The Washington herald., 1913-05-09
CROP REPORTS
ARE PROMISING
But Government Report Has
No Terrors for Stock
Market Bears.
NO MATERIAL LOSSES
Local Securities Quiet-Gas Strong.
Should Clear Returned Checks.
Gossip and News.
BY I. A. FLEMING.

of declines and few advances, erratic as
TO trading and prices, at times sagginS
and then again making fair snow Oh
strength. Close observers of conditions
did not like the action Of the market at
ALL With the best winter wheat report
that the street has Ever had at this sea-
son of the year, and with an enormous
decrease in the supply of copper metal
on hand. there was no response.
Under conditions usually prevailing in
even fair times such bull arguments
would have been followed with rush
on the part of the shorts to get under
cover but the news yesterday might nave
been unfayorable instead of favorable for
all the effect il had. If unfarorable' II
wouid have beer d fresh incentive for
the bears To pound away. AS IT was IL
made them hit cautious; that's all.
Heavily Oversoid.
The whole list is heavily oversold. The
hears are short up to their necks-short
of everything, and especially of Illinois
Central. New York Central Chesapeake
and Ohio, New Haven. Reading. and
. Union Pacific. Southern Pacific and
Steel
But the street. as represented by the
big men the financial men who carry
the burden, was discouraged by the &C
emulation of burdens. by increased pay
for employees, by refusal of the Inter
state Commerce Commission to permit
rate advances. by the Southern Pacific
Union Pacific case, by the strikes here
and the strikes there, and the extreme
difficulty of meeting maturing obliga-
tons.
The crop news was a favorable hap
pening: the Minnesota rate ease favor
ably decided would help some. and .
per cent increase in rates would be the
clixer But until some of these things
are realized. the gloom is. and will be.
thick and about the best that can be
expected would be a run-in of the shorts.
If this was concerted it could be pushed
for a big advance, but if not the bears
would not make much of a run-in.
The Gains.
The strongest stocks on the list were
Great Northern, Northern Pacific. ST. |
Paul. Northwestern, and Liggett q |
Myers Tobacco Co. These made good !
gains. |
The old line leaders did not show |
much change one way or the other. |
They were slightly off. Chesapeake and |
Ohio was under the hammer. but lost !
only IS, Southern Pacific like frac- |
ton, and New York Central q.
From the net changes it is evident that !
=
short. did not make much Roadway. !
The total sales, 22OCO0 shares. for the five |
hours plainly indicate the extreme dull |
ness of the market
Local stocks.
Capital Traction sold at 100 IL on the |
local exchange. IN all eighty-five shares. !
The Railways were mentioned in the
usaul bid and asked figures, but in no
other way.
Washington Gas continues to show a |
degree of strength that surprises its
friends-S5 was the only price. Usually |
with the liquidation of the last week |
there would have been at least a points
loss, but il WAS taken right along ard
held firm.
movement is to be made to endeavor |
to secure the addition of eight new direc- |
tors by the call of a shareholders meet !
ing. although ii is not probable that any |
thing will he accomplished before the |
next annual meeting.
Railroad As were active. but easier. SELL |
ing at s. IA to SO.
Need Protection.
C!earincs for returned checks are |
earnestly advocated by number of local |
bankers as a protection against new |
fraud scheme put over last week, but |
which has been quoted to enable the |
capture if possible of the culprit
Long freedom from fraud makes care
iessness, but a clearing house for these |
checks would stop all chance. The re- !
turned checks for no funds are interest |
ing a committee and the attorney for |
the association is looking into the legality |
of the proposed law.
steel shareholders.
The books of the United States Steel
L., ii, Co.. T~,Cra
ton at the last annual meeting, show
that there are about 1900 preferred share
holders and $4,000 common holders, total
Of 11S,0o0 Many individuals, banking
houses, brokerage houses, &c, own<eoth
preferred and common stock Making due
allowance for this, there must be over
100 600 shareholders of record.
Employees of the Steel Corporation own
about Al 900 shares so that there must be
about 5000 shareholders aside from those
who hold stock under the profit-sharing
plan.
Based upon 1900 preferred shareholders
and $4,000 common shareholders the aver
age amount of preferred held by each
figures out about 81 shares
and Of the common lis shares.
steel Toundries.
Earnings Of the American Steel Foun-
dries Company for the quarter ended
March 81 last, of SbI0,5oS, give some idea
of what the corporation can do when gen.
eral business conditions are even fairly
The operating profits given
above compare with $1SS6J in 1872 In
other words. they showed a gain Of $4S1.-
90e or over 200 per cent
The surplus for the quarter, after de-
Quoting charges, depreciation, &c, was
1855 SO, or % per cent, on the S17 1S4, goo
capital stock, as against 1857 for the first
three menths of 1872. The first quarter Of
1911 resulted in deficit Of sSs917.
AS orders on hand are sufficient to oper-
ate plants for some four months at about
10 per cent of capacity. earnings for the
next six months so should not show
any falling off. If the tariff uncertainty
Is not cleared up by then, however, there
will undoubtedly be a recession noted. In
uuiries, according to officials, have already
been effected, and no great resumption of
the buying movement is expected until the
price outlook is more certain.
George NJ. ReynoIds' Views.
George NJ Reynolds. of Chicago, says:
1T has been extremely gratifying and
most reassuring to me to note how the
various sections of country have quickly
from the severe losses occa-
stoned first by frost and then by flood.
I'm all sections Of the United States
sral activity IN business. good prices for