The Connecticut labor news., 1922-10-13
Scheme to Escape Tax on Surplus Starts Riot of Speculation W hi1e Consuming Public Is GOuged All Around on Oils.

While the whole motor world which now includes farmers, indus tries and households who have turned to oil and its by-products for modern uses, is grooming under the price ot oils, gasoline and state and other tax. es imposed upon their sales, the Standard Oil companies this week announced stock dividends ranging from 200 to 400, per cent and immedi- ately billion dollars was added to the value of the stocks by speculation in Wall street It is the most stu pendous financial situation known in the history of the country, and, oi course, will soon be passed back on to the consuming public.
 A special meeting of the stock holders has been called for November 8 to vote on the proposition. The dividend, if approved, will be payable to stock of record, December I. \ notice sent to stockholders sets forth that no change in the capital has taken place. since the declaration of a 400 per cent stock dividend i'll 1913, and that even that increase left assets still considerably in excess of capital ization.
 AThe notice to stockholders explains that by an appreciation 1n value ot property and by successful and con servative conduct of it's business the assets of the company are now much in excess of par value of t1s present authorized capital, and that there fore the board deems 1t advisable to increase the capital so that 1t shall more nearly correspond with the ac- tual value of it's assets.
 oR he VI 2 r1d Company of New York closely fol- lows the declaration of stock divi- dend of 100 per cent by the Standard Oil Company of California Other companies of the Standard Oil group are expected to make extra distribu- tions to stockholders in the near fu- ture, either in the form of stock dlvl- dends or extra dividends payable Tn some other form. Practically all ot them have built up large surplus ac- counts since the original Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was split up into B parts by the segregation rul- ing of the United States supreme court in 1911.
 Sensational gains in the prices of shares of companeis in the Standard Oil group III response to the an nouncements of proposed stock dlv1- dends have resulted in an apprecia- ton of nearly $I,ooo, ,ooopoos in quoted values above the low prices of the year. This remarkable increase, without precedent in the annals of Wall street, is the result of extensive speculation, which has extended . to shares of other oil companies and ot concerns holding large corporate sur pluses.
 John D. Rockefeller is Reported to have owned 30 per cent of the stock at the time of the dlssolutoin decree. He Is known to have dis posed o ia large part of his hold ings to other members of his family, but had he Iheld his original shares they would have increased approxl-- mately $1,ooo 100000 in IT years. ot which nearly $4oo, ,ooo,o ,ooo would have been added this year.
 Distribution of stock dividends IS said to have been decided upon to forestall a tax on undivided surplus, which is reported to be in contempla- ton by administration officials to take care of the government deficit. Stock dividends already have been held not subject to taxation, as such, by the c1nreune court