The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-08

issue was over-subscribed many times,
a fact which gave the street the first
pleasureable surprise it has had in
months. A portion of these bonds are
for refunding purposes, but the pro-
ceeds of the majority will be used for
the construction of great terminal
station at Washington, d. c., and for
other needed improvements. The ne
cessity for enormous expenditures by
this great railroad company to provide
facilities for handling its business typ
ifies the situation which confronts
nearly every important line of railway
in the country. The area of heavy
expenditures for this purpose is not
past by any means. The Erie Rail-
road, the Baltimore and Ohio, the New
York Central, the Delaware Lacka-
wanna and Western, the Reading and
the Wabash in the East; the Southern
Railway, the Seaboard Air Line, the
Louisville and Nashville and Illinois
Central in the South, and the Rock
Island, Missouri Pacific, st. Paul, Union
Pacific, Southern Pacific and Atchison
in the West, are all in the same boat
The terrific OUTLAWS of the last four
or five years for betterments, extern
sions, equipment and terminals still
leave the work incomplete. The in
ability of most corporations, no matter
what their standing, to sell bonds or
new issues of stock during the last
year has resulted in the piling up. of
large volume of floating indebtedness
which will be transferred to capital
account at the earliest moment prac-
ticable. The Pennsylvania got the start
in this matter, but other roads may
be relied upon to get in line quickly.
! New investment capital accumulates
rapidly and must find an outlet. Life
insurance companies alone are obliged
| to put out more than $4,000. 900 a week.
To this can be added the steady accre-
tons to the fortunes of the wealthier
classes, which accretions are not long
allowed to remain idle. AS soon as the
market will stand it at least $3.50, O0O, 600
in new railway bonds will be crowded
for sale, of which at least $175, 900, 900
will represent the amount required to
take up floating Indebtedness. This
sum seems formidable at first glance,
but it is really only about Ia per cent
of the total railroad capitalization
This can hardly be tortured into an
evidence of extravagant management
or unwise appropriation of funds. In
circles Of high finance the opinion is
generally held that the bonds will be
absorbed without forced effort and
without inconvenience, If proper care
is exercised in not throwing the whole
bunch on the market at once.
Some of the old heads in Wall street
find amusement in the action of the
directors and leading stockholders of
the Mercantile Trust Company of st.
Louis in pledging their fortunes on the
solvency of the institution. BY the
form of pledge to which they subscribe
citizens of St. Louis worth $50 000, 900
to $70,0O0,000 bond themselves in per-
petuity to secure creditors and depos-
ifars AGAINST InEG Wall or To-
seem to think that the pledge will be
perpetual lien on the estates of the
men entering into the bond and that
great difficulty will be experienced in
extricating them from the commitment.
The Endorsement was, of course, in
tended only as an emergency measure.
The incident however, shows the dam
ger of subscribing to hastily written
pledges.