Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-03-18
Passing Impressions Of Finance
By Louis Guenther
Editor of the Financial World

less than $4,000 year for each part
ner Rather slim Is 1t not for the
great risk this banking house had to
assume?
But the Morgan statement Will not
settle the controversy which has been
raging about the New Haven. 1t re-
iates only to the firms connection with
the system as it's bankers, and throws
no light on the now famous Account
NO. z, with its s11,000,000 which the
New York World and the Interstate
commerce Commission declare has
vanished In thin air. Nor does the
Morgan statement offer any explana-
tion regarding another 0O,00O,0O0
1or winch the Commission has been OH
stlll hunt for some time President
Elllott declares the road will, issue a.
flnanclal statement of its own which Is
now awaited with great deal of in
terest. If the promised statement dis
pels all suspicion that the New Haven
property was not looted, 1t will yindi-
cate the past management of the road
from all charges of dishonesty. but
will not succeed in relieving them from
criticism, as present difficulties un-
questionably are due to an overween-
ing ambition toward monopoly in
the extreme
Agricultural implememnt stocks
nave suffered materially from the
| financial troubles OF the M. Rumely
Co. Since March, 1913, Case Thresh-
ing Machine pfd. has dropped SIS
share; Deere pfd. SO; International
Harvester common Sc; Rumely pfd
S51, common $63; Studebaker common
So; and pfd. 50. The only agricultural
implement stock to advance has been
International Harvester preferred
which has gone up over IS a share
within the year. The difficulties this
class of companies has to contend
with, is in the keen competition for
business resulting in an extension of
| liberal credit to farmers accepting
notes, the collection of which Is slow
AS result of such credits the COM
panies find themselves short of work.
| ing capital.
A direct appeal to the public for
capital has again vindicated itself by
the success of the Third Avenue Rail-
road in selling a new issue of $4,000
600 bonds. President Whitridge wish
ed to do this financing at the least
expense to the company, so he invited
bids by advertising with the result
that the issue was subscribed four
times over. If a corporation has
! SOOu security 1T can sell 1t, banker or
no banker. Massachusetts has sold
! her bonds over the counter, so have
the cities of Baltimore and Chicago.
While it Is not as rapid process as
getting check from a banking house,
the plan nevertheless is as effective
Bankers, however, in the end, are the
most economical, as they cooperate
with corporations when the financial
skies are clouded as well as when the
goose honks high and securities may
readily be sold.
President Schwab's role of Gloomy
Gus was not supported very well by
the earnings of the Bethlehem Steel
as 1t earned nearly 80 per cent. for
the common last year. At this rate
any one can afford to play the role OF
a prophet of evil. Schwab's pessimism
may have been put on for effect to in
| 1uence Congress to deal less harShly
with the duties on steel products.
| George Westinghouse will always
| live in the endearing memory of the
shareholders of the Westinghouse
| Electric, for 1t was his strong will and
his fighting abilities that eventually
won out in reorganizing the company
in 1908 without an assessment Share
holders who could voluntarily come to
the company's assistance were allowed
to subscribe to new stock, and those
who could not afford to spend any
more money were not frozen out
! Westinghouse was a type of man who
represented all that was ideal from
an investors point of view.