The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-10
IN FINANCIAL CIRCLES

has been waged in the tobacco trade during the past year, the Liggett & Meyers Go. 4 per cent extra dividend and the excellent showing of the an nual report are ample proof that this company lost no ground. The sur plus, as reported by the annual re-. port for the year ended December 31, 1913, amounted to $8,8O8,666. an in-s crease of $1,18s, ,480. It was announc-s ed at the annual meeting that stock holders will be called in special ses- sion to authorize an issue of ST, S76, 100 additional per cent. cum llative pre- ferred stock. Stockholders will have the privilege of subscribing for Fhis stock in cash at par in the proportion of one share of new preferred stock preferred or common, now held.
 The report is current in speculative circles that Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing shares are being ac- cumulated by prominent Wall street interests. This report is lent color by ply of the stock and the readiness with which it advances under bid ding. The company is making gratifying progress in paying off notes without resort to new financing.
 New Haven probably has many
 more friends now than 1t had before J.. P. Morgan & Go. made public their
 
 their financial relations with the road in fhe last twenty years. In financial circles the live1iest comment is aTous- ed by the statement that on financial transactions Of $330,000,000 for the road the banking house profted to the extent of only $350.O00. New Haven aa we'll as many other railroads and individual enterprises,s will be bene- fitted by this frank document which will take the wind out of many groundless charges against the inte- gritty of the corporations and financial institutions.
 For che first time since the dissolu- ton Of the Standard Oil Co. Salar Re- lining Co. has made public in it's an nuad report for 1913, statement of net profits, which made an agreeable le showing to stockholders. They amounted to se25.724. equal to more than A6 per cent. on the increased capital of $2,0oO, ,00O and equivalent to 185 per cent. on. the old capitalize ton of $500.000.
 Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul has postponed indefinitely the work of double tracking between Minneapolis and Aberdeen, South Dakota a dis ta,ce of 2ss miles of which 40 miles has already been double tracked. The remaining 143 miles were to have been laid with rails this spring.
 Bangor B Aroostoolkss January gross earnings were $315,64T. an increase of $102,556- Net amounted to $94,754, an increase of $66,So5.
 The report in foreign exchange quarters chat $2,000, ,000 gold bars will be engaged for export to Paris this week was denied by a. prominent banking house which usually arranges for the movement of the yellow metal between here and France. This firm is authority for the statement that there will probably be no gold ship ped for some time to come.
 While the general steel trade has slowed up since the middle of last month the Cambria Steel Go. is operat- ing its plant at 86 per cent to 88 per cent of capacity. The company has booked a. large volume of orders since the first of the year largely for its higher grade products, such as tool steel, etc
 The Copper Producers Association s report for the month of February re- veals a decrease of almost 5000, ,000 pounds in stocks of the metal on hand
 March 1. Stocks now stand at 78,- 317.852 pounds. While deliveries fell off slightly, there was a rather sharp falling off in production which was largely accountable for the decrease in supplies.
 wan Street Defined. CThe Engineering and Mining Jour nal.)
 A writer thus lists the classes who are interested in affairs of the Stock
 Exchange: There are bankers, in vestors, speculators, professi onals, manipuIafors (alfhough Stock Fix change officials now deny this), lambs, insiders, outsiders, bullss bears, plung- CTS, cnques, fools and syndicates.' 2 He might have added wolves, sharks, hogs and some others. And if this purview had taken in the curb mark ct, his Characterization might have been even more extensive.
 Expert Appratses Public Utility Sc curifies.
 (Power.)
 Those who doubt the stability Of public utility securities will be reIiev- l ed to learn that the average annual amount Of securities in receivers 1 hands per $100 of outstanding securi- ties for the past 30 years has been as follows: Gas and electric conipanies, 37 cents; national banks, SIPS; rail roads, $1.e4, and industrial establish ments, $2.07. These figures include all gas and electric companies and steam railroads in the United States and all industrial concerns large enough to have been mentioned in financial re- ports. Government reports. however, for this period, show that water-pow- CT development increased by nearly 200 per cent, which Is even greater than the combined utilities Hence. it may be assumed that the net earn ings as stated fairly represent those on water-power developments and that instead of representing a risk they are actually safe and attractive | investments.
 In spite. of an, increase in railroad securities of 64 per cent during the last decade, the rate of net earnings has remained fairly constant, averag- ! ing about 425 per cent. The increase in tndustrfsa1 securities was less than 20 per cent and the net earnings aver aged 7.79 per cent, although with vto'- lent fluctuations. In striking con- trast has been the increase in gas and