New-York tribune., 1907-12-27
STOCK MARKET OPERATIONS.

Transactions in Yesterdays stock market were
light in volume movement OF values that
showed uninportant changes from the final fig
ures in Tuesdays dealings. In few shares
range of more than ! per cent was covered. but
as a rule fluctuations were confined TO fractions
with the tendency generally in the direction of
lower quotations. especially in the case of Amer
ican Sugar Refining and Missouri Pacific. in
which heavy selling reported for profess
sonal account. Missouri Pacific was weak in
the early operations on the expectation OF re-
duction in the dividend. and the decision OF the
directors later in the day TO suspend cash pay
ments to the stockholders naturally encouraged
a bear demonstration against the stock and IN
duced a moderately active selling movement
throughout the list. Efforts We're made TO carry
PENNSYLVANIA to q lower level, but the character
of the operations behind the selling was not or
the sort TO attract the attention of legitimate
owners CT the security. and as consequence or
binary traders were disposed TO deal exten-
sively on the short side of this issue, which
closed at only a small loss from its last quota
ton in Tuesdays market. In a number OF
securities final changes showed declines OF more
than l point while in the active list there were
instances OF net Improvement Delaware &
Hudson on transactions of less than one thou
sand shares, showed a gain of point, the move
ment representing investment purchases based
the declaration by the directors of the COM
pany of the 9 per cent dividend for 1908 out of
the earnings of the current year. There are
many people in the conservative section of the
financial community who do not believe the
Delaware & Hudson stock is entitled to divi-
dends at the rate of per cent a year.
Money market conditions do not encourage the
idea that there will be active expansion in
securities operations in the near future but they
hold out the promise, however, of a gradual dis
appearance of abnormal rates for funds and the
development of a situation that will favor COM
mercial and mercantile borrowers. The business
world has been seriously affected by the restric-
riO he
gency in the money market, and relaxation in
rates for loans will serve to relieve the present
strain in business circles and check the down
ward tendency that just now is so marked in all
lines of industry. a reflection of the relative in
activity that prevails in the country's industries
is presented in falling railroad earnings and
contracting bank cearngs, the latter for all
cities in the United States showing in the last
week a decline Of more than 80 per cent, while
returns from the railroads for the third week in
December make similar disappointing exhibits.
The railroads in the South and Southwest pre-
sent especially unfavorable earnings, Southern
Railway, Louisville & Nashville and the Gould
Southwestern lines, for instance, reporting gross
receipts that are not large enough to pay the
ordinary expenses Of operation. Missouri Pacific
for the third week in December shows a loss of
$4,000 from the corresponding time in 1906. and
as this reduction follows a period of several
weeks OF falling earnings the action of the di-
rectors in declaring stock dividend instead OF
the usual caSh Qltl0enu Is not pTiSiiB MI
Gould and his associates conservative and
intelligent railroad men. and any action they
may take on matters affecting the Missouri Pa
citic and other Gould roads will be entirely in
the interest Of the security owners Of the prop
critics. The Gould interests are not mixed up in
speculation, and the fact that Wall Streets
gambling element does not like the Gould rail-
reads is a big point in favor of the properties.
Another Southwestern railroad that shows
material contraction in earnings is the Missouri,
Kansas & Texas and in the best part of the
current year the results obtained by this COM
pany have been of record breaking proportions
the current light traffic receipts particularly
significant, and discourage the idea that the
holders of the common stock will receive a divi-
dend in 1908. This company started the year
with gain in net earnings of "a per cent, but
the latest monthly report shows decline in net
of s per cent against loss in gross of about
per cent