Evening star., 1916-09-25
FAIRLY GOOD DEMAND
:; IN THE LOCAL MARKET
Investors Favor Bonds, Paying High
Prices for Capital Traction
and Gas Issues.
Mergenthaler Linotype Shares Soft,
Selling at 16o to 15e-No
Water in Steel.
BY I. A. FLEMING.

oxchange today. both IN STOCKS and DondS
The latter were the favorites with in
Testors, and moderately important trad
ing was recorded at 107A for Washing
ton Gas SIS. 1O7 for Capital Traction 5s
10fA for Potomac consolidated 5s, 1s1 4
and 1914 for Washington Railway a
and 102 for Riggs Realty 5s long-tern
maturity.
lin the stock list Capital Traction and
Railway preferred were near parity
small lots of both selling at 50 for the
former and S2L. for the latter.
saMergenthaler was moderately active
Tor the first time in months. number
of quotation lots selling at 160 early and
after call at 159.
at 122
Foreign Holdings.
OIL. F. Loree, president of the Delaware
and Hudson Railroad Company, has made
an investigation of the foreign holdings of
American railroad securities. and finds
that July 81. 1916, they aggregated a
value of $1.415.62s,563. reduction since
January 81. 1915. of s1.22s.773.so1. and
of $so7.Ss1,666 since July 81. 1915.
To this extent has the United States
recovered it's securities and thereby re-
duced its debt.
The proportion of security holdings
owned. abroad January 81. 1915, was
H83.840,000 stock and s1,920.562, 900
9Rnds, and July 81, 1916, $462,217.O0O
stocks and 1858, 100000 bonds. notes,
etc.
Information to this effect was CLEANED
~ Mr.. Loree from correspondence
with IA railroad executives, being all
the railroads in the United States hav-
ing over one hundred miles of line.
The bonds were largely identified by
slips filed by the payee under the pro-
visions of the income tax law.
1.-The market value of the railroad Sc
cnrities still held abroad on July 81
was $110.099,090. From this information
It would appear that there is still a
large amount of collateral of American
Explorations held over the Atlantic.
eSince Mr.. Loree's estimate probably
S250,000,0 900 of the securities covered in
been returned to the United States.
No Water in Steel.
IA study of the reinvestments- of
pFoits of the United States Steel
Corporation developed the fact that the
%Ater has been squeezed out of the
hfllion-dollar corporation. 1t was
specifically admitted at the time of the
formation of the corporation that the
enormous price paid in securities for
ne Carnegie Steel Company prac-
tieally left water in the preferred
shares and nothing else in the common
31ares of the big corporation.
Rhe company was organized and
the capital stock and bonded debt
amounted to 1883. .319. 500 and the total
assets at that time were $732, 900.
The outstanding capital then, at the
time OF organization, was $650,707,5O0
more than the estimated assets. So
that the common stock of the COM
pany amounting to $50S, ,3o2, 500 repre-
sented water. as did s142,4o5, 900 of the
preferred stock. This was in April,
1901. '
Taking the net assets of that period.
adding the .$493, 900 put into con-
srruction. new properties, etc, since,
ana the net increase in current assets
OF SIS, 100000, and an estimated sur
Mus September / of this year of
x1le.O0O,000, makes total estimated as
ests at the present time S149O79931S
I've deduct the securities in the cap
italtzation which stand ahead of the
common stock. of $e16,S49,951. the
ACTUAL assets left available for the com
mon stock are s513,949,367 The COM
mon stock outstanding of $50S, ,302, 500
would thus show worth, on an asset
basis. of 1o1.11 per cent, or more than
$l00 per share.