New-York tribune., 1909-05-09
The Financial World.

strength is continuing healthy business imuruV.'
ment In a general way this Is certified Nv N
commercial agency reports and other trr-.
worthy statistics. T.. a special way-a bfyst.
significant way-inspiring testimony comes :,
hand from the United States Steel Corpora.io-
It is an accepted truism that the steel buSi,..-
Is the most credIbls and sensitive or hs..
meters. It comes into contact with practic,h-
every form Of civilized needs-fronn the ma,
featuring of steel rails to the production "a
the thousand and utensils used bv civv,
zation. In times OF depression steel produe,s..
suffers sharp setback. IN times OF recuusras,-
it takes the van Of leadership That lsadsr.s,,
is vividly apparent.
Trading in Steel Corporation shares r.n-.
sents both speculation and investment. Inv...
ment accumulation through the dull times m
lowing 1907 has been simply wonderful -.
example. the average holdings to-day % -.
preferred stock less than sixty shares -
shareholder. The same widespread distrfbutio.
goes on in the common stock SpecuI.,i,.
however has long ignored this investnnent raoS.
ment and has persist tsntly-so far, at least a.
professionalism is concened-preferrsd a.
short side Of Steel common. II Is not so lo-.
ago that the slogan OF the Street was. -ssr
Steel for 30" And huge quantities or .no-.
stock were so sold Covering OF such saIss -.
counted for something in the present sSvar..
though by means has It been a coptrolI,,-
factor 1t is evident that the business 81 ~
Corporation is again on the upward tr.,a
gathering swift momentum week hv 80.
There Is reason for this. Railroads ana ns,.-
consumers have been Withholding orders -.
steel supplies: have been deiavfns or5s-- -,
actual necessity forces them into the rnarks1 s''
Features noted as governing the steel b,,-t
ness are seen duplicated in other lines OF trs5s
linz
In ract' all manufacturers are toninz in "a
eood times levels Up to now this is more az
parent West and South than in New York ~
New England: but IL must follow as nivh+ -
day that prosperity Of the country5s r,ros,,.s-
sections win flow over in rejuvenati1g ,isss
to the East West and South srear c-o,. -
approaching harvest under IrODitfoT,s .f---
stances The world needs all the surplus ~~st,
that VIC can export. and also ALI the co-to~ -L4
Is clearly shown by the high prices preva{IIng
tor all staples As for the wheat crop subIsc3
recently 70 so much sensational discussion \
becomes evident that while winter wheaf vii
not reach bumper yield II will be sl1ffcfsrt7r
plentiful TO provide a handsome export sJIrTlrs
prevailing prices for wheat meaning incaIcul-
able addition to national wealth And bfzb
prices for wheat invariabTv mean c,7rrasro-S
ingly high prices for coarse grains Here il ona
great actual governing factor Of supreme i'm
portance-
That the soundness Of conditions Is spo-.-
ciated in high financial circles is evident b TIA
investment buying. which is going on under tb4
advice OF and with the cooperation OF leading
banking interests Coincident with this nova
rnent is the pending accomplishment OF financial
alliances Of tremendous import-aIiances I'm
possible Of execution while fear and d9ust
slooWed the sky, but feasible now with coua-
dence restored.
An illustration Of this restoration Of conf
dence is furnished by the announcement OF the
New York Central Railroad OF great exuendit-
ures for equipment and betternents The con-
Xr7rBr
precludes the idea that such expenditures vvouId
be contemplated unless there were Certaint- OF
large increased business. In fact. every dsvel-
opment Of Importance every sign worth noting
clearly points 70 a national prosperity which in
the natural order OF things should surpass Pre-
vtOuS records. and security market ruovernsuf
ical movement-inevitable movement. Market
pessimism will spell marbes punishment
Bucyancy in Great Northern Ore certificates
is a natural sequence to the aggressive strength
of United States Steel shares An impending
official statement will convince investors thar
these ore certificates have an intrinsic vaIus
much beyond the current quotation It Is sig
nifcant that the confident purchases ar the
close Of the week are credited TO the chief nnsn-
ctal interests Of the United States Steel Cor
poratfon-
1t is virtually 70 this same group OF nnsncf.rs
{hat n the activity in American Cotton oI shares
dividend materially higher one.
What Is one cf the most encours ging features
Of our developing security market Is illustrated
by what goes on In the affairs of the wabash
Wabash securities. assuming prominencs IN
current stock Exchange transactions are
typical reflection Of what better business can %
for the credit Of a corporation whose physical
property-throughout continuing times Of de-
pressinn-has been not merely we'll maintained
but actually bettered- II fs not new dis
closure that even in the midst Of panic sit
Uation plans Of Improvement were executed By
the Wabash system--and Wabash in this regard
is quoted representative OF 4 considerable
list Of important railways upon whose upbuild-
ing stupendous sums have been expended. even
at the expense Of dividend suspension
, Rock Island and its St. Louis san Francisco
lines also exemplify this policy-which has cems
10 be recognized as the American policy" q
pouring net earnings back again into a prep-
srty in order to make surer and vastAr the re-
turns OF the future. In many cases this policy
has represented serious present sacrifice; hu'
as now the era of good times Cctne again Jnai
earlier sacrifice takes on an exceedingly pleasant
visaze-for properties like the Wabash and tns
Rock Island. so maints ined. 50 upbuiit, ma
themselves equipped and in readiness TO con-
mand the maximum OF traffic. reap the maxi
mum of profit
As particularly regards the Wabash wan
Street listens to a variety OF theories as t. IN
pending developments. Some concern the furuls
control of the property one much diseusss-
ruulor has it that the system Is 70 pass into 'as
ownership OF the IaCkaWanna and 70 oe
I.aCl1a wanna property. operated under LaeAH
wanna policies. is naturally hailed as stsnineahs
OF A new good fortune that IS inCalculaols.
one other theory is that Mr. Gould mas
tered into intimate alliance with MI q :.
Harriman--the latter specifically underts Sins 80