The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-29
The WEEK WALL STREET
MANY RAILROADS ARE RAPIDLY
CUTTING DOWN EXPENSES.
There Is Talk Again Of A. j. Cassatt
Retiring from the PENNSYLVANIA
Bonds Are in Good Demand.

In the dumps The stock market makes an
occasional squirt. but rallies do not hold as
bulls would like. Trade reports are not en-
tirely satisfactory and the chapter of acct
dents is full OF paragraphs giving encour-
agement to the bears. 1t Is observed, how
ever. that liquidation is over, for the time
being at least. and that the dips in prices
fail 10 bring out real property. Actual dis
aster might cause a renewal Of liquidation
but no such contingency is in sight. Hence,
owners OF securities sitting tight on
their investments with abiding patience.
The crop outlook may be said to be bright
and the month OF June should stimulate
market action. The fashion for years back
has been TO sell grain and cotton during the
month of June and buy stocks on seen
cry" June is the month of greatest agri-
cultural promise.
Estimates showing the extent to which
railroads have been reducing their working
forces come unpleasant development
of the times. The transportation companies
have been cutting down their pay rolls for
several months, but the grand aggregate
of reduction is only just appearing. The
laying off of 5000 men cuts an important
figure in the labor market. 1t means a saw
year in the matter of wages alone. and on
the other hand IT means s50.000.000 less mon
ey for the public to spend and a curtail-
n.ent in the volume OF general business
throughout the country. due to that one
cause. No reliable estimates are yet OBJ
tainable as to the labor reduction which
has taken place in the manufacturing lines.
but it is considerable. probably more than
the cut by the railroads.
The railroads have thus far shown no
disposition to reduce wages, contenting
themselves with pairing down the number of
men employed In order to bring operating
expenses within limits. Should business
contraction continue, however, Ii is only a
question of time when the knife will be ap-
piled to the wage schedules. Workingmen
everywhere dread this and the great army
of them are I'm no sympathy with agitation
looking to readjustment of pay or hours.
The labor leaders who have been fomenting
and engineering the strike on the New
York, New Haven & Hartford lines find
cold sympathy in the rank and file of the
industrial army. There are tens of thou
sands of men ready to take places which
may be vacated, and the management. of
the road received early assurance that il
need only stanT pat to break the back of
any strike WI may be organized to tie
up it's traffic. This is poor time for work.
ingmen In any field of labor to engage in
strikes. By so doing they not only invite
trouble and hasten the day when they may
have to choose between lower pay or no
work.
Wall street is shedding tears of emotional
sympathy with George Gould over his ex-
pressed horror Of dirty money In a recent
interview with one of the eminently re-
spectacle directors of the Western Union,
Mr. Gould Is quoted as saying in effect that
he would rather throw into the river the
entire income of the Western Union than
to permit the company to stand in with
crooked people and derive revenue from
the partnership. The position taken by Mr.
Gould is clearly set forth in an interview
by Mr.. Jacob II. Schiff a fellow-director
and active head of the banking house OF
Kuhn, Loeb & Co. Mr. Goulds father,
the late lamented Jay Gould. was conspic-
uous also for his detestation of money
that could not show a pure pedigree. His
desperate struggles to keep clear of soiled
money were conducted through a long SER
chapters in Wall-street history. The pres
ent head of the Gould family, therefore.
comes honestly by his dislike of tainted
dollars.
Wicked horse-race people are full of
scorn over the display of virtue made at
their expense by Western Union officials
They say that the company will not lose
$50 by breaking loose from the poolrooms
and that the real cause of the disruption
is the, failure on the part of the telegraph
company TO hold a monopoly of the racing
news business.
According to these wretched people of the
race track and poolrooms the Western
Union attempted to drive everybody else
out of the business before discovering how
sinful it was. 1t would appear that the
poolroom people had news-distributing ma
chinery of their own and were making
the lions share Of the money instead of
the Western Union. Be that as it may it
is safe to assume that the big telegraph
company will not go into bankruptcy by
reason of its disassociation with the gam
bling element
In this connection it is said that nego-
tiations are under way with the Postal
Telegraph Company for the utilization of
the wires of that corporation for the col
lection and distribution of racing intelli-
genCe. heretofore all that sort of thing
has been done with the assistance and CO.
operation Of the Western Union, the Postal
making no attempt whatever TO secure any
of it, The Postal, it is said. will not re-
quire certificate Of character from those
sending messages over it's lines.
A feeble attempt was made in the stock
market to raid Western Union stock in
connection with the furore over race track
matters but slight Roadway was made
This is one of the nonactive stocks and
very few of the certificates are afioat Con-
sequently traders can easily sell them
selves into hole and subject themselves
TO the danger of an ugly twist The COM
pany has been steady dividend payer for
many years and its shares arc widely
distributed among small holders. There
are more than 10000 Western Union stock
holders.
Talk is again rife of the retirement of
Mr.. Cassatt from the presidency of Penn
sylvania. Report credits Mr.. McCrea with
heirship. The publication of official or
der greatly charging Mr.. McCreas duties
and giving him paramount power in many
ways heretofore exercised exclusively by
Mr.. Cassatt. is taken confirmation of the
rumors of changes. Mr.. Cassatt has not
been in the best of health for some time
past. and. inasmuch as his company is
| entering upon new era of vast improve
mentS and extensions. IL is quite within
reason to assume that these changes are
with his entire consent and approval On
| several recent occasions the president of the
mated the situation and those who are bank
| ing on his enforced retirement. NAV be