iowa
In the interval. we have lad most of IN. ,,-..
aepressingly dull market; with sharp rnoven,.,t,
In two OF three stocks only such as sura- -.
Metropolitan a""
III is 10 De noted that during the period AZ bt~.
money rates in December and the first mar, :,
this month. the market was held uD well .,s
had bank statements were the signal for +. .,,,
fening OF quotations. Now that money T. ....
both on call and time, and the bank ress-va.
are hlllnS UP. stocks appear to be for saIa an
every raIly' They are not offered in large VOL
ume 1t is dribble. small but constant
Who is selling? Why Is the market 50 bAs,-.
at a time when the railroads are fairly chokad
with traffic? These questions one cons,.rt,'.
hears asked 1t is not easy to answer them. In
one quarter you hear that Standard Oil tnt.r
ests are unloading. If this be true. the otbs-
question comes up. In different foru-whv
snould they be selling when the business q,
the country Is larger than ever before and sti1
growing? There IS only one report from thu
railroad men, They are everywhere strugsIing
with the surfeit OF traffic poured on their roads
Shippers are complaining all the time about tbs
difnculties of getting their freight through. tn.
pennsylvania system. which is perhaps the most
representative system in the country because NJ
the diversity of its traffic. is actually chokad
wish business. There is a constant howl about
the service il is rendering; the fact being. how.
hat roa
limit of its capacity. Very much the same "a.
ports come from important roads all over the
country. And 1t Is the same in the passenger
as In the freight departments
Nevertheless, the stock market remains h.avv
is rallied with difficulty and slides back WITH
ease. And the Street discusses the causes WITH
out arriving at any clear conclusions; also IL 4.
very bearish in temper 1t may be that we ar,
In one OF the dead intervals between great rnov.-
ments Of speculation 1t may be that the stoct
market is forecasting the time when IN. p-s.-
ent crush OF business shall sIacken. and d.
creased instead of increased earnings mark the
weekly reports OF the roads.
Usually. Wall Street is two OF three unonth.
ahead The stock market has begun TO improve
after periods OF depression before the railroad
managers could see any increase IN their bust,
ness. Contrariwise. a decline starts when bust
ness is at its height, money easy. conditions ap-
parently all favorable for advance. There ia a
fortune waiting for the man who can tell cor
rectly now. whether the market Is only having a
duH spell antecedent TO another outhurst Of ac-
tfvity on the bull side: whether II has started
10 discount a subsistence OF the high wave Of
prosperity. Mr.. Morgan Is known to hold the
former view. Judging from a brief conmunica-
ton ne had made 10 the press. Mr.. Carnegie en-
tertains the latter.
week was Metropolitan. It ran up between
twelve and thirteen points when IT was checked
and put back somewhat by rather large selling
II is asserted that insiders did this as the mar
ket was getting away from them There ars
various rumors a1oat as what new thing Is cOr-
Ing in connection with the company. Whatever
II is, the point is given that Will put the stock
much higher 1t seems certain that a new issue
OF securities Is coming IN some form, which will
carry privileges. There are also rumors rather
vague, that control OF the corporation has been
purchased by great railroad company. Some
| thing was done. agreed 10 be done. between
the chief parties IN interest about ten days ago.
What this something was. will soon develop.
Atchison adjustment bonds are recovering
little from the quick fall they had on the an
nouncement OF the issue OF the so million OF de-
bentures- The Atchison people were somewhat
taken aback by the howl OF indignation which
greeted the announcement. They insist that the
step taken was done only after thorough con-
siderstion Of all the conditions. and on the re-
ports OF past and estimates OF the future traffic
OF the road made by the traffic managers. They
claim that two millions OF business was lost last
year for want of adequate facilities principally
| equipment. Thirteen millions OF the new money
will go for new cars and engines. II. they say.
this had been bought on a car trust. it w+uld
/ baua Wit hO- AfcNr -7.it-
ions will go for new mileage. The rest q ihe
money for general improvements As to the new
mileage 1t is not to be supposed It could De
charged TO anything but capital account They
claim. also. that they have set aside each year
from earnings. and spent in permanent improve
uents, as much as will have to be paid for IN
terest and in extinguishment OF the principal or
the new bonds; and that with the new mileage
new equipment and other improvements, the
earnings will more than take care OF every ooli-
cation.
There are two sides to every question. OF
course: and the Atchison people say that they
have a good case and the Outcry against ths
new issue came from a misapprehension OF th7
facts. There is something in this; but inc
sensitiveness of the public may be understoo"
by noting that the net earnings OF the COM
pany in 1925, were only $40. 100000; sum
which is now nearly absorbed by the dividenos
on the preferred and common stocks alone so
rapid a change as this represents may Wen
make the average man doubtful wnetne'
changes as rapid may not come again-the o,her
way In the case OF the Southern Pacific. ths
controlling powers are determined 10 speao az
its big surplus of earnings on the propelS'
Dividends will begin when the improVemeh"
are completed.
There is revival Of the rumors OF a new