New-York tribune., 1922-01-22
Not So Bad

Question: followed your direct advice
IN &C onnect!on Win the sale of South
ern Pacific oil rights and largely on the
general recommendation of your page re
Gently purchased a Northwestern Bell bond
Alropos of faith without works, etc. 1
am nclosirg a list of paper which l hold
1t hardly seems necessary for present pur
poses to attempt to explain what looks
like an unerring faculty for paying. top
prices for securities which. with slight ex-
ception. are pa lpably far from gilt edged.
However, | might say that I have always
and interest in these things and that in
buying the now badly deprecated public
service securities I was guided principally
by the reputation OF the houses selling
them rather than by the smoothness of
their statesmen. That is. I've tried prma-
results however OVEN ' cam nans v ihaa hat
l have never put a cent into oil wells,
gold mines paper banks and manufactur-
ing projects and the like, for which have
had very ample opportunity. Concerning
Rock Island, bought the collateral four
ursoiicited instance OF an acquaintance
and then neglected to follow II. as have
also neglected to do in other cases. When
the reorganization came I paid the as
scssment partly as a matter of elf-disci-
pline and partly because; so far as could
ascertain at the time, the general feeling
about the new stock was optimistic. In
cidentally am mighty tired of holding
onr,n ei.r Go,,non' ,h Set,ms gown 10 cases con
question two ways. First--Is there any
thing should sell In your opinion because
western Elevated for example? While my
general tendency. so song as interest is
ep n@ h"e 10 p~ w4rtI Is nnuy pT1 to
others. The general opinion has that
at present prices it was better to hang on
70 them Second Have you any sugges
tion as to what ] might do to better my
pf93s't'9n? pf3sad ! don.S tn, thing ! am much in
curity. In this latter connection it has
occurred to me to sell the Rock Island
th the proceeds INTO as good bond proposi-
ton as possible yield, security and price
being consldered II my notion about this
chlly would you recommend? ] own
1000 Northwestern Bell Telephone first
bama first consolidated mortgage 5s. Of
1885; $1,000 Chicago Railways first mort
gage IS. of 1927 $1,000 Rochland Light
1888; $1,000 Texas Power and Light first
Rorigags nia ra IS; Of 1897 $1,000 ,nteerberough
wspa nsvatea 81 % rs
1874; $500 Liberty bonds, five shares Atch-
. ison. Topeka & santa Fe preferred; five
shares Northern Pacific Railway preferred: :
eight shares Standard Gas and Electric
preferred; pre- oa four shares Chicago. Rock Isl
Rock Island & Pacific common.
Answer-You haven't such a bad list
as you would make out Your sug-
gestionin in regard to the Libertys
is good, although you should in
vest the money in something readily
marketable. We suggest New York
Telephone 6 per cent bonds, due 1941,
not callablc before 1881, recently SELL
ing little above par. We would hold
the Interborough Rapid Transit IS, but
this is matter Of opinion only and it
for yourself because it involves a spec
ulation and in such a matter no one
else can adequately advise you. In
regard to holding the Southern Pacific
stock and Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific preferred, there is again a ques-
tion of speculation. Rock Island is
doing particularly we'll as far as earn
ings are concerned, and the Southern
Pacific, while it is not the tremendously
strong company that it was during the
latter part of E. II. Harriman's life
time, has great potential earning pow
er. On the other hand, you say that
you do not take an interest in your
investments and do not like 20 have to
watch them. If this is literally true
you would be wiser to sell all of your
stocks except the Atchison preferred,
which, in our opinion, is an invest
ment stock, and put the proceeds into,
say, the following bonds: Brooklyn
Edison General Mortgage Series D z
per cent bonds, due 1910, recently sell,
ing at 1864, and New York Central
debenture 6s, due 1885, recently sell