Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-06-10
AMERICAN STORES \
REACHED new HIGH
Remarkable Comeback Of An
the Leading Public Utility
Corporations

Local trading was unusuallv bro.a
and active for Saturday market. m,
price movement was very irrecu,.,
which was logical In view of the uun'
settled condition Of. the other ~.
changes. Variations. however, wer.
generally confined within a narrow are.
rejecting the absence of selling pre,,
sure. The utility group continued n.
strongest features, but this division
also showed evidence of profit .tak;n,
later In the day. It was the stocIs
having a dual market here and New
York that showed more noticeable "a,
dictionary tendency. Electric Storae.
Battery declined a point in the earIv
trading, to 43N. 1t later recovered half
of the loss. ''
American Stores was the foremost "a.
ture Of the local group. establishing :
new high record at 124A. In tba
late trading 1t fell back to 124. Amer.
ican Railways issues remained stron,
and active. The common recovered "a
1914. or within y Of the high price az
the week. The preferred, on light trad,
ing. made new top at 81. u. G. I.
common and preferred. for the frat
time. sold at the same price at "a. the
common subsequently reacting to 53iss
Pennsylvania Railroad was firm. AZ.
spite the heaviness of the other rails
Westmoreland Coal. on moderate deal.
ings. advanced 2 points from the pre-.
vious sale to "a.
Of the various groups of erterpri,es
In none has the "comebacks" been IN
such sensational order as that of the
! so. called utility shares. Less than two
years ago great majority about
reached the conclusion most of the stock
certificates Of these concerns were hardly
worth the paper they were printed on.
Between getting a square deal' win
the various State Public Service Com.
missions in the granting of fairer rates
and the return Of rational prices for
supplies and materials. the public util.
ity corporations are today once more
solidly on their feet. Their ability W
meet interest requirements Of their
funded debt is no longer questioned,
but a number are rapidly getting into q
condition where they can safely resume
dividend payments on stock issues.
In brief, the public utility corpora.
tion security gives every promise Of re.
turning to the prominent position 1t oc.
cupied prior to the war. Experiences
Va thC wal pViiov NCiC very
unpleasant lessons, but they will be
productive Of much good in SO far as
producing in the future a more eco.
nomical and efficient management.
Well forged consultations ought TO
bring economies. and such unions will
bring favorable results over fairly long
period. =
Striking illustrations as to what can
be accomplished by enterprising and
consistent management are given in the
case of both p. r. r. and that Of
American Railways Compeny. In the
former, great lesson has been taught
in the humane and intelligent handling
Of the labor question, which heretofore
has ever been a thorn in the side of all
utility arrangements. In the American
Railways, the accomplishment of the
management within the last two years
show conclusively what can he at.
tained when earnest effort is made in
the application of drastic retrenchment
policies. The economies which util.
ity corporation managers were forced to
adopt prior to and succeeding the arr;.
stice are almost immeasurable in dol.
lars and cents in the savings which
these enterprises have been able to make
and will continue to enjoy for some
time to come.