The Washington herald., 1914-02-21

an assessment of so on both common and
preferred stock.
The Equitable Life Assurance Society
as preferred stakeholder of Union Pa
cific Is considering plans through counsel
to bring suit to restrain Union Pacific
from distributing Baltimore and Ohio
stock and extra cash payment TO COM
mon holders. This action has no connec-
ton with the othe. suit already filed by
some Union Pacific preferred holders.
The stockholders of Atlantic Coast Line
Of Connecticut voted TO reduce the capt.
tai stock from sl1.649.oo0 to S.seo.ooo and
tc distribute from the assets of the COM
pany to stockholders in exchange for the
retired stock s17,64o. 900 Of Atlantic Coast
Line Railroad Company common stock
There are signs that an overflow from
the investment market has begun. In
other words. accumulated funds are be-
coming impatient over the scarcity OF
bond offerings and are INDUCING in spec
ulative tendencies. Orders to buy are I'M
der the stock market. for the purchase
Of high-grade rails and industrial pre-
ferred stocks.
THE New York Centrars earning
power" says a very conservative inter-
est, lis per cent. including returns from
equities" One-third Of the loss Of ST.
10000 for 1872 of the entire system result
ed from the Western floods on the Big
-Four, which is controlled through the
Lake Shore. and the latter has not re-
ceived any dividends from Big -Four since
1910, so that very little attention need be
IGid to it or the Lake Shore loss The
Lake Shore is in good shape. 'Unprofit-
able investments arc mentioned as a
possible cause for the recent selling OF
New York Central stock.
In the judgment OF weIl-informed in
terests. the snow covering wheat has had
by the recent storms more than offset
the adverse effect on transportation lines,
for the reason that big crops mean heavy
tonnage later.
A foreigner who visited Wall Street yes
torday was greatly surprised over the bill
in Washington to restrict dealings on the
stock exchange. He said that IL is the
present policy in Europe TO encourage
the exchanges. and in substantistion OF
his remarks he pointed TO the recent es-
tablishment of cotton exchanges at Bre-
men and Brussels
\ company has been formed for COM
pressing natural gas from the West Vir-
ginia and Oklahoma fields into a liquid,
and to distribute the product over the
country for Illuminating and power pur-
poses. The inventors Of the process say
that liquid Gas will give or 40 cubic
feet OF gas for each one cubic foot OF
the liquid.
After compression the liquid gas is to
h. placed in tanks which withstand a
pressure Of i.5So pounds to the square
inch. but the gas will be put into the
tanks at tOD pounds pressure to the
square inch. The problem OF compress
sing and selling natural gas in this form
has been often discussed but natural
-ss men have said that IL is impractical
Whether the process of the new COM
pany will be a success cannot now be
told, but IL it proves commercially sue
Cessful il may open up a new industry
for the great natural gas fields Of the
country.
y. l.. Carpenter & Co.-Livcrpool was
the chief cotton buyer early and this,
together with shorts covering for the
three holidays. made the best prices for
the day. The market was sold in the
afternoon on weekend figures which
were construed as bearish. There was
no news Of fresh interest. Opinions are
about evenly divided. bulls looking for
spot demand and heavy March commit
ments to advance prices, while bears look
to new crop prospects and lack Of spec
Ulation TO depress quotations.