Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-13
BULLS AND BEARS

NEW YORK. July 13-WEen one con-
siders that the additions have been made
! to the lists of dividend paying railroad
stocks In the last ten years. and the Arm
foundation OF earnings in which these divf-
dends have been established, although q
| decade ago the roads themselves were still
in process OF reorganization or merging
| from II. one can only conclude that to at
tempt to set limits for the possible progress
OF the country In prosperity in the next few
years would be wild folly. Our growth il not
| to be measured by time. and as one looks
back and compares conditions now with
those that existed in the middle ,9cs OF the
last century. It seems as though the tre-
mendous change that has taken place oc-
CURED overnight Baltimore and Ohio is now
not only an established dividend payer. but
yesterday its rate was increased. and the
| financial community has for weeks been
looking forward to an increase In the Union
Pacific distribution.
The Erie voting trust has been dissolved.
Its first preferred stock is regarded as a
sound investment, and the greatest cOnn-
dence Is felt and expressed that in stretch
of time probably as short as that in which
the wonders referred to have come 10 pass
the Erie railroad will take the rank that
belongs to a trunk line. The cases cited
are only illustrations of the point that II
Is QtSiTeQ 10 MAKE, that TIE equity ca
pansive power seems TO bear no relat on TO
the time necessary to make great changes
In the older world The Baltimore and ONO
went into the hands of receivers early In
1885, and emerged from the receivership IN
1859. Dividends tegan in 1900. the preferred
receiving the full rate then and since. The
common stock received per cent In 100,
and the next year was put on per cent
basis. where it stayed ntil yesterdI y. when
the rate was made per cent
Yesterdays rapid recovery in the stock
market brought out a lot of Il told you So
In the commission house letters. 1t is a
fact worth noting however. hat from Fri
day night last to last Tuesday night 1t took
something like total volume OF about p
GO0,OCO shares to bring about declines which
were recovered yesterday on volume OF
not much more than a quarter of million
shares, for yesterdays advances were prac-
ticaly all scored on the transactions OF the
last two hours
The obvious comment Is that it takes far
less buying to put prices up than selling to
put them down. One might also infer That
the markets absorptive powers are excel
lent and that stocks are not only held In
strong hands but they are held fast
X X
Daily trade reports are noting steady I'M
provement in Southern foundry iron busl-
ness 1t was reported this morning that
a meeting of manufacturers of structural
steel would be held in this city next week
to discuss the ACCESSIBILITY of advancing
prices.
The gross earnings Of the Metropolitan
street railway system for June were
81 SS7 1874, the largest for any June In It's
history. The earnings for June, 1904, were
81 1865, COS, and for June, 1903 SILICA. 1913.
The largest months earnings were in May
1903, when they were S1.94S.195.
Some figuring is being done now on the
probable course of the money market in the
next two three months There seems TO
be a general expectation In the banking
community that rates VIII work q little
higher especially if the promise OF great
trade and industrial activity is borne out.
The crop movement of funds to the interior
begins toward the end of August, but 1t IS
thought that this is likely to be offset by
foreign lendings here II nothing occurs to
upset the international credit situation,
the loans to be repaid later by grain ana
cotton exports. Conjecture on the subject
of money is hazardous, however. Leading
bankers in touch with the money situation
over the country figure that there should
not be aZy serious change from the present
easy conditions
There are others, though, who argue from
the expansion of loans here and the pro-
portion Of cash held that the demands from
the interior for money for crop moving
purposes and the requirements of what
is likely to be great trade and industrial
activity, must result in much higher rates,
and that some speculative liquidation may
be looked for unless gold imports can be
attracted.
Just at the present time there is said to
be nothing like real short interest In
in foreign exchanges which would tend to
keep that market up al a time when 1t
should DO down and gold be drawn to this
country, but there is certainly technically
short interest created by the sale of finance
bills and by sterling loans One estimate is
that the amount of Indebtedness to foreign
ers represented in these two ways amounts
to fully S150,o00,o0O.
X *
Semi-official statements are made to the
effect that the Japanese 4A per cent second
series sterling loan was heavily over-sub-
scribed that in all probability the larger
applicants will not receive more than 20 per
cent of their subscription and that applica-