Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-18
FINANCIAL
DISPATCH
ny STUART p. WEST

ana thereby TO cneck tne inore cHeSt :
full feeling prevalent at the close OF
last week. One was the stress laid
over Sunday upon the seriousness OF
the railway tie-up. The other was
the renewal of liquidation of the
same urgent character as went on
all last week in the investment bond
market, This selling extended to
some of the dividend-paying rails and
other stocks of the investment class
Apparently, some other lar ar 9,
Nesf wh nes t Rensd was up
profit, at the opening today were
hastily thrown over because of dis
like of the railway developments. II
was simply the closing out of regent
without any fresh liquidation in the
speculative portion of the market
The selling bore heavily upon the
stocks which had been strongest al
the close of last week.
Americans, Royal Dutch and Mex
lean Petroleum and the steels were
offered down sharply, and so were
the motors, in expectation that the
would come out shortly with pri-
GRITTY order which would discrimi..
nate in favor of foodstuffs, fuel and
the necessaries of life and against
the other industries. But the elimi-
nation of some of last weeks buyers,
without any fresh selling of i'm
portance, merely put the market back
In the same general position in which
it. stood last Friday. The gain of
Saturday was effected, but nothing
more serious.
There has been quite a bit of
new short selling on the idea that
the railway transportation difficult
ties, plus the liquidation in the in
vestment list, would precipitate a
renewal OF the general decline. But
as prices came within range Of last
weeks low levels 1t was quite ap-
parent that few. stocks were being
offered except what were being put
out on bear contracts. By midday,
able to make any impression, COW
ering purchases set in and prices
rallied all around.
Just why Wall street should have
been as pessimistic as it was over
Pedhaps 1t was because the mornings
dispatches were not properly under
stood. The priority order, if issued.
will hold back many lines of bust
ness for while but business men
realize that it is a necessary step
toward clearing UP the traffic mud
die and thereby removing the prin-
cipal cause OF uncertainty in the in
As for the declaration of the rail-
way brotherhood heads that the
y transportation Industry faces a
breakdown because labor is not prop
erly paid and is therefore inefficient,
its value is to be measured by it's
absurd to represent, as one Wash
ington correspondent said this morn
ing, that the railway tangle is lead
ing UP to return of the roads to
government operation and to ulti-
mate government ownership. It was
0YSfv hecauSA. 0OVnrnO1ent OOarafiOn
was inefficient, because it did not
know how to handle the distribution
Of the car supply, and because it was
parsimonious in its purchase of new
equipment, that the freight conges-
ton became what it now is. To try
to lay the blame upon private man
agement and pretend that this is an
argument for the re-assertion Of fed
eral control is therefore preposter-
Gus. Fortunately for the good of the
ing to adjourn very soon and there
will be no opportunity for any rail-
way agitation, even should the fire.
brands want to bring it up.
The selling in the investment por-
ton of the market was the most Sc
bonds were weaker than ever. They
broke so cents to 80 cents in the
$500 all along the line. The weak
ness naturally spread to other old
line investment issues of the type
of first and consolidated mortgage
railway bonds. These were off a half
q point or more and in many in
stances were down close to the bot
tom of the year.. There was no re-
Election of course in these declines
upon the value of the securities con-
cerned. 1t was simply a case Of
liquidation forced by the eXigencies
of the credit situation, business men
being compelled to sacrifice their in
vestment in order to provide money
for their business which they could
no longer readily obtain at the banks.
As expected, the call money market
rewal on standing loans continued
at g. per cent new funds were Of
fered freely At this figure all day.
Punta allegro Sugar
TIP. to the first week Of this
month. according to those in a posi-
Of the Punta Alegra Sugar company
had produced 556,9SS bags of sugar,
az against 510,9S7 in the same period
last year. With reasonably favora-
Bile weather conditions, the Punta
San Juan plantation will continue to
grind well into June and this would
assure the company the full pro
beginning of the year. Weather con-
difionS throughout Cuba generally
have been unfavorable, so that ear
lier estimates have almost invariably
had to be revised downward, and
Cuba would do well now to produce
90 much sugar as it did last year
A. Against earlier estimates of a crop
6o0, 1000 tons in excess of 1919. While
Punta Alegra perhaps will receive
q. somewhat higher average price
for. it's crop than the general run of
Cuban producers, owing to not hav-
Ing made heavy sales of sugar be-
fore it was actually harvested, there
has been no disposition at any time
to hold out for fancy prices. On
the contrary, the management has
adopted q policy Of disposing Of the
balance OF the crop at market prices
as rapidly as transportation facili-
ties are available.
.-..-e, Atchdson
The annual report Of Atchison, To-
peka and Santa Fe for 1919 make a
ing to one Of Wall streets railroad
experts. The company was. one of
the few to make profit for the gov
eminent during two years of federal
control and also was able to earn
it's dividend requirements on it's own
operations in each Of those two
years. The federal compensation
amounted to $44,615,0s7 as compared
with $42,S85.310 in 1913. There was
also a notable increase in other in
comes which brought the balance
available for dividends up to the
equivalent of 1875 per cent on the
common as against only 10 per cent
the year before.
This item OF income is entirely
abnormal, 1t is said, including, as 1t
does, revenues and credits applying
in part to previous years but receiv-
ed during 1919. But even disregard
ing these abnormal figures, actual
earnings for the stock would figure
out about 9.5 per cent
American Sumatra
The American Sumatra financing,
accomplished by the issue of So
$4,000 five year seven and a half
per. cent convertible notes, will put
the company by far in the strongest
position 1t has yet held. The new
capital stock: sold in. 1918, supplied