Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-08
LOCAL BONDS STRONG;
STOCKS CONTINUE SLOW
Business for the Week Shows No In
crease or Material Price
Changes.
Railroad Earnings Continue to Indi-
cate Loss in Gross, Gains
in Net-Notes,
BY I. A. FLEMING.

Six sessions OF the Washington Stock
Exchange during the week produced
Total transactions of s34.10 bonds. par
value, and 472 shares of stock. Price
changes during the week have been
unimportant. and in no case. other than
the break of 23s points on Mergen-
thaler shares, worthy of special COM
ment.
Close observers of conditions on
change find that there is little DISPOSE
ton to accumulate any of the stocks
on the list; that support is generally
found for certain stocks at price. but
that this gind of buying is rarely ur-
sent or indicative of investment of funds.
In the matter of bonds 7he under
tone is better than in the market for
stocks. Much better returns can be
obtained on investments in bonds than
through the loaning market for funds,
with the security decidedly easy to
market when realizing is desired.
Conditions in other markets have
little effect on Washington exchange
operations. although there is SYM
pathetic trend. and advancing prices
are not to be expected with positive
evidences of weakness in other marts.
Some local happenings and possibili-
ties may tend to curtail activity in
utilities just at this time, when the
utilities commission is busy gathering
data as to the physical valuation of
street railway corporations and of
other utilities as well.
TodayS market was so narrow that it
is scarcely worthy of comment, en-
bracing a sale of a Railway 4 per cent
bond at S21s and sale of Railway
preferred at Sc.
Railroad Earnings.
Reports to the interstate commerce
commission. made by 156 of the larger
railroads of the United States, with an
average mileage of e05.196 miles as
compared with 203,244 miles for March,
3l4.27s for March. 1915. as compared
with S224.219.611 for the same month in
the previous year. Economies made
effective reduction in operating ex-
penses. so that the COMPARISON Of net
earnings showed S60,799,109 in March
of this year, compared with $780,
253.533 for the same month in 1914.
The Chicago Great Western Railroad
Company, the Grand Trunk system,
Louisville and Nashville Mobile and
Ohio and the Southern railway all re-
port decreases in gross earnings for
the fourth week in April. ranging from
s3S,I22 for Chicago. Great Western to
s17S.000 for Louisville and Nashville.
Southern railway showed decrease of
s94.a3S. comparisons in all cases being
made with corresponding week of 1914.
Financial Notes.
The Carnegie Steel Company has re-
ceived its first war order. 1t called for
$4,000 tons of steel
Kuhn. Loeb & Co. are offering $685.
100000 Pennsylvania Railroad Company
general mortgage AIS. due June l,
1865, at 9s1a and interest. Subscrip-
lions close Nav IL
1t is said that the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company is In the market for 1885,
900 tons of rails.
Austria is said to be seeking a loan
in the United States, with small pros
pect of success.
Wall street gave the bulls another
snock this morning with opening de-
clines of to points. but this break
was sufficient inducement to the bears
who sold on the news yesterday after
noon to cover their shorts. There were
also many buying orders placed by
traders who considered that the de-
cline had gone far enough to warrant a
reaction. Shortly after II o'clock the
whole list. with but few exceptions,
had practically recovered their morn
ing losses. and few minutes later the
closing prices of Friday were passed
on the recovery. Many of the railroad
stocks did not share in the early weak
ness. munition" shares showing the
greatest losses. 1t was a good rally
and fairly firm closing