Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-10
BIG MEN TRADING LITTLE
Prefer to Wait for a Line on Pro.
gram of Congress.
WORKING ON SMALL MARGIN
Business of Country Is Close to Nor
NAL, But Profits Have Been
Cut to the Quick.
BY w. G.. NICHOLAS.

and dogs" have fallen upon evil
days BY the phrase eats and dogs is
meant that class Of stocks whose market
is entirely speculative and manipulative-
stuff that is avoided by prudent traders,
Stunned by investors. foot balled about
on the stock exchange and made the
plaything Of cliques and pools and bob
tailed syndicates.
These stocks have no standing at the
banks and speculation in them is frown-
ed upon by responsible institutions and
individuals. Whenever there is a bull
campaign on the pools back Of these
properties very often succeed in working
up lively speculative interest In their
specialties. frequently succeeding in land
ing the goods with the public at fictitious
prices. Then, when speculation coo,s and
contraction sets in these so-caIled Sc
curities have a tumble.
Sometimes the cats and dogs are water
ed stocks that never had any value and
sometimes they are stocks run down,
mismanaged. and semi-bankrupt old prop
critics which have been trampled and
hammered until the life is out of them
In a few cases they represent doubt
full or shadowy equities with a bare
chance of amounting to something under
careful, honest handling.
Some of the best stocks on the street al
different stages of their career have been
cats and dogs During the bankruptcy
period in the early ninetes Union Pacific
Northern Pacific. Atchison, Baltimore
and Ohio and other railroads now of high
standard value belonged i'm the category
OF cats and dogs. At that time more than
one-third of the railroad mileage of the
United States was in bankruptcy. The
cats and dogs have been having a hard
time lately. The artificial markets that
10 fnr ham 10, y,Sa &C
The sharp declines which have taken
place In number Of them affected the
general market unfavorably and con-
tributed largely to the dullness which ..ds
overtaken the stock market situation.
Keeping Hands Off.
The really important people of Wal
street are doing very little these day:
either to encourage speculation or t.
discourage it. They are outspoken il
the expression Of. opinion that this 1:
not good time to expect a bullisf
movement in prices. At the same tims
they do not advise the selling of season
ed securities, and counsel the polio.
of sitting tight on investments. They
are almost unanimous in the statement
that the great volume of business through
although profits are smaller than usual
They are very narrow. in point of fact
This is true not only as to the stee
industry, but to a large majority of in
dustrial and commercial enterprises.
The gross revenues of the railroads
are large, but on account of increased
cost of transportation. due chiefly to the
increased payroils. the managements
have to pare general expenses in order
to maintain dividends. To such an ex-
tent has this policy of internal retrench-
ment been carried that the interests OF
the public have been to some extent
threatened. Railroads have ordered no
more than they could help in the way OF
equipment and betterInent of plant. II
has been a good thing in one way for
the railroads that the country has beer
undergoing period of contraction; 9th
erwise they would not have beer
it is, equipment has been suffering actual
loss in tonnage capacity, although tracks
have been maintained and there is nc
impairment in that feature. 1t is true
however, that the lighter wooden cars
have been going into the discard very
fast, and thus far they have not beer
replaced in the full. About two-fifths
of the freight cars now in use are steel
or of steel framework. These heavier
and stronger cars are playing havoc with
the lighter wooden cars on mixed ira
A high railroad authority said to the
writer a day or two ago that wooden cars
were going into the scrap heap at the
rate of 10000 a year. or double the
percentage that it should be. The inn
minent future my therefore be said to
hold out bright promise for the car man.
ufacturing companies. These concerns
are working on short capacity now and
orders enlarge they will be able to get
better prices.