New-York tribune., 1908-03-01
The Financial World.


effort is made 10 have II appear that two or
three groups Of important finaneiers are operat-
ing; but these representations seem palpaDly a
pretence-
Mr. Morgan, crossing the ocean. leaves gossips
and oracIes handicapped-they lose their oppor-
tunitv for daily recitation Of what they know
Mr. Morgan has done is doing or IS about 70
do Elaborate theories. forecasts ana cOhn-
dences by the dozen are thus sent siirnfnefihs-
And with MIR. Morgan not available as text lor
their myriad recitations. the inventors and dis-
tributors of fairy tales are sore put to u IN
their efforts to contrfve anything Of interest
for Wall Street consumption
on one day this week less than 100000 fun
shares Of stock were traded in-alI recent dull
records broken. And what calculation must
keep in mind is that any total recorded az pres
ent is representative almost entirely Of trans
actions for the account Of trading members or
the Stock Exchange themselves whose commit
ments in any way never have 70 do with actual
investment interests or, indeed. with any sDs-
tained or sustainable speculative movement AZ
their best transactions OF this sort mere
records of bets made between a professional
gambling element gratifed 20 its EXTREMIST
ambition If even able to grab fractional profit
Thus trace of legitimate market there IS none
all.
They who are independent in analyses Of se-
curity market conditions Will recognize how
ever, that in this very abStentlon from market
activity there is significance Of something very
close akin to confidence in ruling valuations.
In Withholding from market participation. In
declining to buy, the investing public OF the
country is at the same time sturdily refusing 20
be scared into further liquidation Not long
ago it locked for time as If every investment
interest would be stampeded into limitless sacrl-
fees That that phase of, the market changes
is evident even to superficial observation Ana
fair judgment realizes that this contributes an
element of underlying strength If there come
into the situation factors inspiring optimism
or even measurable relief from prevailing pessi-
misn-it may be no difficult task 20 encourages
the public again into Stock Exchange activity
though it is to be confessed that Just now there
are no feasible indications or any such lInpeho-
ing change and hepfulness.
What more than anything else at present is
apparent-intrusive-ha to do with the earn
ings records which main railroads are max
ing. Gross figures fall deploraby-and net ex-
hfbits are relatively even worse Take. for
exemplincation the report filed yesterday by
the Atchison. Topeka and santa Fe- Gross earn
ings for January shrink s46O.00o- Net earnings
shrink not only that amount but 80 per cent
more-beyond $6S0000- January net earnings
last year were s17o0,000. Virtually one-thIrd
Of those net earnings recorded a year ago vanish
this year Atehison common dividends on the
nresent 6 per cent. basis call for the annual dis
bursenent of about $4,000 O00-while this Janu-
ary decrease in net earnings is at q rate sur
passing that total OF yearly dividends by s.
100000.
Figures ike these are dazing Atchison
common dividends per month call for S5Oo.ooo'
In this one month Of January. yesterday re-
ported. there is an actual shrinkase for the
month Of over S6SO.000
No great acumen IS required 70 comprehend
what devastation like this must signify The
Atchison in January (and February unfortu-
nately can be counted TO show worse instead
of better) lost in the falling of Of earnings not
only the entire amount demanded for dividends
for the month but approximately S200.O00 more
than the total of the months dividend require
nlents. Such figures do not merely threaten th9
maintenance of existing dividend rates-they
make continuance of such dividends simply i'm
possible. There has been no boastful surplus
when past AtchisOn dividends have been de-
clared-and with a net shrinkage now being
recorded at a rate surprising SS,oo0,o00 a year,
what right has any critic of the Atchison COM
pany to expect aught else than radical reduction
in current disbursenents-Or why amazeInent,
indeed. If there be resort 10 scrip dividend pay
nlent such as Missouri Pacific (sirilariy con-
spfcuolls as a SOuthwester system) has already
instituted? Attempt to ignore bristling facts.
anv pretence az extenuation excuse through
distribution of dividends that are not earned
can certainly have no beneficial effect IN the
security market or eIsewhere-Can but have the
sure result of trouble in accentuatIng a situa-
ton already too bad AtchisOn as 4, per cent
stock-and perhaps that rate might. under this
wears conditions. honestly be maintained-
would be a safer property for investors than.
any champion could claim it 10 be in paying
6 per cent. uuearned- Stock market eZigencteS
have nothing TO do with the case
AtchiSon .s valuable for example or what lS
too much deveIOplng-for AtchisOn. Unhapptly,
conspicuous railways now to be found This
is true merely in Southwest territory. Tor
exemplifcatiOn looms quite as clearly III the
Northwest. IS even worse in the South and -
taking on fOrbidding aspect in New England
while il is within bounds 20 aver that not q
single of our premier Eastern trunk Hnes
show insptritlnS contrast New YORK Gen.
trail PennSy ylvania and Baltimore and ONO are
not yet popularity classified with Erie-but every
one of them requires apOl0giSt only rela-
lively less than Erie. Erie has not enjoyed
their borrowing capacity There Is larger
surplus percentage being earned upon Erie first
preferred tSeIIinS at 26) and upon Erie second
preferred (selIinS at 19) than can be shown on
either New York Central Pennsy Ivania OF Balti-
more and Ohio. official money lenders are
making less out of Erie than they are out OF
any of the others.
Atchison on it's way 10 reduce dividends VIII
have company a-pIenty.
In advertng 10 conditions which have been
clouded with pretence. but wherein light is
tention to magnify elements that are making
for the lowering of dividends by important rail-
ways Facts are showing with such clearness.
and some sequeIs TO new developments are
bound to have such radical effects. that it is
-. to h.li hat