The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-18
NEW YORK EXPERT REVIEWS SITUATION
 IN FINANCIAL WORLD

I
 CThe Barron Financial News servtce0
 New york. Sept. 1S-Action of the directors of the Cruc1ble Steel Co. in deferrtng the preferred dividend came as a. surprise to many of the share holders The company has made an exceptionally good showing over the past five years and the postponing of dividend action does not indicate a weak financial position. For the veal ended August 81, 1918, the company
 earned it's T per cent on the preferred,
 and there remained a, surplus equal to
 12.84 per cent. on the common. For the l four years to the end of August 31
 1913, the company averaged per cent Iannually on the preferred stock and I1-2 per cent. on the common. Fhe I tcompanys had a working capital of $15,50O, GOO, larger than that of either
 Bethlehem Steel. Republic Steel, Lack
 awanna Steel and other independent
 steel companies equal in size to the Crucib1e.
 transaction will be involved by the
 payment of November 1, semi-annua1
 interest on the 1-2 per cent. bonds
 of the New York Telephone Go There
 are approximately $37, 900 ,o0o or 50 per cent. Of these bonds issued as sterling
 securities and owned in England. The ] interest, therefore, will call for about $750, 900. These New York Telephone
 honds constitute the bulk of the Eur opean investment. in American Tele- ! phone Re11 systeHo bonds. There are
 some convertfbles held abroad, but they
 are but a small percentage of the New York Telephone bonds, and are straight dollar and not debenture se- curities. Very few of the American
 Telephone per cent. collateral trust, I bonds are understood to be held 4 abroad
 Dealers in bonds arc encouraged over
 the number of inquiries which they
 have recently received from intending 1 investors While there is no intention l of establishing an active market at the erness on the part of those controlling l supplies of idle capital to use 1t in the
 purchase of good bonds, tends to in | spire confidence for the future Bank CTS say a very conside eraib1e omaunt of
 CTS say a very considerable amount of l few weeks, and that if the, accumuIa- Il ton continues for a moderate further period of tine there may be such de- mand for investments as will prove a
 genuine surprise to Wall street in gem I ed.
 4 The list Of companies forced to sus-s pend dividend payments because of the badly unsettled business conditions
 consequent upon the war grows daily. I The latest announcement Of this na- I ture comes from the International I Harvester Corporation and refers to the common dividend. The following ] statement from President Cyrus Mc- ECormack explains the company's ac- ton in passing the dividend: 's4As re-
 suit of the European war the business of this corporation in the combating
 countries is almost at a standstilL
 Thus far no report of any damage to ! the plant or properties has been re- cefved. From present adv1ces we be-
 lieve that the corporatien's losses in el the countries at war will be less than we at first feared. but the situation in
 Europe makes it practically impossible to collect at the present a large portion Eof European conditions, the directors N ume Of business secured to date would under normal conditions provide pro II fits in excess of all the usual dividend
 requirements for the year, but Tn view 1 of the existing European conditions, the \ feel 1t would be unwise now to declare a dividend on the common stock of the corporation-" The International Har- 4 vester Company of New Jersey. which is a separate concern, has declared the regular quarterly dividend Of If per .i cent on the common stock.