The Washington herald., 1907-01-15
Lawson Is Keeping Copper
Stock Traders in Suspense.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC IS STRONG
Believed This Line VIII Be Gamer
by Requirement of -. Paul; Also
It's Earnings Merit Greater Diyi-
dend-AtchisOn Makes Good show
ing for the Past Year.


shares Of TamarSck traded in. My por-
ton amounted to 5000. To-day there were
$1,000 shares Of Copper Range traded in
between 80 and 90 My trades amounted
to 23.O00 shares. If 1 am in any combina-
/ tion / do not know It,"
| Mr.. Lawson refrains from differentiat-
/ ing between sales and purchases in giving
/ totals Of his trades" But then the i'm
/ portant point IS perhaps that Laundry
man Lawson is not in any trust or com
| bination-has no connection with Sam
| Lee
] The Boston copper pot is still boiling.
and conservative interests here are ask
/ ing If it is not in danger Of boiling over.
/ The heaviness Of Amalgamated Copper.
/ in view of the buoyancy OF the stocks Of
the smaller copper properties. has set
/ Wall street guessing as to the cause. and
various theories, some Of them plausible
enough. have been arrived at Ole OF
I these is that Amalgamated interests are
| engaged in project to combine with a
number of the smaller concerns. so that
/ they might be operated under the aus
/ piCes Of the big company, If not actually
merged into it,
! II buying for this purpose is in progress.
/ it is argued the Amalgamated directors
are not likely to increase the dividend
rate, AS such a proceeding would have
/ the effect Of strengthening all copper
stocks and making the project of con-
solidation more difficult Of accomplish
ment.
/ Another theory IS that leading interests
/ in Amalgamated recognize that the great
/ feature IN the market position Of their
stock is the absence Of a fair-sized short
/ interest and the existence instead Of
| large speculative account for the rise 20
/ be closed cut just as soon as the dividend
I is declared. That this knowledge. il is
contended. may have made them very
/ conservative In their views on the dividend
question. so that they are inclined to con-
slider the effect on the promotion Of new
companies of a demonstration that the
leading concern Is enjoying a very large
measure OF prosperity.
/ With the date Of the Amalgamated divi-
dend only three days of. the ticker seems
/ to argue strongly against an increase in
the dividend and individual directors
whose opinion might be expected to ar
/ ford a clew. coufine themselves 10 ex-
Z
the present phen0menally prosperous trade
/ conditions and assurances that on the
/ basis Of earnings the stock is cheap.
Buy Il house that buys for a house that
/ buys for Mr. Frick,'' was the way the
/ traders described the buying Of Steel com
mon in the first hour. No course seemed
10 be too devious for them 20 follow IL
I r.s.s. 4
The more sinuous the path they had 70
/ follow. the better they liked the diversion.
| Their success in tracing the buying 10
/ their entire satisfaction induced them 10
/ become buyers themselves. and so alb
s0gbeG were they with their study of the
source of the demand that they did not
notice that London sold them quite a little
stock before they thought of looking for
the source of the supply.
Traders thought they saw evidence Of
buying for Mr.. Frick in Southern Pacific
during the afternoon, but afterward. when
they found what q mistake they had made
in steel they were not so sure about it.
Still. It had TO be conceded that behind
the movement in Southern Pacific there
was some strong buying, whatever might
have been the basis for It,
Expectation Of an increase in the divi-
dend Is not very strong. So far as con-
Germs the forthcoming declaration. but In
many quarters it is believed that next
summer the rate will be raised 10 : per
cent. the management taking this way Of
replying to their criticism of the dividend
policy adopted last August on the ground
that it WAS the result Of "a too optimistic
feeling in regard TO the earnings for the
fiscal year then just entered upon, but
now half elapsed. Ii the remarkable rec
ord Of improvement in the earnings OF the
road shown thus far can be maintained
until the end of the year. on June 90 a
substantial increase in the dividend rate
viii be wei within the region of pro5a-
biiity.
1t would be hard to say whether the
rumor Of an increase in the dividend or
the belief that the Southern Pacific will
acquire substantial interest in -. Paul,
had the greater influence in advancing the
stock Each had its set Of believers. and
in many places both were accepted. The
story regarding St. Paul was taken as af-
fording a cIew 70 the buying of the latter.
and this circumstance won for 1t an in
crease Of popularity, as it enabled brokers
to reply TO two questions with a single
answer
Disappointment was expressed in vari-
Gus quarters over the action Of Pennsyl-
vania Some traders expected to see the
shorts punished in the stock. especially as
"a sharp recovery they thought would be
the best answer that could be made to
criticise the roads financial programme
But this line of argument assumed that
the insiders We're in possession Of a sufi-
-ient line of stock 10 justify them in max
ing the demOnstratiOn-a matter on which
there WAS no real information. It may
we'll be that the large interests are more
concerned in Keeping the price down so
that they may be able to accumulate
stock than in putting il up for the bene-
tit of the not incous;derable speculative
account that was formed before the an
nouncement of the proposed increase in
the authorized capitalization was an
uounced.
Very definite rumOrs neither denied nor
confirmed. up to the time the market
closed, that the Chicago and Northwest
crn was about 20 announce an issue of
SIS. .OO0 900 new stock caused 4 selling move
mcnt. which affected not only that par
ticular security. but the stocks OF other
roads In the Northwest, whether on this
side or to the north of the Canadian
boundary. Announcement of an increase
of Northwestern's outstanding capitalize
ton has been expected for some time.
Il WAS strongly fOrecaStPd when tha