Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-02
LOCAL FINANCIAL NEWS.

4
csally those of the Washington Railway and
Electric Company. still continue to share
! the bulk Of the attention at the daily meet
| ings of the exchange. This happened to-
| day. not SO much on account OF the volume
| of the trading although the aggregate In
| the common ran UP pretty well. but OF the
1 apparent Indications which were given of
| what was thought OF the market future OF
\ the stocks.
| In the case of the preferred. while there
was no trading except one fractional lot.
| the asking price being ssts. bid or 81 was
made for ninety-day option In the COM
| mon there was at time bids on the
| floor for options on 9 600 shares at 42k.
| To make this amount only three bids
were made, two of them being for 800 share
I, lots and the other one for a l.eGeshare
lot The only Offering was an option OF
$40 shares at A. There were some sales
| of the stock at fractional advances over H.
| the highest point being 42.x-
A bid of 4oSs was made for LOCO shares
| and such block was supplied by the
br cker who a few days ago was heavy
| buyer of the stock.
The bid for such a lot was at once
renewed by the purchaser. who all along
has been the principal broker in the stock.
but no one seemed to have such Il lot Tor
sale. He then offered to sell 1,00o shares
for an advance of Is ana himself bid q, and
ttIciS peh6 ho otiSi PuiSft<tSSi nc eoSN -
himself.
The future bidding for large blocks vas in
duiged in at AZ. but there were no more
transactions. The bid for options advanced
to 42es. At the close the bid for the stock
was 42i. and the asking price was A.
The fire insurance list was passed over
without any change of consequence being
made in the figures. AS was the case yes
terday the transactions were limited. There
was general scaling down in the bid prices
recorded yesterday.
Naturally there is good deal of
interest to know what is going on in regard
to these securities as the holdings are al
most entirely local. AS far as can be ascer-
tanned there seems to be nothing definite
In the way of a plan that has been adopted
for the merging of two or more of the
| companies as has been rumored.
1t is thought that the running up of the
bid throughout practically the entire list, as
was done yesterday, was probably for the
purpose of bringing some of the stocks on
| the market or ascertaining how much could
be brought out In that way. This is entire
! ly without risk II no stock is wanted, as
| there is very little floating stock. as 1t Is
mostly held and has been for years for
investment purposes.
There is a notion that this movement is
| a symptom of the general condition of the
| fire insurance business in this city which,
as Is generally recognized, Is more or less
an unsettled one III 10 Tie
nance of the present rates There is no ques-
| ton that the large outside companies want
| to get the local concerns out OF the way SO
as to increase their business here Owing
! to the changes in methods OF management
and the increase in assets, the large COM
| panies seem to be having their own way,
| and it Is thought from this point of view
| that in the course of time the local COM
panies will have to yield.
However, as they are mainly controlled
by those who also control the direction or
the business which they do, the working
out OF a practical plan for absorption or
combination is not as easy as 1t might
seem. 1t has been tried often in the
past and has not yet succeeded and In
the opinion of good judges the present out
look IS not specially favorable.
There was some trading In Lanston and
on about the same level that has prevailed
recently. The revival of the talk of
declaration of a dividend at the coming an
nual meeting in April does not seem TO IN
spire much enthusiasm.
The copper stocks are not very active. but
| no change of consequence has been made
| in the prices.
| At a meeting of the board Of directors
| of the Farmers and Mechanics National
| Bank of Georgetown, held yesterday, the
president, Mr.. S. Thomas Brown was pre-
scented with a solid silver waiter, inscribed
as follows
49, Thomas Brown. president, as testi-
monial of the respect and esteem or the
board of directors of the Farmers and Me-
chanics' National Bank of Georgetown, D.
c., and in commemoration of his seventy
eighth birthday February "a 1906
Mr.. Cragin made the presentation address.
which was appropriately responded to by
Mr. Brown.
Saturday last. after the election of d.
rectors of the Arlington Fire Insurance
Company, of which board Mr.. Brown has
| been a member for thirty years, he was,
on behalf OF the directors presented with
| solid silver punch bowl. The bowl and
waiter are of harmonious design.
Today's Government Receipts.