Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-21

yond the, record OF year ago. It 10
difficult TO comprehend figures so big
as these 1t is not difficult to UNDER
stand that such looming figures have a
significance whose consequence here has
even greater consequence abroad-and,
STILL has such consequence at home as
to command the attention OF every alert
calculator OF American prosperity.
Discuss Fate Of Lehigh.
In any market which expands. in any
broader development than has for a long
time been assertive, it Is likeliest that
the anthracite coal stocks will have
leadership. Reading ought to be fore
most. But so ardent has been the in
dustry of insiders it may be that Le-
high Valley will be the star performer
Yet. somehow. there is bad taste to the
Lehigh Valley toast-for little by little
leaks out that they who have most to
do with the hurrah proceedings In Le-
high stock are related i'm a larger way
to other corporations
1t may be that Lehigh Valley Is to be
taken over by the Rock Island system
1 do not believe it. For long time
it has been a Wall street custom to
abuse Rock Island insiders. Mr. Reed
and Mr.. Moore. as rich men. are. or
course, under continual assault for
variety of reasons" But the Rock Is
land Lehigh Valley combination proposal
is so persistent that IL can hardly be
ignored. Rock Island under it's charter
has the right to take over such an
the Rock Island are also now the con-
trollers Of the Lehigh Valley Is alto
gether probable. But-never mind the
details. and never mind the snafis
MISUNDERSTANDING is the anthracite
coal leader. Reading is entitled to about
fifty points advance
Stirred by Hitchcock.
Wall street sat up and took notice at
the beginning Of this week Of Postmaster
General Hitchcock's recommendation that
the government own the telegraph conf
panies. We have had opposition. appro-
bation-explosion and applause-in va.
riety. All of it is curious in recollec-
ton of what was an inside program q
score or so Of years ago. Jay Gould was
in control OF the Western Union then.
virtually a monopoly. He was happy In
his position. so all the oracles explained.
The company as the publfc's servant was
precisely what he enjoyed-its earnings
were excellently agreeable. Yet, as Mr..
Gould hesitatingly felt obliged to confess,
the public had interests which they might
feel were better served IL they them
selves were the owners of the property.
He felt that there was something bad in
federal intrusion upon corporation
rights Still, though he was wronged. he
would not aggressively fight a proposal
to come in and take his telegraph lines
over-however onerous and oppressive the
transaction might be-if there was to he
a proper appraisal of what the telegraph
lines were worth. Mr.. Gould was out
raeed-but Mr.. Gould was patriot Mr.
Gould himself told me about this. And
Mr.. Gould said, in that velvety voice OF
his, ''caIl tie sheme robbery. l am
against it. / will night ii to the last
ditch. But IL the government insists, We
must surrender-only We must appoint
the appraisers"
So In the present situation IL may De
assumed there will be no very great
tight against the government if I'VE APP
point the appraisers
What Worries Wall Street.
Professional Wall street affects to be
worried over the congressional PROPOSE
ton to survey the banks. 1t Is difficult
to follow this argument" Talk about
money trust is excitative i'm tie po-
liticaI vernacular; but no sane observer
is disturbed by any such threat.
What now touches Wall street Is just
this: /. Is any named corporation earn
ing surplus above dividends? and.
2. Are there corporations paying divi-
dends that are not earned?
Surplus versus deficit-this is what may
be expected TO rule i'm any newly de-
veloping market.
We have corporations earning dividends
that can pay still larger dividends.
We have corporations PAYS -..idends
which do not earn the dividends they
pay.
1t will not be difficult for investors to
find what these varying corporations are.