The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-26
NEW YORK EXPERT REVIEWS SITUATION
 .IN FINANCIAL WORLD
CBarron Financial News servicel

(BarROn E1nanC1aI N eWS SeTV1Ce)
 New York, December 26-The em- bargo placed by Great Britain on ex- ports of rubber from England or from any of the British possessions will work untold harm on the rub Der industry of this country as it will keep from United States manufactur
 CTS much needed raw supplies. The rubber interests therefore, although not joining hands with copper ~peo- pqe, are in much the same plight as the copper metal people who have been waging a fight for free ship ments of their product to neutral Eu@ ropean countries without English in- terferepce. The outlook for rubber manufacturers however; based upon lack of accomplishment of any good by the copper producers, would not appear particularly bright. A nun Der of New England plants will be materially effected if they are unable to secure raw rubber supplies. This is particularly true! of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts where the United States Rubber Co operates a number of plants in com pany operates number of plants in competition with independent con- cerns.
 The reduction by the Pennsylvania Company operating Pennsylvania Railroad lines West of Pittsburgh, of it's dividend from. ' to 4 per cent an nualIy came as a surprise to the Street and left throughout the financial dis trict a rather blue trail it indicat- ed to some bankers at least that the parent corporation, Pennsy hVania Railroad, might be obliged in the near future to cut it's rate from per cent The newly formed New York Central Railroad company just after aorgani- zaIio44 declared a regular quarterly dividend of 1-4 per cent, although the date of payment was retarded two weeks pas the regular dividend day. =
 While freight traffic has been very irregular this fiscal year, as to the tonnage of each railroad, there, has been not much disparity in the load ing of the Western lines as eompar- ed with one another, but there have been a, few striking exceptions; The Atchison and the Illinois Central have been showing respectively the largest relative increases and decreases which is explained by. their coal ton mage. Illinois Central is a, great coal carrier but loading has been light re- gently owing to the mild. weather. An other explanation, however, not so obvious, is the grain, movement The Atchison has fared well in this re- spect owing to it's proportion of mile age running through the best winter wheat area, Kansas in particular. H. Hnois, which is a big corn producing
 
 crop this year. That the Illinois, Cen tral did not get more to haul and Atchison had to declare embargoes on grain at Galveston, is explained by the fact that most of the Iong-haul traffic wheat is hard, whereas most porters do not want soft wheat as a rule, and furthermore Illinois farm CTS have not been heavy sellers of corn this year. 6
  the directors of the Virginia Carolina Chemical Company directors in pass ing the 2 per cent dividend on the $2o, 100000 outstanding preferred stock President Morgan pointed out that this step was advisable under ex- isting conditions. He told the board that the company received large amounts of cotton and small amounts of cash in payments of it's outstanding bills and accounts receivable, and as the divid end, if declared, would be paid in cash, this would depIeEe cash on hand and in banks materially The company has paid 2 per cent quarter 1y dividends on the preferred. stock l continuously. since 1896.
 (Henry Clews)
 Until peace prospects are motre def I mite stock market operations will l have to be kept within conservative l Ii inits. few stocks will benefit by | the war, but all would benefit by l peace; and all purchases whether on l investment or speculative account | should be made with both ,discrfmina- tion and conservatism. Our exports I continue large and exchange is not | far from the gold importing point. | More or less foreign liquidation has taken place, but tHe offerings from l thence. have thus far been readily | absorbed. The steel industry shows | symptoms of improvement and the decision not to reduce wages is re- garded as an expression of greater confidence in the future. Dividend reductions exerted relatively small ef- | feet upon market values, having evi- dently been discounted in advance.