The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-06-03
"MOP" SAVED FROM
 RECEIVERSHIP BY GOULD AND BANKER
6Barron Financial News.)

New York June 3.-The threatened receivership- for Missouri Pacific has been averted by the offer of Speyer & Go. and the Jay Gould estate to pur- chase any of the $20.ooO'o ooO June l notes not deposited under the exten- sion agreement. Approximately $20.- 25O 900 of the old notes have been de- posted, leaving $4,750.000 to be paid off by the bankers and the Gould es- tate The notes thus purchased will be deposited for extension. This will avoid any criticism that might be di- rected against the company for pay ing off any part of the notes with cash. inasmuch as the notes will not be purchased by the company, but bY the Speyers and GouIds independent | Iy; and the purchaser notes will De exchanged dor the new one-year SIX per cent notes under the company's s offer.
 ' The International Cotton Mills, in which a consid erable amount of New England capital is invested. is doing substantially better in the. current year in the matter of earnings than last year. Some 5000. GOO notes of the company were sold last year to New Enzland investors, and, it is under stood that interest on these notes k being earned more than twice over.
 A question that is exciting com. ment in financial circles where the affairs of railroads receive close att tention is whether Reading will De able to meet its dividend and sinking fund requirements with the current years earnings. > The requirements are ss, 900, 900. distributed as follows: Sinking fund $500, 900; per cent div idends on first and second preferred stocks, $2. 800, 900; 8 per cent. dividend on common stock, $5, 500, 900.
 At the end of April the surplus ap-. plicable to dividends amounted to $6,- 900, coo leaving a $2,0O0, 900 surplus to be earned in May and June. Even the most optimistic. expect a surplus from earnings of no more than $1, 2O0,- 900 in May and June, which would be $500, GOO short of requirements.
 Tn this situation, directors will prob ably draw from the cash resources Of the Req ding Iron Go. These resources drawn upon since June, 1911, when the Reading Iron Co. declared cash dividend of $1, COG, 900.
 The Southern Aluminium Co. has is- sued $7. .O00, GOO six per cent, bonds, pro ceeds to be used in meeting construc- tton program now under way. Water power capable of developing 0,OO0 horse power will be installed, which will necessitate the erection of huge dam, the cost of which is estimated at $z, ,000, ,OOO. Not for at least a year will the Southern Go start operations 10 any S4BCIIs o41c b4AO s~AA- nual production has been placed at 50, O00 pounds of aluminium, a1- though at the start the output will not exceed 25. 1000. 900 pounds a year
 Boston & Maine's troubles are more the result of operating difficulties than financial nisnnanagement. For the past i've fiscal years. or since the business depression set in following the 1907 panic, the road has shown a steady increase in gross earnings, av- eraging about per cent a year. But the gain of $s, 50O, 900 in this way over the earnings of 1908 has been practi- calIy all lost in the operation of the road.
 Net earnings after operating ex- penses show an increase of only $776,- GOO for the five years. In the first nine month of this year, moreover with $1, 100000 smaller gross, net was almost that much behind the same period of last; year. Therefore this year will see net earnings reduced be- low those of the panic year.
 This poor response in net to increaS- es in gross earnings in the past five years has been due to the fact that it costs Boston & S1eSs1z151 nearly 50 cents to handle every dollars worth of traf- hc. It's transportation ratio last year was 4760 per cent. In 1910 it could not be reduced below A per cent. So far this year 1t has been practically 1 the same as last Of the $9, 500, 900 gross increase in the past five years, approximately $4,500, ,00o was eaten up | by higher transportation expenses.