The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-30
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SATURDAY, Oct. 20.

ptCl ~ ullcTdhCtS VI tIc
Premier, again stimulated the London
market-this morning and brought about
"wilder opening" on the Stock Exchange
here than has been seen for two years.
The dnys business was one Of the largest,
for half day ever done on the floor OF
the Exchange, transactions amounting TO
nearly a million shares. Prices, OF course,
were iYsry strong. Erie, Union Pacific
Rock island, Southern Railway and Ameri-
can Sugar Refining stocks were those in
which .ec! iyity was greatest and VIII re The
snost .Tiolent advances were made. On
the oli,sr hand, the local traction issues
md Ontario and Western stocks were
weak. 'tfte one because Of the general obser-
va.ion tia for the moment n. least the new
subwayrtunncl is drawing passenger traffic
heavify"from the surface railway lines,
and theoother because OF the not unnatural
disappoin.mant of the present owncrs
of the 1Cn,ario and Western shares dealt
In on this s ock Exchange upon finding OUT
that the'transfer OF the Ontario and Western
control TO the New York. New Haven and
Hartford Railroad Company, from which
such pleasant things in the way OF guaran-
tees, DC, upon the stock were expected,
has resulted only in placing the shares
referred to in the position Of minority
holdings Manhattan Elevated Railroad
stock, as being guaranteed by the
Interbolpugh Rapid Transit Company,
was, IL course an exception to the weak
ness among the traction shar res. Regard
ing the Ontario and Western situation,
there ia still the hope, of course, that the
New Haven management will "do some
thing IfQr those who now find themselv
minority stockholders Of the Ontario and
Western property; but on what grounds
this hone Is based it is hard to say. The
prime object of the New Haven people in
securing control Of the Ontario and Western
is to secure to themselves a coal supply.
They 8re not anT ious to spend any moro
moneyo1h acquiring this than is neces-
sary, and there is no business res son that
can be- 4bought Of why they should either
wish 10 buy all the existing Ontario end
Western stock or should be willing to author
lie payment Of dividends upon the ri ares
unless, DO earnings of the Ontario and
Western ,mpany justify it, The bank re-
turn forth week attra cted, as usual, but
a mnfrrum degree OF atten ton. An in
crea % NJ c. sh held of less than 100000 and
of 81. 3ssD0O in loans brought down the bank
surplus.by 81 ,Oe2, 275, and left the total sur
plus at sl7s53 9o5, as compared with
s1O,274,I50 last year and s21 500, 100 in 1902.
One OF the prominent features OF the
trading in the stock market this week has
been tho renewed circulation of stories of
purcha- .sof control and similar large finan-
cial undertakings in the railway world.
Some o. these stories have undoubtedly
had a Lhsis of fact, others have not. The
New Haven-Ontario and Western matter
Is now almost if not quite, ancient history.
1t seems to be admitted that the rie com
pany has made an offer for the shares Of
the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton com
pany, ahd tina: the offer has been refused
but this certainly seems small matter on
which to base great rise in the Erie COM
mon shares. The rumor that the Union
Pacific Railroad Company has an option
upon such quantity Of Chicago and Great
Western stock as will insure to it II the
option is exercised the control Of the latter
property, is probably without foundation;
but there are some reasons for thinking
that tie recent large buying Of the Chicago
and Great Western common shares has
been in the interest OF Canadian rail-
way company. The persistent strength
of the shares of the anthracite coal
roads has caused the belief in many
uuartersthat some process by which these
roads will be drought nearer together"
is beginning to orerate but what possible
substphte there can be for such story it |
is c'idfttlt to understand. There Is now
perfect harmony in the management Of !
the coal roads, and why it is necessary |
that this should be increased is not at all /
apparent No doubt the strength of the ,
coal railroad stocks. and particularly of
Delaware and Hu-,son, has been helped
by heihensati1nal rise Of Delaware and |
LackaIanna shares, the indications being |
very pain that something in the nature /,
OF "metm cutting awaits the Delaware |
and J.ackawanra shareholders The large
earnings of the Delaware and Lackawanna
have long been n matter of common know
ledge, but its hioh price puts it in class by
itself among the anthracite properties.
Wall Street firmly believes, in spite Of the
strongest official assurance to the contrary,
that some settlement OF the Northern
Securities litigation, il not definitely ar
rangei FIR, is at least foreseen by the parties
interested. The decision of the Union
Pacific Railway management to exer-
else itsrfeht to retire the Oregon Short Line
participating 4 per cent. bonds was taken
by many people as proof conclusive that
the Northern Securitics trouble was indeed
adjusted: II beng argued that this would |
leavei Northern Pacific and Great Northern
stocks Free asset" in the Union Pacific
treasury and would unite the hands of the
Union Pacific uaEa~erent in dealing
with it in any way they saw fit. 1t may
be said that this reasoning was wholly
at fault and that events have demonstrated
the fact. The retirement Of the Ore yon
Short Line bonds is an absolutely newt
able consec rence Of the decision of the
United States Supreme Court in the original
Northern Securities case, and would have
been ui'ertaken long ago il the noney
market Dad permitted. A further reason
for the retirement, when occasion pre-
sented, Chat has not been mentioned Ia that
under the clause In the bonds by which
the bondholders are entitled to interest
at the rate OF 4 per cent. and to any excess
Of interest that might be paid "in any one
fiscal year" upon the collateral securities
deposited under the bonds legal question
OF considerable Importance was presented
as to the right OF the Union Pacific people,