The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1915-10-01
News of the Iron and Steel Trade
TRADING in War
STOCKS FRENZIED
Real Information Given Out by
Some Companies Has Little
Effect.
(By IRA N. STEEL.)

(By IRA N. STEEL.)
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Sept. 3d.
The spirit of speculation was again
rampant last week. Professional
Wall street and the "outside pub
lie" were equally active. In the
dozen or so stocks in which the ,ex-
; cited speculation conferred, advances
of 6 to 9 points were numerous, while
one rose Is points, another 20 and
another no less than II. Toward the
close Of the week, buying converged
upon the railroad shares, although the
advances in this class were not strik-
ing.
The so per cent cash dividend de-
clared by the directors of the General
Motors Co. seems to have given the
war stocks additional momentum, un-
modified by the official announcement
that the prosperity of the company
making such a distribution was not
due primarily to the war, since no
'war orders" had been placed with
any Of the company's subsidiaries in
this country. More real information
concerning some of the so-called war
stocks was obtained last week than
has been given out since the upward
flight of those shares began.
President C. A. Starbuck, of the
New York Air Brake Co., stated that
the closing of an additional order for
cartridge cases, amounting to $685.
900, brought the total orders for war
material now on the company's books
to $20,242,6O0. The directors of the
Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.
gave out a statement that the COM
pany has received firm contracts for
the manufacture of war munitions ag-
gregating approximately $6O,000,0 900.
Wall street had never uttered a sum
less than $1OO,0O0,OOO in the same
breath with Westinghouse.
Not since the war began have there
been so many rumors Of great variety
concerning deals proposed and under
way for new industrial combinations
and for additions to plant capacity,
based upon abnormal profits growing
out of war orders. The name Of prac-
tically all the leading iron and steel
companies have been named in con-
nection with some mysterious merger
or other In some cases these stories
have been used as basis for advanc-
ing stock prices, in others have been
offered as an. explanation, for ,ad
vances. Heavy buying of Baldwin
Locomotive and Colorado Fuel was
attributed to the Du Pont powder
interests and Charles NJ. Schwab. In
this way Wall street accounted for
Colorado Fuel having sold at 56A, as
against As SO week ago, 81 3-4
year ago.
The news of the negotiations for the
Anglo-French credit was cheerful.
Ample authority is said to exist for
the statement that the main details
have been arranged and that all that
remains is to provide the underwriting
facilities to insure beyond question it's
complete success. Naturally there
have been attempts to complicate the
transactions such as demands that the
proceeds of the loan will not be used
directly as payment for war NUM-
tions. The commissioners from Lon
don and Paris have won widespread
praise for their frankness and for the
tact with which they have handled
the delicate negotiations.
Sentiment in iron and steel circles
continue cheerful. Trade is improving
in all lines and the outlook is exceed
ingly favorable for 1916. There is
every prospect that heavy purchases
of materials, war and otherwise, will
be made by France and England af-
ter the loan negotiations are COM
pleted. Many plants have enough
business on their books to keep them
busy we'll into next year. Money con-
tinues in large supply and small de-
mand. The banks have a great fund
Of money on hand, released because
Of the business depression, yet not
available for investment because it is
always subject to the call Of deposit
ors. Thus the situation does not
favor permanent development, such
as the building of railroads, hydro
electric plants, etc. The investor, not
the banker, supplies capital for such
purposes.