Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-20
LOCAL FINANCIAL NEWS.

4 Gas STOCK SOLO at To-Day > IicctiAS VI Tie
stock exchange at IS, an advance Of
points over the best price bid yesterday.
While the amount of stock that changed
hands at this higher level was 80 shares,
still the character Of the trading-or
rather the more general buying-was
new feature of the recent days activity in
| this security
| The broker was not the principal buyer
! today who has been buying all along. and
more especially during the advance in the
market prices for the stock which took
place when 1t was thought that Congress
at the last session was going to enact
legislation which would be OF advantage
to the stockholders. Under the influence.
as it was generally supposed. of this idea
the stock ran up about the middle OF Feb
ruary as high as 79a4. but when this ex-
pectation was not realized then slump
took place. Now, however. another idea
has gotten about. and that is the COM
pany is going to adopt In the near future
some plan for the distribution OF the sur
plus.
The rapid change in the figures for the
stock which has taken place during the
week which closes today is believed to be
due to a belief of this sort. At any rate
for that period the range of the prices
for gas stock has been from 1o's to 20.
The buying today was pretty we'll distrib-
uted and included some brokers who are
not ordinarily buyers Of gas stock. and
that fact led some to infer there may be
something substantial In the current talk
about the probability in the near future
Of an extra dividend being declared in
some form or another.
The principal broker in the stock today
bid 75A for an option on 100 shares, but
there was no offering of this kind. The
bid for the stock advanced to 1913 but
was withdrawn and IS took its place.
with the asking price at the close ION.
II also might be inferred from what
oJa y, Y,af
going to share in the rumored distribu-
ton Of melon slices. for while yesterday
the price for that stock was stin at IS to-
day the same broker gave 81 for one
lot and then would not bid more than 90.
He offered to sell the stock for 64sl.
The stockholders of the traction
companies. like most residents Of
else who has attended an inauguration,
are no doubt heartily in accord with
the movement which is now being
made to have the date OF that event
season. The traction companies could
favor such a change from a purely
business standpoint. and their state
ment Of receipts for the past occasion,
of the sort, would no doubt furnish an
additional argument for the advocate
Of a later date, based on the decreased
public attendance as would then be
shown.
In spite of the fact that there is G
natural increase in the attendance at
such events. or rather in the number of
people that come to the city corre-
the population OF the country, yet ac-
cording to the figures as recorded in
the books of the traction companies
there was no increase this year. OF
course, this IL attributed to the wealth
er. which shut Off communication with
the city or at least lessened 1t so that
thousands Of people, especially those
from nearby localities, were unable to
reach the city at all.
The storm also had the effect of de-
creasing the travel within the city. as
thousands OF people stayed at home on
the 4th who otherwise would have
Joined the throngs along the line OF
tina. their receipts fell off So during rh nth" the
Inauguration period as compared with
similar periods in former years. but
only that they did not show the ex-
pected and natural increase.
While general market conditions are but
slightly reflected If at all in the movement
Of prices in the local stock exchange. still
the course OF buying and selling is in
fiuenced more or less not only by the
state of business throughout the country.
but also and to a less extent by the fuc-
tuations in the New York stock market
1t is noticeable here that when the gem
eral market is active and business is
good the feeling among brokers is
better and the dealing in local stocks is
on more liberal basis.
Still there are movements which are
purely local and due to causes which have
their origin in some change in the bust
ness Of the corporation or something that
has happened within the home radius.
OF course OF that sort there have been
but few of recent months. and in fact
since the internal difficulties in a couple
of the national banks have been adjusted
The fire insurance situation as affecting
the local companies Is now. as has been
the case for a number Of years back, sug-
gestive Of possibilities of changes which
would alter the status Of the securities
Of these companies. But somehow nothing
has happened, and such a possibility ap-
pears just now still remote. The big
companies, as those having main Offices
outside of the city are known. appear
to be Indifferent to what Is going on here.
but when the current of business gets to
running with its old-time swiftness, it Is
q question whether it will not be decided
that something ought to be done.
or course, that something is to replace
the present lack OF uniform rates with an
agreed upon schedule which will be OBJ
served by all the companies. It Is sup
posed when the time comes there will be
no difficulty about the companies coming
together on a common basis. as they are
now going through the discipline of rate
cutting, which. under normal conditions,
would have been stopped long ago by "a
getting together"
In the meanwhile two of the local COM
panies have liquidated. in that particular
following the example of company that
adopted that course some five years ago.
Another corporation Of this class has been
acquired by a company doing business in
the general field. so that concern OF
that kind has now it's home office In this
city.
The financial institutions Are doing we'll
and especially in adding to the money on
deposit. The increase In such funds has
been quite remarkable, and there are
practically no instances where the figures
expressing such funds are not written in
la rger aggregates. This is a condition
that most people I'm that line of business
delight in; they like to see the surplus
rolling up. and in fact this item is looked
upon as showing to large extent the
success of that particular business.
But those most familiar with such en-
terprises are apt also to look at another
item and that is the one Of loans for the
purpose of trying to see in what way the
corporation Is making money and to what
extent it Is succeeding in employing the
fund which has been intrasted to its
keeping by the depositors. A large num-
Der Of the latter are also the customers
Of the bank as borrowers.
1t Is natural they should not be in favor
OF paying any more for the use of the
money they get from the bank than they