New-York tribune., 1902-03-16
Guannal.
The Financial World.

haA
market Of specialties. which means that WIN.
general business is dull isolated movemen,. a.
special stocks take place. either up or down
This seems to be the outlook for a time
IT, however. the railroads are 10 continua ~,
Ing their present record Of earnings. this -
1902 will not be other than one to encouravs a.
vestors. There will be more increases thar a.
creases in the dividends which the railroads a,
pay, and stocks which now are stH on the 5,,T
dend paying list. will be promoted to thai Do,,
ton or will get so much nearer to Il as 10 asspr.
corresponding advances in their market vain
This will mainly depend upon the OUTPUT of 81
crops. We do not need harvests OF excentIo.-,
abundance. If the yields are OF normal ano,-s
1t will suffice. OR 10 put ii another way II th.-'
be no actual crop failures this year the year ,vS
be an all round good one for business. and tba-a
fore for Wall Street.
Interest i'm the bank statement yesterday -.
not less keen than il has been for several -
The figures showed that sort OF automatic sh,,,
ing of money which changes in Interest -.
produce. The surplus reserve Of the New yo--
banks had run low, while the reserves of tb
out-of-town banks, particularly OF Boston 80
Chicago, were high. A slight rise in the 80
for money here. 10 4 and n. per cent osr..s
these country banks. and our local trusr 90,
panles, 10 draw down deposits they had Win -
city banks and loan out directly thereby pst,,r..
better rates Tor their money than the 49,
gave them. Consequently the general s,.,,
ment of the city banks showed yesterday a 60
siderable decrease in deposits and loans ia.
financial situation as a whole, however Is "a,
thereby changed. 1t means simply that Cirv
Bank A was loaning out Country Bank Rs
money; while Il. has Withdrawn It's nonav
from A, and is doing its own loaning because
II can do better that way than The other
1t Will be seen. therefore thar haF,-s a.
can be squeeze in money al this centre Wa
must draw down the reserves OF the hanks AZ
the country at large, This, OF course. nav h.
done In the usual way; and done 10 an sxtap,
which would send money tes very high; bu,
bankers do not anticipate any trouble this
spring, unless something Unforeseen occurs
The financial proposition OF the United stata.
Steel Company turns out TO be a very differ.
ent thing from what early rumors represented n
TO be. These, it will be remembered. were IN
effect that the proposition would be TO convsrt q.
the per cent preferred stock into a . Der cent
bond. and by some process Of compulsion on tha
stockholders. Very distinct murmurs OF protesr
were heard. which presaged a storm II now
turns out that no process OF conpulsion was
contemplated; that stockholders can ACCEPT the
offer made them not, as they like; ana thar
conversion is proposed for only a proportion OF
the preferred stock Furthermore. the scheme
as propounded Is most ingenious.
1t Is not often that individual or a corpora
tlon is able to raise more money and by ths
same process actually decrease the amount OF N,
annual interest and dividend charges. But this
is what the Steel Company will do. II viii raise
S30OO0OoO more money. and then have l.5OO-
coo less to pay out annually than It had before
The thing is easy enough.
II holders OF 200 millions or per cent pre-
ferred stock are willing 70 exchange It for 200
millions Of per cent bonds. the company saves
> per cent on each hundred or 100000 IN all
It issues $5O.OOOOOO more OF these bonds, on
which the interest charge is S2.jO0OOO There
fore-increase Of interest s., 10000; decrease on
dividend charges. 100000; annual saving BY
the company, $1.5O0,OOO.
To carry out the programme. It is. Of course,
necessary that holders OF the required amount
Of preferred stock should signify their willing
ness TO make the exchange. This is already pro-
vided for 1t was eXpedient for inside interests
TO purchase certain amount OF the stock 70
put the success OF the scheme beyond reasonable
doubt. This stock has been purchased during
the past month, through the house OF Talbot
Taylor & Co. Stockholders who don't care to
subscribe TO the bond issue need not do so. II
is a purely voluntary affair.
The scheme Of the Metropolitan directors for
meeting the financial needs OF that company
be in position to know. The opposition TO IL
seemed TO have a recruit IN the redoubtabIe Tom
Lawson OF Boston; but that gentleman not only
denies the soft Impeachment. but intimates that
the opponents Will come out or the contest feel
ing II they had been struck by one Of the
company's ears
The directors OF the Southern Railroad on Fri
day raised the dividend on the preferred stock
TO the rate of < per cent. This is the limit, the
stock being restricted TO that rate. Its record
Is interesting; in January. 1897. per cent was
paid, this rate was increased in April 1900. to
H. per cent; in October another IL per cent
was paid. In April. 1901. > per cent was paid;
in october, the same; and now dividend Of pa
per cent, making the full rate OF per cent It
was thought by some that an increase would
not be made at this time. the winter had
been an extraordinarily expensive for al
roads in the South on account Of floods. The
managers OF the Southern. however. have great
confidence in its future.
The growth of this property. through the
compacting of a lot Of disjointed lines. under
different manasements. many of them bankrupt
and in the most wretched physical condition. Is
another and very striking example of railroad
evolution. Only a few years ago, the easiest and
quickest way 10 get to Florida was 20 so by
coastwise steamship. Now. you can leave New
York after the Exchange closes on Saturday. and
before IL opens Monday morning. you have had
time to take a bath and your breakfast, In
the sub-tropicaI section of Florida. And IT gives
one suggestive thoughts. to consider tha-t you
start from New-York after business hours
Saturday and choice dictates. strike re-
gion early Monday morning, where fur coat Is
a comfort and snow shoes a convenience; or
another region. where dip in the and light
clothing are pleasures, and at breakfast eat