The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-31
Act on Quarterly Dividend.

Four weeks from Tuesday the steel di- rectors act on the quarterly dividends
 At the time of the last quarterly divl- dend meeting steel common was selling at $45 and the preferred at s105. The liquidation in these stocks since then seems to indicate that the directors have given up their plan of increasing the rate on the common next month. No good purpose will be served by an in crease in this dividend in times like these. It would only attract adverse criticism
 That the corporation is earning enough to make distributions on the common several times as large as those now be- ing made is beyond question. But, de- spite the optimistic opinions of the lead ing men in the steel corpora ton, the country is looking forward to a period of railroad retrenchment and less activity in the steel industry If the steel di- rectors will postpone an increase in the dividend on steel common until after next years Presidential election, or until after the next setback in the steel trade. the steel corporation will be so strong fnan- cially that the common stock can go on a permanent 6 per cent basis. The people in the copper trade are afflicted with the same sort of acute optimism as people nj the steel trade. They say that
 the break in the metal in London is purely speculative. There are a few
 things in this world that we must have at any price-but copper Is not one of
 them The great demand for copper in the electric industry, accompanied by only d slight increase in the production of the metal, has very naturally put it's price up.. But copper cannot be used in
 the arts for any considerable length of time when a dollar in gold will only buy four pounds of copper. Gold, of course, is cheaper today than it was ten years ago. but it Is not as cheap as the cur rent quotation for copper would seem to indicate.
 The London underground 5 per cent notes, that mature next year, have been very weak. Although they are to be re- deemed at 5000 next year, they sold this week as low as $750. The London Under- ground is the company promoted by the late Charles T. Yerkes, The Londoners still cling to the antedeluvian bus, and they have to be educated to underground travel. Mr. Yerl1es always had great dreams about the wonderful possibilities of educating the Londoners to rapid transit after the American fashion. When he first went to London he drove out to Hampstead Health, where a panorama of the great city was spread before him, and his first exclamation was, 'This is
 the greatest traction problem In the world. Here are 100000 people without any modern nedHS ol tldNSi i'ut luc
 education of the Londoners is slow and costly undertaking and the Yerkes-
 Speyer company seems to be bearing all the expense of the educational campaign.
 It Is hardly to be expected in the short
 space of six years. This might be done in an American town, but not in conser- vative old England
 Yerkes' London Experience. The difficulties that Mir. Yerkes' sue cessors are now encountering in getting
 their project on a paying basis reminds one of the early experiences of the Chi cago promoter in getting foothold in London. It was in the summer of 1900 that he got voice in the old District
 railway. He had been sending his experts and advance agents to London for several years getting the lay of the ground. Finally in the summer of 1900 he thought that it was time to go there himself and do something. He got an option on the charter of the Charing-Cross. Euston and Hampstead underground The nego- tiations for the final purchase dragged along from week to week and from month to month Finally one August day, when Mir Yerkes was on the continent he received wire to come to London to sign the final papers and pay over the purchase price. Arriving in London the next morning he drove at once to the