Evening star., 1914-12-26
MONEY FOR PAYMENTS
READILY 0BTA|NABLE
Reserves Released by New Banking
Law Aids Corporations to
Obtain Funds.
Reopening Of London Stock Ex-
change Under Many Restrictions.
No Activity on Wall Street.
BY I. A. FLEMING.

Preparations for the disbursement Of
millions of dollars on dividend and in
terest accounts. to be made with the
advent of the new year. are going on
quite generally. Many of the larger
corporations have completed their ar
rangements, and have been able to do
so this year without material trouble.
The large surplus reserves released by
the establishment of the federal re-
serve system have been largely re-
sponsible for the comparative ease or
the money market In New York and
few large users of money have had any
difficulty in obtaining needed require
ments.
While this has been true with regard
| to New York city. it has not been the
case generally. A very large part of
the reserves of the banks In the federal
! reserve system are carried in the
| regional banks, and according to bank
ers have been of little actual value to
the market, nor yet earning anything
been the case were the reserves held In
central reserve cities, where per cent
interest would have been paid.
| Bankers, business men and bond
houses. as we'll as stock brokers, are
Hooking for material improvement
the millions of disbursements may rea-
sonably be expected to benefit the sit
luation.
| Bankers, however, are disposed to
will not encourage anything of a spec
lulative character nor anything that
looks like overeXponsion until ccndi-
tions have still further improved.
Security Situation.
London reopens it's security market
January 4, under very strict rules and
regulations. Arbitrage trading will be
frowned on. sales will be for cash only,
and atfidavits are required that transac-
| tons will not directly benefit an enemy.
Bidding for or offering stock openly in
the market will be prohibited. and every
| transaction must be recorded and ap-
proved by the committee. Trading in
| American securities will not be permitted
| below the minimum prices Of July 80.
All in all, it will be a well restricted
market, and yet important enough to have
| direct bearing on Americans.
| Wall street business this morning was
on very limited scale. The great ma
jority of stocks were neglected and but
few appeared on the ticker Traders are
indifferent about taking any chances and
investors do not find the situation suf-
iciently attractive to tempt them
!
show decreases. Proposed increases in
l1ightering charges suggested by the inter-
state commerce commission have been
held UP by that body from January 1 to
May l.
The few stocks that were traded in
showed decided strength, indicating some
little window dressing for the benefit of
investors. but in nothing on the list was
there anything approaching activity.
Reading opened e lower and rallied to
int xIx-,.
gam. Lehieh Valley gained points,
New York Central. l y Erie, az :; Union
| Pacific. i; Baltimore and Ohio. l. and
bethlehem Steel, points. Beet sugar
was higher.
| The advances noted were NOT made
with frequent sales. but scored On a
tew. transactions. They were likewise
about the only stocks in the list an
| pearinE on the ticker
Financial Gossip.
| The Washington stock exchange was
not in session today.
| Directors of the Commercial Nationa,
Bank voted a 2A per cent dividend to
| the shareholders. and gratuity of 6
per cent on the salaries of the en-
| ployes.
Twelve hundred coke ovens have
| been started in the Connelsville district.
after weeks of idleness.
The BALTIMORE and Ohio is said to be
! in the market for 10000 tons of rails
and the Pennsylvania for ,OO 900 tons.
| Missouri Pacific: earnings for the
third week in January decreased sl62,-
! 900.
3 per cent semi-anuual ..videna
will be paid by the Wells Fargo Com
pany Express.
| Average daily bank clearings OF
banl5 of the United States for 1914 to
/ date We're s4O7. 0Z3,tv0. as compared
with S49S.10S,000 in 1914