The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-30

100000: Lake Shore per cent S10.OOoOoO;
New England 4 per cent, Sl0,00Q00O; In
| ternational Mercantile Marine, 81 5Oo,0OO;
Pennsylvania convertibles. S12 per cent,
100000, 0an. The Morgans have been clean
ing house, wiping off the books the paper
losses which they have been carrying and
preparing to begin the new year with
clean slate. The fact of the matter is.
that largely because of the increased
production of gold bonds have been de-
preciating and the Morgans are willing to
take their losses and call quits. Because
| of the higher rates of interest brought
! about by the increased gold production
| investors shift their funds from seeur-
ties having fixed rate of interest TO
| those whose return depends upon profits
from year to year. They sell bonds and
| buy stocks.
Are many manufacturers of mining
| stocks these days stopping to consider
how much the public can absorb Amer
| lean investors as we have seen, nave
a marvellous capacity for absorbing new
securities. But that there is limit TO
| this capacity has been shown more than
once in recent years 1t was shown very
plainly in 1903, when the stock market
| had it's painful attack of security lndl-
gestion. The production of new railroad
| securities is again becoming large ne
| cause the railroads are compelled TO ASK
| for fresh capital to supply the STEADY
growing demand for transportation but
American investors do not appear TO pc
over-anXious for the moment to supply
this new railroad capital. Much OF IL VIII
! come from abroad. The Great Nortnern
and Northern Pacific, asking for sl5O00O-
600 fresh capital will draw on Mr.. Hills
| English friends in a large measure Ihe
English have made money investing IN
| the Hill roads, and they are ready TO
entrust more money to the genius OF the
Il mt. sol Ivan
! to France to raise new capital other
railroads are in need of money for eX-
tensions. improvements and new equip
| ment but for the moment they don't
know just where to go for 1t. Raising
money on mortgage bonds is rather eX-
! pensive procedure; and short time loans
in the present condition of the money
market are a luxury.
| But the manufacturers of mining stocks,
many of whom know more about mining
than finance (some know very little about
either) pay small heed to the signs or
the times. The production of new mining
| stocks is enormous. In the Cobalt district
alone the nominal capital of the new COM
.panies is close on to 81, 900 900, 900. In the
Goldfeld Tonopah district the production
| of stocks has been on heavy scale
| for months. And other districts, both
new and old, are manufacturing STOCKS
as fast as lawyers can incorporate COM
| panies. What is going to become of all
these stocks? The public is not going to
absorb them all. OF that the energetic
promoters may be certain. There is linz
it to the public appetite for new stocks,
especially mining stocks.
Getting Its Fill of Stocks.
Already there are signs that the public
is getting it's fill of mining stocks. The
sudden withdrawal of the Guggenheims
from Cobalt checked the feverish specu-
lation in new stocks Since the day the
Guggenheims refused to buy any more
Nipissing stock the manufacturers of min
ing shares have been less successful IN
finding a market for their wares. Those
who have been feeding out mining stocks
through the New York curb market nave
had a hard time of it lately. The game
of keeping up the appearance of an active
market on the curb becomes expensive to
the makers of stocks when the public
isn't inclined to buy more, but tries in
stead to sell what it has bought For
some days more than one new mining
company has found itself in the unpleas-
ant position of being a buyer instead
of a seller of it's own stock in the curb
market.
When the publ finally does cry
"enough" to the makers of mining stocks
hundreds of new companies will be left
helpless. Powerless to obtain more capt.
tai they will be stranded. This was what
happened in the last company promo
ton boom of five years ago. But that
boom was small compared to this one.
There was no Mohawk or Nipissing in
that boom. Promoters saw from the
public speculation in the new stocks on
the stock exchange that the signs were
right, and so they manufactured many
reams of shares in mining, oil and indus
trial companies. They sold q portion of
these shares With the collapse in the
stock market the promotion boom ended
and hundreds of companies We're left
high and dry.
While Wall street critics are finding
fault with Tue heavy expenditures made
by the Cassatt administration to en-
able the Pennsylvania to handle its huge
traffic Mr. Cassatt before his death was
indirectly sending out inspired copy to
the newspapers telling them how admir-
ably the road has been handling Its
traffic during the past few months. Dur
ing the big traffic congestion four years
ago Pennsylvania shippers were kicking
all the time. Their freight did not move.
The freight congestion in the Pittsburg
district was so bad that the road had
TO cut down its passenger service. The
publicity agent for the pennsylvania
states that the movement of cars at Lew
istown junction at the height of the traf-
fic congestion IN OCTOBER, l9VZ, was lfo,-
55S cars. The movement this October was
1850 cars, and this increased traffic was
moved without any fuss. 1t Is stated for
the company that it has handled the most
phenomenal freight movement in the his
tory of the country in manner but that
for it's foresight and thorough prepare
ton would have ben absolutely mpossi-
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