The Washington herald., 1914-10-28
Steel COMMON
DIVIDEND CUT
$4,000 Stockholders VIII
Feel Reduction from 5 to
2 Per Cent.
PREFERRED LEFT ALONE
Showing for Third Quarter of Current
Year Slightly Better Than Three
Months Preceding.

| NIOnlIlS 7 ICCCQinS-
New York. Oct H.-Upward Of 5000
holders OF United States Steel common
stock in the United States and foreign
countries suffered a wartime cut in
their incomes today when the board Of
directors of the corporation reduced the
quarterly dividend from l IA per cent
| to 1-2 OF one per cent This takes the
stock from a per cent basis, on which
Il has been since 1910, to a per cent
basis
! In total dollars and cents this means
that the holders Of Steel common VIII
divide among themselves for the quarter
ended September 90 last, the sum OF
S2.5 SIS compared with a dividend dis
bursemept Of SS.35S,71 in preceding guar
ters. The outstanding common stock
totals sos 30. 800.
The dividend on the preferred stock
remains at Z per cent. Outstanding pre-
ferred stock amounts to $S6o,2l.ioO and
Is held by more than 5000 investors,
who also are scattered all over the world
The total disbursement in dividends for
the quarter on the preferred stock will
be $6.3O4,sl9.
In a statement accompanying the
notice Of a reduced common stock divi-
dend, E. II. Gary, chairman Of the board
said:
THE decision in regard to the dividend
was made with reluctance, but the di-
rectors were of the opinion that Il was
made necessary by the present conditions
in business and the prospects OF the
immediate future"
Felt on Curb.
The only market in which the reduced
dividend was felt was the New Street
the early hours of the day as high as
10 IA, but with the announcement OF the
dividend cut Il went down to s1-2, at
which figure II closed. This quotation Is
more than thirteen points below the
oficial New York Stock Exchange clos
ing price for Steel common which was
81 rs on July 3d. when $4,000 shares were
traded in at a range Of from IS 3-S TO
505-S
The slowing Of the Steel corporation
for the third quarter Of the present year
was slightly better than the preceding
quarter, but away below the figures
for the third quarter in 1913. For instance,
at the close OF business on September
20, 1914 the net earnings for the pre-
ceding three months amounted to So
Z76,OO0 compared with $50 E7.596 for the
preceding quarter, and SIS $4,000 in the
third quarter of 1913 There was avail
able for the surplus on September 20
last, So, ,479, compared with a deficit of
s., ,159. 81 in the June quarter. and a sur
plus of Sl1,34s, rs in the third quarter OF
1913
Ever since the outbreak Of the war the
steel industry has shown a slackening
tendency and It is said that at present
the steel mills OF the country are operat-
ing on a basis of from 45 to 30 per cent
Of capacity. A sharp falling on In steel
tonnage orders was experienced in Sep
tember.
Railroads Are Factor.
One Of the factors back Of the slacken-
ing in the steel trade was the railroads
failure to buy nsy equipment, which was
attributed to the great reduction in rail-
road revenues in both passenger and
freight departments. For the first six
months of the current year the steel cor !
poration had suffered in earnings so |
that the common stock dividends due
June 30 were paid by drawing from the J
surplus Net earnings. however, were |
more than 5000. 900 better in the second |
quarter than in the first and showed /
corresponding increase in the third !
quarter.
Fluctuations in the dividend rate OF /
Steel common are more widely felt than ,
in any other industrial issue in any |
country. No other stock is so widely /
held. For instance. after war had been |
waging in Europe for a month. having |
been preceded by heavy liquidation of |
American securities by European invest
ors, there were held in Europe on August .
81 just 1,546o35 shares OF Steel common
and preferred, only 4l.O4 shares under
the total foreign holdings on June 30. In
the depression in the American stock
market in 1907 between SIS. 900 900 and $20-
100000 in Steel shares were shipped
abroad. the bulk being taken by investors
in Holland.
Employees VIII Feel Cut.
Among those who will get less than
they expected are several thousand en-
ployes OF the Steel corporation. In all.
49, ,49S employees bought Steel shares in
1918, but the company in its reports does
not say how many took common and
how many preferred. The purchases by
these 1898 employees last year aggre-
gated 296 shares of preferred and a, $50 |