The Washington herald., 1913-02-25
Observation-Disclosures CE

easily accounted for by the fact that
turn of prices in Wall Street and the
uneasiness of investors over the situa-
tion to-day.
Wall Street exerts little effect here,
but Ii does have a sympathetic action.
And when. necessary for the operator
elsewhere to realize on holdings. WASH
ington securities, IL one is fortunate
to have them in the strong box, are
more easily realized on than any other.
Railway As were rather easy. selling
off to S3h from an opening at S5S.
Potomac Electric 5s brought 1o4H4,
and Gas 5s 109k. These were the only
bond transactions.
Washington Gas was softer, losing
ka% of a point to S5L from an OPEN
ing at S5k - In all. 100 shares were
sold. Perhaps the money was needed
elsewhere; perhaps it was the fear OF
the Madden bill that caused the lower
trend. There are few who have any
idea that there will be lower gas, the
Baltimore action and the necessities
that drove the Georgetown Gas Com
pany to return to 81 gas being cogent
reasons for refusing to disturb the
status quo. Mr.. Madden pays so cents
for his gas in Chicago, and he could
not expect much better than So here,
with Is per cent Of Chicago's con-
sumers
Fifty-eight shares of Union Trust
brought 1876, and 10 United States
Trust 140.
The bid and asked price on the COM
mon and preferred shares of the Wash
ington Railway and Electric Company
remain about the same, A1-i bid, 81
asked for the common. IS bid and SS%
asked for the preferred.
Personal.
Charles J. Bell. president of the Ameri-
can Security and Trust Company. wired
from Fort Myers. Fla. that he was OF
on fishing trip.
| Mr. Bell has been staying at Clear
water. Fla. on the west coast. for some
| little time
Frank A. vanderlip. president of the
National City Bank, of New York City.
is at Bellair, one of the most elegant and
exclusive Florida resorts.
Personal experience for the last fort
| night has demonstrated to the writer the
| beauty of the west coast, and especially
OF st. Petersburg.
United Gas and Electric Earnings.
Bertron. Griscom & Co. report the fol-
| lowing statement of earnings of the
| United Gas and Electric Corporations:
Accruing through its holdings of con-
stituent companies shares as officially re-
ported for the twelve months ended De-
cenber Il, 1872:
Earning shares OHncd lis 81. l5
! Interest convertible notes IL. q.
+. A5ooW
Balance for ptd. stock (U. C. & E.
toTp) 6.9bZni 10
| Dividends on rfd. stock ~. e. 4 +.
CUrpD bS-asW
| Earned for com. stock ~. 6. Z.
GOrlrl
| Rate earned cmmon stock, 3S per cent.
This company began business on June
| 6. 1872 However. for the purpose of as
certaining the amount applicable on the
preferred stock of the new company for
twelve months period there has been
assumed the earnings from the various
| companies which went into the consolida-
ton covering the period from January ],
! 1872, to June s. 1912.
Wall street.
| Starting well with the opening hour. the
market was moving along steadily with
| a fair show of strength when. about IL
| o'clock. there came a smashing break in
| American Can shares. in American To-
baccO. and then breaks elsewhere, ". h
partial recoveries before the close.
| Once again the Street has been disap-
Court to hand down a decision in the
| Minnesota rate case. which fact has
caused some wise traders TO assume that
all is not one-sided in the court on this
question and the verdict is not awaited
with as much confidence as II was.
| Cans smash was due to rumors that
back dividends might not be paid on Can
preferred: that the government had sharp
cned its Sherman law probe for the cor
poration, &c. the former denied with
empha sis before the end of the day.
| The Street is ready to believe that Mr.
! Wickersham intends to make the closing
week of his administration notable for
prosecutions given initial impetus to fur
ther enlarge his trust-busting records.
| in the gossip.
There was quite a rally in the last hour
on short covering. The declines tell the
story of the day. A number of stocks
held within a fraction, equipment stocks,
and some lesser industrials acting we'll
Steel common, with heavy selling. was
just an eighth away from GO. but did not
reach it. 1t was not big day, $1,000
shares selling.
| report. although the reductions in the
committee may lessen its importance.
An Interesting Showing.
! Henry l.. Doherty & Co, Of New York,
have prepared a report, diagram. &c,
showing the percentage of gas and cleo
trc companies in receivers hands from
1852 to 1911. each years, as compared with
receiverships of national banks, railroads
and industrials, in four groups.
| From figures of all gas and electric
companies in the United States it ap-
pears that an annual average of but
81 cents out of every 500 of all gas and
electric stocks and bonds has been In
the hands of receivers. Obviously, the
net loss-especally 10 bondholders-has
been much less than 81 cents per 800.
The figures deduced from the record
of all national banks in the United
States show that out of every 500 of
their securities outstanding an annual
average of 30 cents has been declared
insolvent by the government, and, in
addition, s1.61 has been voluntarily liaui-
dated. making a total Of S1.sS per 800 of
national bank capital.
AS the stockholders of insolvent na-
tional banks are by law liable to an
assessment equal 10 the par value of
their holdings, the real loss from in
solvent banks has been probably be-
tween 81 cents and 64 cents rer S10O
The annual average risk of receiver
ship as deduced from the figures of all
steam railroads in the United States is