New-York tribune., 1905-07-23

I every NOOK ana corner or EQuiraOIe hf9fc-~ a-a
conditions. This was in fact. the very 1rss sf-
| cial act OF Mr. Morton. made not under dur.s.
nor in response to any outside influences whas
| soever but determined as a step imrnegiat.lv
/ necessary In the establishment and maintenance
OF reforms and for the progressive upbuFdlarof
/ the eompany's credit and its capabilities.
| That the legislative inquiry Is not however eo
be confined to the Equitable is or importanca
| and the controlling managers Of other inportaae
companies viii probably be glad 20 co-operst.-
| as indeed. President Mccall OF the Nsvv-ysrk
| Life has from the start insisted upon dos7x
| The New York Life has subordinate truzt
| companies, has auxiliary financial syndicat.
! organizations; and the New York Life under M
present administration ceased. years ago IA \.
either trader investor in stocks-conAnIr~
its investments to bonds and ortgages-lts r.c-
| ord in this regard having given il unique pr,-
| eminenee.
| OF much more imDortance-from the Wal
Street point Of VIEWS the concrete testimonyor
actual prosperity furnished BY current divfd.r4
records. Following recent increased dividends
| Of Reading and Baltimore and Ohio there comes
| now the lifting OF Union Pacific common to the
! basis Of ) per cent And this action can h-
! justly termed ultra conservative for IL iz usu
| known that Union Pacific earnings alone an
| proximate 10 per cent. upon the common stock
| after payment OF fixed charges and preferred
dividends, and above and beyond these revenues
| is an enormous increase in the value OF Union
| Pacifcs Northern Securities equities. The in
crease to per cent. is therefore not OF first In
| Dortance except in far as it testifes 70 tha
| tendency OF railroad policy in the direction Of
| increased Disbursements to shareholders.
Dull as the market is. it reflects appreciation
Of these conditions. Nowhere is this seen more
plainly than in the stocks Of our local tractcn
1 yvh baY Nea
attack As TO the Manhattan Borough lines IL
was freely predicted that the opening OF ta-
subway meant disaster to them. though ic has
been pointed out in this column that improved
transportation facilities in New-Tork City in
evitably attract and increase-actuaHy cre-
| ate-patronage How true was this forecsss
is seen by the June statement OF the New Yor1
City Railway Company. Receipts for June wee
greater than for June. 1904. when the subway
was not in existence-clear proof that whatevs-
temporary loss was sustained by surface lines
through subway competition mas already Been
regained-snd the Subway not yet in operation
nine months 1t is evident thar rne;ropolitsu
growth OF population will indefinitely crowd
every method OF transportation available. And
looking across the river similar conditions ara
observable. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Com
pany is doing record-breaking business So
matter what the crop outlook may be or what
may be the status Of European politics. the dal-
harvest of street railway nickels drops into the
cash box
Industrial activity remains hoodtids Iron
and steel industries are fairly boomine-ths lasJ
six months of the year promise 70 break AT
/ records for volume and value OF production The
United States Steel Corporation is running every
plant full time and taxing ingenuity 10 devise
means for increased output. It IS not out OF
MIA VIII ,rf,o rf-ff
the creation Of this corporation was welcomed.
A billion dollar company was proclaimed as
too gigantic for any practical handling. But its
sponsors were farsighted-knew what they were
about-for in little more than four years its gross
earnings approximate "a billion dollars Cnore
than twice the amount Of its original capitalz1-
tion) and OF this about billion ia net. Vast
as the enterprise seemed when first made public
these results prove the wisdom-the trade bless
ing-of consolidation achieved.
And while dealing with huge figures glancs for
moment at the compilation by The Fnan-
cial Chronicle" of gross railroad earnings for
the first six months OF 1905. They were $40
100000 greater than for the corresponding period
in 1897.
Any manner Of pessimism TO the contrary. tho
American security market ia rich in bargain op-
portunities. In every department OF the Stock
Exchange these opportunities are readily found
Take the Southern group. for example Without
| exception the shares OF every important South
ern railroad offer attractions to the investor
Analysis OF the statistical position OF any one OF
these railroads makes this attractiv vensss clear.
| Illinois Central completes now a fun year on It's
actual per cent dividend basis. and Louis
Vile and Nashville. Atlantic Coast Line and
Nashville and Chattanooga are each bound
| toward equal rate-ulinoiS Central and
all the rest already earning materially more than
/ per cent. And Southern Railway strides for
finally TO make that property stalwart IN the
dividend list. The investor who identifies Ms
fortunes with Southern opportunity gets into an
| ultra conservative situation The South IL no
| out with graphic tersenesS by a North Carolina
| banker. who says:
She has learned the better secret Of wealth
I'm the diveTsfcation OF her crops. In 1904 sna
| produced Sol I46.I54 bushels OF corn. valued a.
$;SI0 32I: g.. .9O2.975 bushels OF wheat valusl
al 9I6S,SO6 65.361. 80 bushels OF oats, VAIN
AZ $29.IsS.l6S. and other crops proportonate.
The value of her yield OF corn, wheat. oats lI lIS
potatoes. rye and hay In 1904 was $j42,12lWt
4 or $l4O.OOOtO more than those crops yieldeo
in 1902. The value OF other products Is est
mated at $05OOooO00 making the value OF ner
| agricultural product. exclusive Of cotton. easAy
more than one billion dollars.
The Souths cotton crop. "a quoted by the sane
authority. was equal in value IN 1908 to tnat Or
| all her agricultural products In 1sSo-aeeo1'
600 Her manufactured products from >4OttVV,-
GOO in 1880 grew TO Sel1. 600 IN 1870. and AZ
| now Sl,6O0.OO0.Oo0. The value OF her manufasSsso
uring: mining and agricultural output IN - 10
/ was S.1OOOOOOOO now three times as m10In a.
or S3.5OO.OOO.OOo. Her 100000 tons OF ecat =.
1880 have multiplied to 66.oOoOOO she hSAnyy
to-day practically as much pig iron as the wn1,s @
OF the United States made in 1880 At that us
] cotton rem mt al