The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-09-04
O|F|REDUCT|0NS'
IS NOT FAR AWAY
Railroads Announce Remarkable
Swelling in Operating
4 Expenses.
POOR SHOWING OF ATcHIsoN.
Only Hope Of Relief Lies in In
crease Of Freight
Rates.
POOR SHOWING OF ATcHIsoN
Especial to The rimes.pispatch.1

: tttffS ia3tf NdlSo.
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Especial to The Times. Dispatch1
New York, September 3.-Stocks had
to contend this week with the worst
politics and with bad railroad reports
for July. Four. leading railroads an
nounced such remarkable swelling OF
Operating expenses that their increases
OF gross were wiped out, and net de-
creases substituted. The Union Pa
cific showed net decrease of $429,-
9lo Southern Pacific reported
sshrinkagc OF slo1.s92 In net. Just as
the market had recovered from these
figures. Pennsylvania announced that
its July net was S465,10O less than
Tor last year, and late In the week,
New York Central reported shrink
age Of s1.2a4,s7O In Its net for the
month.
These figures persuaded the general
public that the day Of dividend re-
dus.ions is not far away, unless ma I.
granted by the Interstate Commerce
Commission, which began its hearings
carly in the week.
when President Ripley, of the Atchison.
expressed the opinion under oath that
his system would not earn more than
the bare. pes cent required for d.
less permitted to increase rates. Such
earnings. of course. would force q
reduction of the dividend. The street
has been under the impression. that
cent. but Mr.. Ripley swore that II
earned only 8.18 per cent. In the last
fiscal year. 1t is hard to reconcile
these statements with the official re.
ports of the company.
Denver and Rio Grande furnished an
other shock when the official admis-
sion was made in Its annual report that
tbs large earnings with which Wall
hos al -,
to month were derived very largely
from the unearned interest or the sec
ond mortgage bonds of the Western
iacinc lone OF which can be cashed
until the road Is finished and earn
Ing the money.
me universal protest that arose
agalnst such system of deception.
grew from President jeffrey an apology
blame on certified accountants He adj
United that he knew the incorrectness
OF the monthly reports all along. and
does not explain why he permitted the
public to be misled for twelve months
subtracting the sl.10o.Ooo from the net
earnings from this source. the Denver
earned barely enough to pay its pre-
ferred dividend. and all hope OF divi-
dend on the common stock has gone.
The report Of the Republic Iron and
Steel Company was of different char
acter. and the street was pleasantly
surprised with the figures showing
that the company is earning more than
IA per cent. on the common stock.
The company reports its outlook good
The Western Union was another com.
pany that increased in public estima-
tion as the report of large earnings
from the New York telegraph business
was read.
The stock of the Western Union and
the American Telegraph and Telephone
Company are looked upon with favor
by investment bankers.
lNterCOutinental Rubber taken in
hand by strong interests during the
week, after they had discovered gem
by the public. This is the company so
widely advertised by Senator Bristow
IN his charges again Senator Aldrich
The stock is now earning the eauiva-
ket value. No dividends are promised
on the common. however. as the pre-
ferred is all to be retired before such
payments are made.
Exports of copper were on much
larger scale during the week but the
stock failed to profit from this. The
coppers are suffering from the artifi-
cial market. position Of Amalgamated
and Anaconda.
Cotton moved into the foreground
with price OF 20 cents pound for
port. issued yesterday. showed the crop
had deteriorated materially since the
previous month Cotton seems. there
fore. In strong position commercially.
spinners arc ordering American cotton
regardless OF price. Experts figure that
owing to technical conditions In the on
ton market, there will be a pressure
Of 100000 bales more of cotton than
tober markets. These experts overlook
the fact that there is an actual short
age among spinners of more than a.
100000 bales. SO that conditions are n OF
materially different from what they
We're year ago
such high prices Is creating sterling
exchange rapidly Expectation is that
the Bank Of England would increase
its discount rate. but money is SO
cheap in London that no action has
been taken. Refusal of the public to
buy stocks is making call money very
cheap in New York. and many of the
leading brokers are compelled to buy
commercial paper or borrow stocks to
keep their idle mone- employed, even
at the low rate prevailing
New York, September #s.-Prime mer-
camille paper. 1-2@6 per cent Ster-
n