Evening star., 1914-11-09
EUROPE HOLDS BILLIONS
OF AMERICAN SECURITIES
Figures on Many Corporations Sug-
gest Possibilities of Liquidation
on Exchange Opening.
More Steel Common Owned Across
Atlantic Than Any Other Sc
curity-Mergenthaler.
BY I, A. FLEMING.

nave appeared tndl lHs *a0"'N~N'NsN
gold pool and the like amount raised
for New York city obligations would
practically even up things, also that
the exports being much heavier thah
the imports. would gradually wipe out
all balances against us.
But Europe probably holds *o.-
o4o. 100000 to Sc, 900. 900. 600 of American
securities, and It is this great supply.
the fear of even partial liquidation OF
which keeps the doors of the New YORK
exchange closed. factor altogether
more important than any desire lot
window dressing valuations on the part
of insurance companies. banks and oth-
CT corporations at the end OF the year.
Investigation. directed especially at
headquarters of leading industrial cor
porations and railroads. has developed
the information that foreign holdings
of 1913 corporations amount to S'44
0000oU or 81 per cent OF their total
stock capitalization. with the stock OF
the United States steel Corporation
held abroad. 100000 shares. exceeding
those Of any other corporation by
large majority.
Pennsylvania is second and Southern
railway third in Importance of their
security holdings abroad. Most of the
Steel held abroad is common stock
' --,'ut,Vpv-IiS ulSS oeiiS ooSSo oA' 49,
value of stock.
Whether or not much of this stock
would be thrown on the market may be
ina gined by the intelligent reader.
That there would be a market for 1t is
certain, but at price.
Naturally the governors OF the stock
exchange banks and trust companies
loaded up with collateral loans. lnsur-
ance companies with large Investments
in securities-one and all are opposed
70 declines in stocks.
such as would follow an unlimited
opening with no provision for restrict
ing European dumping.
In time, with sufficient encouragement
from the seat of war. investors IN some
of the warning nations might find their
courage sufficiently raised to hold on to
investments, but that time is
not yet.
willing to listen to talk Of reopening OF
exchanges with more patience because
they believe efforts for regulation OF
big business will be less numerous in
the future. but the actual opening OF
the exchange in New York city is not
in sight.
Partial Reopenings Possible.
1t may be that partial reopenings will
initiate the resumption Of security
trading on Wall street and in Wash
ington Certain bonds. certain utility
stocks, certain rails. might be listed.
and an embargo placed on short selling
and all margin trading. In time addi-
tions to the trading list might broaden
the field.
A full, free. unrestricted trading
opening under exchange supervision Is
a long way off.
Seaboard Air Line Report.
The annual report of the Seaboard
Air Line for the fiscal year ending June
80, 1914, is at hand. Total gross earn
ings were s25,291.75s, as compared
with $24,527,s65 for the previous year
This gain in gross was entirely wiped
out by an increase in ssas operating .1s eS-
72o, 900 to $17,311.O00 The balance
sheet showed an increase in assets OF
Sc, ,633, 900, indi icatinE that the road hao
made many improvements and adol-
tions.
Financial Gossip.
Meeting of the governors OF the local
stock exchange this afternoon.
New York bank clearings saturday
were off s9S,000.O00.
Louisville & Nashville earnings for
the fourth week in October decreased
s450.0Oo.
Erie Railroad Company for Septem-
her decreased in operating income
s23S.727.
For the last two months the sales OF
the National Biscuit Company have de-
creased about 100000 month
General Electric bookings are on
70 per cent basis as compared with
business of Il year ago
New Haven in September increased
it's surplus 100000.
Mergenthaler.
The Boston News Bureau has this to
say on Mergenthaler:
..The Mergenthaler Linotype Company
Is a highly specialized American enter
prise whose business must obviously
suffer somewhat by reason of the Eu-
ropean cataclysm. The company's ma
chimes are used in every country in the
world. The export or foreign business
Of the MergenthaIer company is very
proportion of its total
business. The company itself does not
know exactly how many languages are
on linotype machines. 1t does
have definite knowledge of twenty two.
Its machines arc found in Iceland.
Siberia, in the interior of
Alaska and far up the Amazon. in the
nearly untraversed stretches of South
America.
"There arc several tallations in the
Andes mountains 10000 feet above sea
level. This total of twenty two differ
ent known languages requires an i'm
nense number of different faces of
types. Altogether the company has
produced, to meet different language
some 1000 different type
faces It's machines in Europe are en-
ployed not only in public printing
office. but in libraries and even in the
Vatican at Rome.
"A great portion of the foreign orders
arc manufactured at tho English and
German works. which are continuing in
partial operation. but there has been
serious interruption to exports to other
The war has put an immense stimu-
lus upon American newspapers. But
abroad the story is different. especially
in the belligerent countries, where
offices have been closed and
the size of papers radically curtailed.
News in the United States and Europe
Is a far different proposition.
The management of Mergenthaler is
fairly confident, however, that 1t will
be able, with its big. world wide bust
ness, to come through this war with
nothing more drastic than a possible
of the per cent extra divi-
dend, ma liking a straight 10 per cent re-
turn on the s12,799,600 capital stock"
It is more than likely to come through
with flying colors, paying all dividends.