, 1907-11-30
A NATION OF STOCKHOLDERS.

American people are rapidly becom.
ing wise" to the stock market. Thou.
sands upon thousands all over the land
watch the took quotations with con
siderable care from day to day and
when they see a favorable opportunity
to invest, they buy a few shares of
stock outright and put it away in their
strong boxes. From this stock they
draw dividends that generally net them
more than they a get from interest
en- time deposits in banks or trust
companies. In Wyoming there are a
great many of this class of people.
They feel that such railroads as the
New York Central, the Pennsylvania
OF the Union Pacific are Just as solid
as the government itself and have ILL.,
tie hesitancy in investing in the stocks
thereof. During the past thirty days
the Union Pacific common stock. which
has been paying a dividend of 10 per
cent, has sold down to par. A year ago
II sold as high as 100, The preferred
stock of this company was quoted Fri
day at 70. At this price it would net
the investor s l-3 per cent and then
there is an exceedingly strong proba-
bility that the stock will advance very
materially during the next year, as this
price is very low, lower than Union
Pacific has been for years. The pre-
ferred stocks pay 4 per cent.
In discussing this matter the Bos-
ton Commercial Bulletin makes some
exceedingly interesting comments. 1t
says some ten years 6 the popular
conception of the owners of our rail.
roads and industrial corporations was a
comparatively small group of individu.
ais, portly, sleek and we'll groomed.
with a look of cunning and avarice In
their beady, gray eyes, and a sneerins
smile of contempt on their mouths, oc-
casioned, presumably, by the WRITINGS
of the great army of employees and con.
sumers. Quite frequently the stock
holder was pictured as a foreigner
whose hatred of things American was
as intense as his lust for American
gold, and his dividends and other III.
come from investments, always trebly
magnified, were variously designated
as ~"illgotten gains" "red-handed
blood money" and so forth ad nau-
seam.
But what a marvellous change in a
few years! Speak di~srespectfully Of
the American stakeholder today and,
ten to one, you insult your next door
neighbor or lifelong friend, both u
whom are likely to be the most harm
less individuals in the world. Pass a
law affecting the earnings of the cor,
porations and thousands of individuals
who We're among the most ardent ad,
vocates of antitrust legislation less
than n decade 6 feel the effect direct.
ly and Immediately. In a word, the
American people have become actively
identified with the organization of cor
porate enterprises through the pur
chase of their capital stock, with the
result that the conception of the stock
holder hereafter must come pretty
closely to correspond with the concep
ton of the average American himself
For more than a year the transfer
Offices of the large domestic corpora
tions-railroais, industrial and mining
have reported a steady increase "
the number Of small stockholders, bu
during the past few weeks these of
fees have been so swamped with trans
fers that 1t has been necessary greatly
to increase their clerical forces t,
keep from falling weeks behind in theil
work. The Union Pacific and Southern
Pacific railroads. for example, repor
an average increase of 800 stockhold
ers per day since the first of Novem
Der. In the first four business days o
the month N Great Northern r~ailroa,
witnessed an actual increase of no les
than 1900 stockholders, ant the North
ern Pacific experienced a similar in
crease. About 5000 additional persons
have become stockholders of the Penn