New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-13
Financial.
The Financial World.

puny totals. Commission house busf,.,- -
disappeared. Apparently as a mere r,a,,.- =.
habit some room traders dip into thu 49,.
Observation-Disclosures most that they do a. r..,I,-.,
INTO the registration Of bets on an insignts..-.
scale On one day this week aggregats tr,,,,o-
IONS averaged barely fifty shares per Stock F.
change member. That broIeraRe bl,,.---
should prevail is not hard to understand
What does show in such Transaction, -.
place-and notably accumulated in -,ts - -
developed yesterday-is the disposition 20 -.
short" sales. The public is being s.,,...-
IN all the technique OF bearishness. ana p.0ur.
who hitherto never cared TO nor dared 70 -.
contracts 20 deliver what they do not our, a..
now free and easy dealers in phantom, So.
Indeed, it Is commonplace now for anvbo4, -.
everybody IN Wall Street TO be hopeless, ., =,
short. to pose as oracles 81 disaster. Tia, -
can ever come Judgment day-that th.-. !.
any such thing as actual value anywhers IN an
the lands fashionably pooh-poohed.
Yet every day and from every business, ,,.-
ter come records that brand absurdity upon nj,
attitude. Here for example. return Mr. Georva
J. Gould and Mr. B. F. Yoakun from .r+.,,ss
Southwestern inspection trips At ths b.,1 -
different systems. these important railway w.
ayers present Identical testimony-tbsv ana =
banding prosperity everywhere And a. -.
for the Southwest merely but for thu ~.
country at large, the inspiriting record runs
Only those are dolefuI who resort n Stool r,
change oplates.
Not before IN a generation has Wall Co..
been IN such attitude OF tremulous svn.o.,
ticn as II Is regarding the Supreme Corr+ a..
cision In the Northern Securities case vv.t
ing from week to week for the final op,co-,,
has preyed upon the nerves OF the rnanc,.t
community until a condition has been devalo,.1
that can only be described as emotional bvst.r,,
And this singular development more than snv
other one factor IS responsible for the absolu,,
stagnatiOn that has been prevailing upon tbs
Stock Exchange. That f. has been given unau.
/ Importance IS evident. but not unnatural: lopv
waiting wears upon the speculative mind and
irritates its nerves. And the ever alert pro-
fessional bear party has been quick to take
advantage OF the situation. to magnify its I'm
portance. to build upon II a structure OF fear
doubt-even despair. The Supreme Court has
been prehgured as the apostle Of anarchy, bid
ing It's time 70 deal a destructive blow at the
/ commercial and financial interests OF the coun-
try Nothing could be more viciousy absurd
What. In fact. Is up for considerations Solely
and simply the legality OF the business conbina-
ton effected after the panic conditions OF 19OD
I between Burlington. Northern Pacific and Great
Northern II that combination should be found
by our highest court 20 be Illegal. the result
would be a dissolution OF the existing compact
and the restoration to active individual nds-
pendent corporate life OF each OF the three COM
panies. Let It be assumed that this may hap
pen. and what results7 Each Of the three
companies would stiu be IN the business Of
hauling freight and carrying passengers. Each
OF the three companies would stiu be found IN
| physical existence. serving the needs Of one
- fy, 10 mi ~ 81
/ the United States. And these companies ara
at present earning S15OOOOOOO ysar-of which
/ more than S6O.OOOOOO is profit On the entire
| capitalization OF the Northern Securities Com
/ pany earnings are shown approaching nins per
/ ceut-net earnings applicable TO stock passing
[ S44OOO.OOO per year. sum vastly IN excess
| OF any conceivable requirement. The same earn
ings, the profits. would accrue to the m
dividual companies. as now accrue to TIE mer-
ger corporation. This earning power cannot be
disturbed by judicial decison--indeed. nothing
can threaten it but failures OF crops aad CO.
incident cessation OF prosperity.
Important too. IS this consideration: A de-
cislon OF the court can undoubtedly dissolve
the existing compact; but no court decision
however broad. however drastic, can force the
three railroads involved TO engage IN ruinous,
destructive combat. There Is allegation
the Northern Securities Company are making
excessive charges or IN any way expressing
the public on the contrary. satisfactory har-
mony and good feeling are apparent between
the roads and the public they serve. In both
freight and passenger departments there has
been and is notable Improvement Rates are
reasonable. service excellent Not nurrnur OK
discomfort arises from any quarter save rom
the eiaculatory raidins patriots OF Wall street
Who IS hurt? Who Is aggrieved7 Who Is pro
claiming disaster? Only that pessin!s,ic CO.
hort seeking to attain personal pronr oy dS-
s. ,,-ttaryore Iet II be remembered that the
supreme Court inJerDrets law put dOeS nov
Trake IL IL is ucOuceivable that the it"-
making power OF this country Would peIllll
statute TO stand which would snacAle lIaue an
destroy il 1t is q matter OF COLl-i - y..-.
ad-a that the particular Ia" Whlcu ne = = -I.-
SsC - a. ,,red IN mass upon was enacted unGer
S59+,o7s vastly different from those N5l-lt
nov prevaH Events move swl1tly IN 1-1o
and conditions develop on large unsS' r. +bs s,,-
Summed up, the situation Is ms . = TsTsr
- C,rurt sustalus the lower coUtt q E
Contract viii become valuelesS, ~ ~. ~ ma
the earning power. tGe wa wa ~s~1oin intact and
three Involved railroads VIII Lg.ii, -,-s ~ past
- rI+-s.5 and remedy for any errors u -
IsclisIatiou will not be hard 20 nld. t.srnsss
Meiii" $3.50 -. facr. Within the two yea .sa
= - - tbefr combination the uaIII q, the
sG ~ sysfeuls whose control cehLISIJ ,crsassd
Securities tolLlpelAtJ almost
~. .5rv ? 600 freight-ton nnsS; them
whole years business for elsng nave core
and attending net pront 9s-s-sfIch factors
spCndingly eXpandeu- ~
do not evapOrate - .s.b. Northern Sc
while hippodroming chehy te s ~ Stock Ex-
cSrites Ipcrccntrated yesterday in stJScSS Metre
local traction securities They IeH the sales
Dolitan with especial vlcl3uS.i1 les Half a
dozen sensational fables were 49, IoTI Of actual
t~ibutton to help along the onslsl,7,.- vhere dis
i,-s-sa fact not one scintilla was az Inyroing and
advs[Se ~ ,yas All a mere case Of .tSc< IS
ramming and jamming. Inut lines are one OK