New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-15
Recovery of Gould Issues
Helps to Brighten a
Gray Market.
EUROPE THOUGHT TO
BE THROUGH SELLING
Belief General That New Haven
Will Not Seek Protection
of the Courts.

able surprise IN yesterdays MARKET
Ii Was taken in some quarters as re.
Aecting the end of foreign selling OF
Americans, though Canadian Paclne
and Missouri, Kansas & Texas sun
left something TO be desired. seen
from abroad, the weakness IN thesJ
issues in recent days must have looked
very much like Generalization, and at
a distance of 5000 miles, with FRISCO
and Rock Island oil too fresh IN mlnd,
discretion naturally suggests itseil as
the better part of valor. international
bankers do not believe that Europe IS
likely 10 recover too quickly from us
MANY rights over Americans; recover,
that is, TO the extent of buying stocks
here freely again. But neither DO
they think that Europe is altogether
prejudiced against American securl-
ties because of what has happened 10
few of them.
Question for the Sphinx.
There was an Interstate Commerce
Commission ten years ago and Mas,
sachusetts Railroad Commission said
a broker Yesterday. New Haven did
not do all that il is blamed for IN
1914 or 1918, but it was doing IL Tor
wears. What | can't understand is,
what are all these commissions lot II
bud. They could not have looked any
different to the commissions in l9lO,
for instance, or 1908, than they 90
now. But where were the commls"
sions?"
New Haven and the Others.
Mellen's failure as a financial al
chemist does not affect Southern "a
cifc's earnings nor Illinois CentraIS.
81 Aho Stock
fluctuations are quite as likely TO pc
caused by technical conditions within
the market as by variations in the
profts of the companies the stocks
REPRESENT. A railroad is as able TO pay
dividends when its shares are selling
at 90 as when they arc at 40. All OF
which is by way of saying that be-
csuse the Interstate Commerce Com
mission puts out a report on New
Haven that is disconcerting even to
those who know the facts there is no
reason for assuming that good is 10
he found in none of the railroads and
that every stock in the list IS TO be
looked at with suspicion and distavor'
There is evidence TO show that wnat
is by far the majority of railroads IN
This country are managed with ability
and honesty. Il is not only pity nut
an absurdity that the many should be
forced 10 suffer. in the declines OF
their stocks, for the sins of the few.
Unearned Punishment.
As everybody knows, real investor
suffers no loss merely because shares
of the company in which he is part
ner are temporarily quoted IN the
market at a lower price than that at
which he bought. The fact may cause
him anxiety because of what IT seems
10 implv. but so long as his DIVIDENDS
are coming in regularly he loses noth-
ing. The company whose stock may
be depressed out of sympathy with
other issues, however, usually does
suffer to a degree Corporations are
continually borrowing money through
the sales of bonds or notes. Inc price
they have TO pay for their borrowings
depends largely on their credit, and
their credit is measured by the lend
ing public by the prices of their out
standing securities. When some cor
porations are in trouble for reasons
peculiar to themselves others suffer,
often through no fault of their own,
but merely because they are assocl-
ated in peoples minds as railroad or
industrial companies, with the weaker
CORPORATIONS, which are also railroad or
industrial companies. lntrinslcaily
thew NAV be perfectly sound and often
are, but they suffer none the less.
Pacific Coasts Dividends.
Not so many people own any OF the
stocks of the Pacific Coast Company
that the reduction of its dividends yes
terday was a matter of any moment to
the stock market There are outstand-
inc only $4,000 Of common stock,
S1.525, 600 Of first preferred and $4,000
900 of second preferred, and control is
in the hands Of a small number or per-
sons. The stocks seldom figure in. the
daily trading on the exchange. way
back in the early sos, when the Ore,
gon e. Transcontinental Company ana
the willard pool" were things of con-
sequence, the Oregon Improvement
Company. which was the forerunner OF
the Pacific Coast Company, had
rather picturesque career and great
things were expected from it through
the booming of the great West. 1t
owned steamship lines and railroads.
including the Seattle & Walla Walla,
coal mines, timber lands and wheat
lands, dock properties, ETC., all along
the Pacific Coast from Alaska to South
ern California. Some of these things
the present company. still possesses,
along with its own acquisitions, and 1t
mas Deen dDlt W pay SVOu dA'ANShN"
a number of years. From its steamship
business in the year ended June, 1918,
il got S1S4,634 net and from its rail
lines s226,449. The coal department
brought it in S771 OPS. After the pay.
ment of dividends it had balance OF
S66,76S.
New Haven's Future.
The chance that receivership may
be resorted to by the New Haven to
relieve itself of such membranes as
the guarantee on the New York, West
chester L Boston bonds has been dis
eussed d the Street, and the general
opinion seems TO be that the step will
not be taken. Predictions arc guarded,
however. because the break in the
Westchester bonds is still unrepaired
and there is no knowing what to-day's
meeting of the directors will result in.
The principal argument against the
idea of a receivership is that the COM
pEny only two months ago put out new
notes, and it would hardly have done
that if there had been even remote
idea Of seeking the protection of the
courts. Operating conditions since that
time, too, have improved, rather than
the contrary.