The sun., 1903-10-15
FINANCIAL AND, COMMERCIAL.
WKDNEADAY, Oct. 4

prices Of many OF these stocks on the Stock
Exchange to-day to new low records. The
United States Steel issues were compare
lively strong. and despat ches from PITTS
burg a place which has Of late been
decided storm centre in the country's
general security market stated that a
much quieter and steader tone prevailed
there in financial circles and that good
Judges Were of the opinion that the brunl
of stock market liquidations had been
borne. A more cheerful feeling also ruled
in London, where ii is now practically
assured that the fortnightly settlement
will be concluded without difficulty, Money
rates abroad generally worked easier and
all information from the other side OF the
Atlantic WAS 10 the effect that a very fair
volume of foreign buying orders for Ameri-
| can securities Of the better class would
follow any encouragement that might be
offered in our own country. There was
however, continuation of liquidation
here, real or seeming, for the account of
Montreal and Toronto, which was chiefly
felt in sales OF Canadian Pacific and Twin
City Rapid Transit stock A speculative
drive has recently been made against the
| Canadian Pacific shares, particularly, based
| upon the idea that the new issue OF the
stock of the company made for the purpose
| of acquiring valuable steamship line
| will, under present market conditions,
result in depreciation in the price OF the
shares Inasmuch as 1t is understood
that the investm in. question has the
unanimous approval Of the stockholders
Of the company and lis understood TO
have been made at a decided bargain.
the argument as stated seems TO have
little validity. Beyond doubt, how
ever, great many Canadian Pacihc
shares are held on margin in the cities
| Of the Dominion and forced sales OF them
for the purpose of raising money have
probably occurred. Favorable develop
ments of the day were the Baltimore and
Ohio September statement Of net In
crease in net earnings OF 3?77,72a and tie
Western Union Telegraph Company's ar
nual statement, showing yearly sur
plus on current earnings Of g. PCS. .722.
against 81 .4SI ,7ls, SS8l ,Osl and 33el ,279
in preceding years The total surplus OF
the company now stands at S,0l9, 725.
against $lO,75l ,OO3 last yeer There is
no corporation whose operations are more
ness in the country than the Western Union
company, and the company's statement
as submitted to-day not only testifes to
the exceeding prosperity and liveliness
of trade in the last year, but mekes very
much better financial showing SO far as
the company itself ia strictly concerned
than very many people had been led to
believe. The Government summary OF
our imports and exports for the nine months
ended Sept. 80, published to-day, was also
exceedingly interesting. II brought out
the fact that our excess Of exports for the
period makes a much better comparison
with that for the corresponding length of
time last year than has been popularity
supposed Our foreign trade balance is
for the year thus far but 3i,714,2l3 less
than it was in 1902. Considering the heavy
blows dealt TO our international commercial
status by the corner in cotton and other
exceptional circumstances which are mat
ters Of notoriety, the showing is indeed
surprising. Finally, good deal more
than CLEAN of sunlight into the clouded
local labor situation was the recommenda-
ton Of the head Of the countrys leading
labor organization that the members Of
the building trades unions in this city agree
to sign the plan of arbitration submitted
to them by their employers.
1t was upon none Of these matters, how
ever, but upon the continually lower prices
for the industrial shares recorded by the
stock quotation Instruments that Wall
Street fixed its attention to-day. The
stock having the greatest influence on the
l.,nt tnl TIa
| directors of the company meet tomorrow
| for the purpose OF taking action upon the
usual quarterly dividend. and the heavy
| fall in the price Of the shares recently GER
tainly seems to indicate that the dividend
| will either be passed or that action upon
| it will be postponed. There is trustworthy
| reason to believe that the financial con-
| dition of the Amalgamated Copper Com
pany was never brighter than it lis to-day,
| and that the present price of l3 cents
pound for raw copper is entirely satisfac-
tory. not only to the managers of the COM
pany, but to all copper producing interests.
The Amalgamated company. however, is
engaged in a bitter litigation which has
greatly complicated its affairs. and if the
dividend is passed or postponed tomorrow
IT Will TIE because OF lnese leRdl ulIIcultleS.
Such difficulties are, of course, of tenn
porary character and have nothing TO do
with the company's earning power. The
trading element, as the Copper shares
began to decline, sold st. Paul common
stock freely because of the connection
which is popularity supposed to exist between
the controlling interests in the two prop
critics American Car and Foundry common
and preferred also became very weak on
selling said TO represent liquidation OF a
loan, while a determined effort was made
TO break the price Of the American Smet-
ing and Refining shares. The genera!
railroad list, however, notably the Erie
and Reading stocks, held firm.
Views as to the probable further extent
of the depression in the Industrial issues
must, in the nature of things Of course
consist largely of guesswork. But il ia
very clear that when the common shares
Of these corporations are forced down to
prices varying between IS and SIS a share,
d range in which many Of them now are
such stocks, at least, cannot constitute q
very great further menace to the market
while as regards the preferred shares
many of them are selling at ridculously
low figures considering the dividends they
creased because Of the large cash surpluses
possessed by the companies and the pros
poets which after deduction for all possible