The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-28

l REVIEWS SITUATION IN FINANCIAL WORLD CT'he Barron Financial News Service) New York, Dec. 2S-Some interest has been attracted in Wall Street by the movement which has been started by some influential brokers to have the minimum prices abolished. This view is taken on the grounds that normal conditions have been re-established and those in favor of such action are actively exerting themselves in an eff fort to overcome the opposition to the proposal. They admit that the clos ing of the stock exchange on July 30 was the only thing that could have been done at the time to avert a panic and that in the existing emergency it was necessary to establish fixed mini mum prices which would be accepted by the banks as a proper basis in the valuation of collateral securing hrok- ers' loans. However, it is their opin- ino that since the reopening of the ex- change an opportunity has been af- forded for the liquidation of weakly held stock, and that it has been dern- onstrated that the fear of a. flood of liquidation by foreign holders was the merest kind of bugaboo. There is considerable opposition to the pro- poSal, and some brokers go as far as l to say that adherence to the original minimum quotations should have beeu even more rigid than it has been. They argue that there has not been suff- cient opportunity for thorough nqui- Idation of weakly held accounts and that with the minimum prices abolish ed. the market mightt be swamped with selling orders in the Eevent of develop ments of an unfavorable nature.
 l The bank statement Saturday was not a very good one, Etlowing as it did a decrease of more than eight million dollars in surplus reserve. The iH- crease in loans was negligible, but 1 there was a, decrease of ST, 300, ,0Oo in re- serve which was mainly responsible for the falling off in surplus reserve. The loss in cash was attributable to the holiday demand both locally and out of town. The currency movement during the week displayed heavy ship
 ments to the interior.
 l Final outcome of the Rock Island tangle, so far as the two holding com panies were concerned, was what most
 bond experts considered it should be. It followed the letter of the indenture securing the collateral trust bonds of
 the Chicago, Rock Island 6 Pacific
 Railroad company. Holders of those bonds got the stock of the operat- ling company as their share of the pro-
 ceeds Of the sale of the stock. Stock
 holders of the Rock Island company,
 the second removed holding company, lget nothing, which was the exact
 amount of legal claim they had to any
 fault and foreclosure on the collateral bonds.
 The eWestchester Lighting company,
 whose maximum electricity and gas
 rates have been ordered reduced by l the Public Service Commission is a tzz.-M Al Icompany. The latter owns all the outstanding $2.5O0.00o preferred and $10, ,000, 900 common of the Westchester lcompany. The parent company has received no dividends on either class of stock. The reductions ordered in the Westchester company's rates are
 figured at from 20 to 25 per cent. The Ecompany5 has not yet been able to I report a surplus after charges.
 CT. L. Watson & Co.3
 Perhaps it was the usual rule od selling on good news that caused the sharp reaction in the stock mar ket, following the victory of the rail- Iroads in the per cent. rate case Possibly there has been more hqlida- tfon for foreign account than had beer | suspected or is ascertainabIe. Con sideFing the restricted size of specula- ton, however it seems likely that pro fessional effort has had much to dc
 with the declines. What may be af- I hrmed safely is that in many respects l all the recent tendencies of actua, events have been favora ble. By ou1 | heavy excess of merchandise exports soon after the war began, coupled witt lthe provision made for New York city. foreign. payments, we have virtuaI1y distinguished the debt balance againss
 us and if there is no unexpected
 change in the drift we shall enter tn.
 new year as a, creditor instead of $
 debtor Nation to Europe. The move ment of the exchange markets is con.
 hFmatory. Monetary tendencies ar, emphasized by the reduction in tn,
 discount rate of the Imperial Banl
 of Germany from 6 per cent to pel cent. Even the steel industry report.
 new buying greater in December thai
 in last month. though prices still re
 main unsatisfactory. The reopenin, of the London Stock Exchange on Jan
 has been officially settled upon. Per haps then we shall have closer finder Of the international current Of Ameri
 can securities. At any rate, tempor ary depression should not lead us t, forget the great Fundamental value
 in this country. Improvement neces sariiy will be slow after such convuI
 sions as August witnessed but it i
 well worth considering whether mar
 ket prices are not refIecting condition slowly passing away and not tEos
 which arc developing many reason for encouragement.