The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-29
OIL COMP PANIES, IN FIGHT FUR TRADE
 CUT THEIR PRICES
-lBaron Financial News. la

New York. July 2s-The oil price war betweens the various Standard compan-. les and independents continues 1n- abated Cuts of from two to seven cents a barrel have just been made in crude in the Pennsylvania field while refEners almost daily cut from their quotations. The effect on earn 1ngs will be enormous, for they will represent millions of dollars when ap- piled to all of the refining companies engaged i'm this contest for supremacy. The Texas company, formerly controll- ed by the. John W. Gates interests end the Gulf Refining company, controil- ed by the Melons of Pittsburgh. have been the most aggressive in the price war against the former Standard oil subsidiaries and they have encroached very materially upon the territory for merly held against all attack by the one-time trust.
 One of the beneficial results of the European war scare upon America. has been the appreciation in market value of more than $20, ,0O0,000 to the coun- try's wheat crop. This was accom- piished in three business days. Ex- port demand for this commodity has already exceeded 25.000, GOO bushels, most of which goes by the way of the Gulf s
 TRe caanin failure is proving more of a mudeie than was expected Nby those who have undertaken the firms .reorgnni1ation. Drastic stens have been found necessary by the note holders committee, who have cut down the estimate of assets from Sb6, ,O00.0O0 fo about $SO00o. GOO. The former hg- ure was teported by the receivers who baAed their report on statements of an arooun ting nrn1. one of the moss severe bits of pruning was accom- plinhed' i'm the holding Of United Dry Gcodh stock from part to one-fourth that value.
 saaee of Baltimore arid Ohio Railroad com1zson and preferred shares have been made on the stock exchange when teifvered. This Indicates that some Of the Union Pacific utockholders have been turning their portion of the Fl. A Q. distrfbution into cash. If. however, these holders have been sell- Ing their B. e O., yet to be delivered. with the idea that they received from the Union Pacific a ''meion.' they hav2 labored under a delusion, for this dimtrfhu0cn was nothing more nor less chan disburseHnent of part of their capital.
 Should these holders desire to retain the same return on the original in- vestnent made in Union Pacific shares they will have to hold the Baltimore 6E Ohio stock allotted to them. as the Union Pacific dividend rate has been reduced from 10 per cent. to g per cens. annual basis.
 That in some parts of the automo- bile industry prosperity reieng was evil. deneed by the six monthe' statement of earnings of the Stakeholder Cor poratton- Up to June So there was available for dividends s3, OPT s44 as compared with $1.s04,z1s for the full calendar year 1913 LiabiTities during the first half of this year were re- duced by $2.216s000; cash on hand at the end of tho period amounted to $s,- 22es0o0.
 A three year extension Of Interna- tional G Great Northern Hallway $11,- 0o0.000 per cent. notes due August has been agreed upon by George J Gould and the Gould estate As to whether the extension agreement fn- wolves a change in interest rate or substitution of more collateral has not yet been announced.
 B-F- Goodrich CO, one of the coun- try's leading tire manufacturing com pantes, showed net profits of @, 651 900 In the first half of 1913. There was ap- -ErDpriated amount sufficient to re- tire $s00,oo par value or preferred stock.