The Washington herald., 1913-02-28
THE CAN Melon
IS VERY JUICY.
Regular Dividend and "a Per
Cent Back Dividends
Declared.
PLAN A REORGANIZATION
Book Value of Bank Stocks-Women
Investors Street Stronger.
Local Securities.
By I. A. FLEMING.

BY L. n. FLEMlN1.
Directors of the American Can Com.
pany yesterday cut the juciest kind OF
a melon for their preferred share
holders.
payment of se4 share back divi-
dends on preferred stock was ordered.
payable April i, to shareholders of record
March %, and an additional regular divi-
dend of IA per cent was also declared.
This action meets the expectations OF
the conservative men Of the street
BY the payment of "a per cent back
dividends the American Can Company
will have cleaned up back dividends
with the exception of per cent. one
years dividend, which is still back.
On the belief that this action would be
taken the stock advanced "a points on
top of the big gain of Tuesday.
To Reorganize Steamboat Company.
plan has been formulated for the re-
organization of the Potomac and Chesa-
peake Steamboat Company. a corpora
ton organized under the laws of the State
of Virginia. March, 1893. with capital
stock of S3OO.O00 and an authorized bond
issue of $4,000 The securities of the
company have not been listed on the local
exchange. but have been partially dis
tributed through private sale.
Apparently. the bondholders will take
possession. and a plan for the sale of the
assets of the company, to be bought in
by the committee for the benefit of the
bondholders. has been arranged.
In the event of a majority Of the out
standing bonds being represented by hold
ers requesting reorganization under the
plan proposed Colin II. Livingston, r. G.
Claughton. and ID. J. Harwood with the
Continental Trust Company, will act as
the bondholders' committee.
The circular. which bondholders have
received. sets forth the fact that the
company has not been able TO pay ma
turing coupons, for the reason that the
bond issue is far too large for the earn
ing power with operating expenses as
heavy as they are
Authority is asked for the bondholders
committee to cancel the deed of trust
Bondholders are to receive , per cent
thirty-year bonds. and per cent nom
cumulating. nonvoting preferred stock for
that prop rtion of old bonds turned in
and not reimbursed by issue of new bonds.
provided that not less than 20 per cent
of the old bonds par value. shall be given
to the bondhoders in new bonds. Charles
A. Douglas and Paul Dulaney are named
as counsel for the bondholders' commit
tee.
The company owns the steamers Capt.
tai City, Wakefield. City of Milford and
Queen Ann.
Book Values.
The national banks of the District have
a capital of $685.. COO. of a par value Of
slC0 a share. The number of shares OF
ali banks is $3.50 The c,pital. surplus
and undivided profits aggregates s12.2l5.
S60 making the book value of the ma
tiOnal banks of the District sle5.iJ a
share.
he - -ru,E f.,tx
have a capital Of So ID, ,000 or e, 800 shares,
of a par value Of slc0 each. Capital. sur
plus and undivided profits of sl4.S1 ,779
This gives book value in the aggregate
for the trust company stock of sl55S7
share.
Safe Inyestment.
4 recent publication in this column
showed that gas and electric light in
vestments Were much safer than ma
tiOnal bank stocks, industrial corpora
tlons and railroads.
The following extract is from recent
address on the subject of Investments"
by Charles G. Dawes. former Comptroller
of the Currency, now president OF the
Central Trust Company of Illinois:
Speaking before the Electric Club ban
Quet the other evening, Charles G.
Dawes, president of the Central Trust
Company Of Illinois. voiced some timely
advice to investors. After warning his
hearers against the manipulations OF
pools" in the stock exchange, Mr.
Dawes went on to say that he knew
only two ways of investing money which
f- considered absolutely safe. THE
safest and best way Of ALL he said. lis
to find man whom you know person
ally. and who has good paying bust
ness In which he is successful. He will
he as successful with your money as he
has been with his own.
The other way is to invest your
money in an electric light or gas plant
in city where 1t enjoys a monopoly Of
the product II sells TO the consumer If
this sort of business is properly man.
aged there is almost no chance of loss.
''Skyscrapers are bad investments be-
cause of the tendency of the times to
provide office space to keep pace with
the maximum demand. The moment
there Is falling of in business from it's
highest point. the first to feel it are
the office buildings, where the tenants
either retrench on space or move to
cheaper quarters. l make the assertion
that investment in office buildings is not
profitable investment. 7 know.
And stay away, by all means, from
investment in propositions offered you
by promoters who promise unusually
large returns. When you buy into such
q scheme you buy something you know
nothing about. and you know nothing
about the persons back of the propo-
sition. Irrigation propositions are of this
character. TO my way of thinking.
Because the astute promoters word
their literature in such an attractive
manner as to make enormous profits as
rured, is no reason for believing that
they win be able to keep their promises
Rank EIecffon.
Directors Of the Farmers and Mechanics
National Bank of Washington met yes
terday afternoon and elected William
King president to fill the vacancy caused
by the death of S. Thomas Brown. |
Robert D. Weaver moved up from second |
to first vice president, and J. H. Small, |
jr.. was chosen as second vice presi- |
dent.
3. Thomas Brown also was a director |
Of the National Savings and Trust Com |
pany. This vacancy has not been filled |
as yet.
The Pujo Report.
William B. Hibbs & Co, in their mar
ket letter yesterday, had this to say re-
garding the possibilities Of the Pujo COM
1littee report:
Mr.. Untermyer. having had full and
swing in conducting the
Money Trust investigation-it should
rather be termed prosecution-now finds