Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-26
Financial News Letter
By W. G. NICHOLAS.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. August give made the
money on the sensational rise in the Harri-
man Pacifcs," Is the question one hears
every minute Of the day in and around Wall
street, for the incident continues to be one
of dive gossip interest and threatens to re-
main In the news class for many long
day. It was a rich mans MAJ ket." and
the names Of known winners, outside of
the speculative directors and the little
clique of sure-thing. gamblers identified with
the National City. Bank and Kuhn. Loeb &
Co., can be- counted On the fingers of two
hands. The strictly gambling profits raked
In by this comparatively small coterie Of
''insiders, may amount to SIS 100000 10 $780,
100000. Measured by the quotations estab-
iished on the stock exchange Union Pa
cif1c common benefited $4,000. 600 by the
rise and Southern Pacific common $50, OOO,-
O00-a total of s14O,O00,0 0O- The great bulk
OF profit goes just where It rightfuily be-
1ongs-to the stockholders OF the two COM
panies directly concerned. The newborn
bunishness in the general market reflects
widely prevailing feeling that majority
OF the other important railroad systems
must presently adopt a like policy Of en-
larged divided distribution, which their
earnings and the business conditions Of the
country would seem to amply warrant.
X
It wasn't what Hartman did. but the way
he did IT, that set Wall street by the ears
and gave the purists chance to kick. The
mere fact that the tape was slow getting
into sympathy with the moralists does not
in the least feaze them. To fail of fmme-
diate recognition Is one of the painful
pleasures Of morality preachers In and out
of Wall street. Just now they are COM
planning that Hartman dealt the cards
l.4v <IA A>kt4 annI r.
every place except from the top, and that
he was guilty Of one Of the most barefaced
pieces Of stock market rigging ever per-
petrated. To the Indictment Of neglect to
take the public. the tape players. the buck
ct shops and the rank and file Of pilngers
and pikers into his confidence before spring
ing his great surprise he will probably
cheerfullya plead guilty. To the charge that
nybOdy-t was hurt who Is entitled to con-
sideration he enters scornful denial Surely
there has been NO wall OF distress from the
great body OF Union Pacific and Southern
Pacific stockholders whose income was
from nothing to SO OO0.0 600 in the other. To
be sure, the 25OO0.OO0 shareholders Che they
more or Iess) were not taken in on the Wall
street end OF the play. but on the other
ed in the big gamble and in any event they
were protected from temptation. and as the
case stands they are immensely the gamer.
II they are dissatisfied with the manage
money than ever before. To that extent and
for that situation they are indebted to Mr..
Hartman.
+
One of the biggest quick winners on the
Hartman coup was Charles B. Macdonald,
who has made = specially OF Union Pacific,
Southern Pacific and st. Paul for the last
two or three years. He is one OF the fast
est traders on the exchange. distancing
Jake Field. the Wassermans or the
Wormsers for rapid work and sometimes
rivaling Keene, John w. Gates and the rest
of the star plungers In the magnitude of his
operations. He is supposed to have banked
about 81, 000. 600 on two days play on the
last market hurrah ia his favorites. He
was one of the pace makers. frequently bid
ding half q point and occasionally full
point above current quotations for blocks Of
10000 shares. It does net necessarily fol-
low that because q. plunger makes these
ferocious bids for round lots that he really
wants the stocks; however. The other day
Macdonald bid 88z for 5000 shares OF st.
Paul, when 1t could have been bought in
small lots for IS. Ten seconds later the
price was 8sh. Turning to an acquaintance
at his elbow he whispered, sit would have
been Just as safe to have bid for LOCO
Shares