Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-18
BULLS AND BEARS
Special Dispatch to The Star.

vi three years. the question Is, and mas
been. as it promises to be, VIII the divi-
dend be increasedf The important rail-
| roads and Industrial corporations, with few
exceptions, are making earnings ranging
up to four and five times their regular
dividend disbursements. This Is why what
Is commonly called intrinsic value has
come to be a more important factor than
dividend yield in determining purchases Tor
speculation or investment. 1t represents
fundamentally different attitude toward
securities than that which obtained ten.
fifteen and twenty years ago"
+
The Bank of England minimum rate OF
discount remains unchanged at per cent,
but the easier tendency of money abroad
is better reflected by the action of the
Imperial Bank Of Germany in making the
substantial reduction of 1 per cent in its
discount rate to 5 per cent. The greatest
pinch in money in European markets in
the last few months has been in Berlin.
The lowering of the rate there would also
seem to signify a complacent attitude in
German financial circles toward the out
look In international politics.
There Is excellent reason for saying that
practically all, II not all, the small guam
tlty of Tennessee Coal preferred stock
which the new interests in control of the
company so far as the common stock gives
control are SO anxious to retire. Is held by
prominent members of the so-called Han
over Bank crowd, from which the Gates
crowd wrested common stock control In the
last few months.
-
Stocks decline on selling just as they go
up on buying. The direction in which they
move is determined by the preponderance
OF buying OF selling orders. They do not go
up or down on news nor on speeches by
this or that prominent banker. The alb
surdity of ascribing the break in Amalga-
mated Copper in the last hour yesterday
afternoon to the rag time kilograms, as
Wall street called them, that came from
Boston, is the only excuse for printing these
trite maxims of the market. What broke
Copper was selling. In the last hour yes
terday $4,000 shares were dealt in from
1127s down to 11VA and up to lily. the clos
ing figure.
This is 100000 worth of the stock at its
par value about $4,000 600 worth at the
market Somebody sold. and as the rag
time kilograms were coincident with the
selling, it Is a legitimate presumption that
If the bulk of the sales and the kilograms
did not come from the same source. the
sales came from quarters as much interest
ed In the effort 20 break the market as was
the author of the rag time missives.
Some stop orders were caught and there
was quite little selling by frightened mar
gin traders, especially around the bottom,
but on the whole the selling bore all the
ear-marks of a bear raid. commission
house which has excellent sources of in
formation says 1--WE inclined to the
belief that the short side of Copper is dan
gerous."
A stock exchange house which committed
itself fatty last week to an aIl-around
bearish view of the market writes: 1T
looks to us as if whatever reaction we do
get now will be but temporary"
Post office transactions were a very i'm
portant factor in making foreign exchange
strong last year. Foreign money orders
issued by the New York post office amount
ed to SAC, 1S1, 49, against which foreign ex-
change was bought amounting TO LII, :
800. The total of money orders received
from foreign countries was So 554,936
~
A Wall street man who recently trav-
eled through part of the winter wheat
belt wrote to his office that he thought that
before long the financial community would
be discussing the effect of the lack or
snow protection on the years crop pros
poets.
Because of alleged violations of city or
dinances suits have been filed in the cir
cult court in Chicago against the Union
Traction Company for 81, 100000 and the
Chicago City Railway Company for $780,
900. The actions are based upon the over
crowding Of cars in December. There ere
1900 cases against the Union Traction
Company and 5000 against the Chica 90
City Railway Company.
xs
Judge E. H. Gary says with reference to
the report that the American Steel
Foundries Company was about to resume
dividends on it's preferred stock: The
question OF resuming the payment of divi-
dends on the preferred stock of the Ameri-
can Steel FoundrieS Company has not been
considered by the board of directors or
officials of the company" Other directors
go farther and say that whereas the COM
pany is doing satisfactory business. its
earnings are needed at present for opera
lions rather than for dividends.
Taylor g. Smith say In their weekly mar
ket letter: Public speculation in the high
priced stocks would now appear as If 1t were
nearly wholly governed by unknown guam
titles; in other words, as If those who have
been buying this class of stock, unless for
titled with inside or inspired information,
have done so on rumor of increased divI-
MES. &c, &c, all of which are unknown
quantities. Some of these reports may
prove true. and perhaps all have some
foundation in fact; but they can scarcely
be construed as safe guides upon which to
make purchase at the present time, or I'M
til more accurate information can be OBJ
tanned on the exact status of the increased
dividends. and the terms upon which the
stocks of the different companies are to be
taken in in the consultations.
Consequently to avoid loss and disap-
pointment it would appear safer for those
who are not fortunate enough to be pos
sessed of inside or inspired information to
restrict their purchases to stocks which
have not had a relative advance, although
their economic conditions would seem to
warrant some betterment in price: In brief.
to securities in which the buyer individually
has some chance OF being able to gauge
their intrinsic value apart from unconfirmed
rumors."
1t is intfmated In some usually weii-in-
formed circles that the dividend on North
American Is to be Increased to six per
cent.
william Solomon & Co. offer, among other
Investments. in their January circular: At
lentic Coast Line Railroad first consoli-
dated is to yield about 3.96 per cent; Geor-
gta Central frat Is Of the Greenvif1e q
Newman main line WELD TIupofs