Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-17

Another local concern with million dol
lars capital Is to take It's place In the list
of the big corporations of the city. The
stockholders OF the Norfolk and Washing
ton Steamboat Company are to vote upon
the question OF charging the capital stock
of the company from $7oo.0o0 to 1.000.O0e.
II is proposed to issue at this time only
one-haf of this authorized increase. and,
following the custom Of the company. the
1.J0o shares are to be offered to the stock
holders at par.
be kept IN the treasury for use when occa-
sion may arise in extending the service or
in betterments. The experience OF the past
few years In the history OF the company
has been such to make some provision
of the sort highly necessary. owing to the
rapid increase In the business done. both In
the way Of passenger traffic and In hand
ling freight
As the market value of the stock Is
about three times the par value, the privi-
iege which is to be extended to stock
holders to subscribe for the new stock at
par Is equivalent to an extra dividend OF
about $50 per share It Is supposed that
one share of the new stock will be as
signed to about every six shares OF out
standing stock.
1t is the second dividend of the sort that
has been paid practically within the past
twelve months. as last year at this time
issue of 100000 Of new stock. which was
distributed to stockholders at par. At the
same time the company made bond issue.
the first in Its history. of 100000 OF
per cent bonds. which are convertible into
new stock at any time after FIVE years on
a basis of $500 per share.
The immediate cause of the increase of
the stock and the issue Of bonds was the
acquisition by the company of the Alexan-
dria ferry and the purchase OF new boat
The dividend Is II per cent. and 1t Is ex-
pected that 1t will continue to be paid on
the increased stock.
The Improvement in what might be gen.
orally termed the river business has led to
the formation Of company and the capt.
talfzation of the Randall properties and
concern amount to over half a million OF
dollars, and the property owned includes
the pleasure resort at River View and river
traffic to Colonial Beach and other sources
of business.
There was not much change In the char
acter of the business done at the meeting
of the stock exchange today as compared
with that which has been done for some
time past. The only exception perhaps was
the good trading which developed after call
In the bonds Of the Washington Railway
and Electric Co., and at prices which
showed practically no recession from the
higher levels which have been attained in
these bonds and so far maintained.
The bidding for the common stock of the
Washington Railway Co. was about 20, with
but few symptoms of any business when
one of the brokers made a bid OF 80 for a
block of 500 shares. He seemed to feel that
1t was necessary for him to make some ex-
plantation of why he was SO much under
the market price. and he volunteered the
informal ton that he had an order for that
much stock at that figure.
Another broker observed that he would
not like to bet that he would ever get such
block at that figure, while the principal
dealer in the stock Clipped in with the OBJ
servation that he thought he would in the
course of couple of months.
Then in order to dispel the gloom which
a statement OF that kind from such q
source seemed to create. the broker, in an
other vein. remarked that he would bet
one thousand dollars that the bidder could
get such lot today at the price named.
1t did not take long for the brokers gen.
orally to get onto the fact that this really
meant selling the stock at the current Of
fering. and so after INDUCING in gentle
smile. which was broad enough to reach
to the ends of the room. the appearance Of
business on the exchange was resumed.