Evening star., 1922-05-17
LOCAL SECURITIES
! FIRM; SOME GAINS
Bank Shares Are Strong.
Echoes of Washington
Utilities Co.
BY I. A. FLEMING.

While there was only a fair trad.
ing record made on the local or.
change, prices were decidedly frm.
oonos and stocks holding excelIently.
| Bonds were especially flrm, George.
| tswn Gas IS selling at "a, Potomac
consolidated IS at s5h, the debenturs
os OF the same company at par, and
nrst 6s at S6. Capital Traction IS
were firm at sS.
ihe last sale OF National Metropol-
\ itan stock was at 220; today a sale
was reported at 225. This is in keep.
ing with the renewed strength in
! bank shares.
washington Gas turned so for ths
nrst time on this movement. Rail-
| way preferred repeated its recent
high at TO-
Washinston Utilities.
Show Of strength in the common
shares Of the Washington Railway
and Electric Company, now flirting
with 40 as the high price and with
evidences on change Of still higher
prices, recalls the ill-fated Washing
ton Utilities Company, organized in
1912 and existent. during 1913 and
some years thereafter, for the ex-
press purpose of consolidating the
public utilities of Washington.
The company's operations proceeded
until a matter Of 1850 shares of the
common stock Of the Washington
Railway and Electric Company had
been acquired through the payment
tneretor OF cash and perhaps some
exchange Of shares
The stock was bought at prices all
the way from around $50 to $5s 10
$l00 a share. the high figure being
paid for $500 shares sold by Kuhn.
Loeb & Co. Of New York city for
cash.
When Senator La Toilette threw hfA
monkey wrench into the company's
| inner. works. through his measure
preventing any one company holding
more than 20 per cent of the capital
stock OF another company. re started
the young corporation down hill, AT
a pace that did not stop this side of
Wreckville
Some District banks and a few out
side banks held 1880 shares of Rail-
OF something like $1.400,00o, reduced
by payments to S1,381 900, plus attor-
ney's fees. etc.
At present prices for railway COM
mon the banks cannot get out. but
they could save a great portion of
their loss. However. they have bought
in the stock at auction sale for $1,000.
have representation on the directory
Of the company and rope to see it on
dividend basis soon, especially IL
the Potomac Electric Company wins
the $2.000,900 plus now held in es-
crow. through the long-expected de-
cision by Judge Gould in the matter
in which it is inpounded.
1t would not require any special ef.
fort to organize a pool on the local
stock exchange to buy this large block
of stock, should the banks feel disposed
to sell Some of them have unquestion-
ably written Off the notes entirely and
others are carrying their interest in
deed. the action and recovery in the
stock has made the bankers more con-
fident in their position. and they will
probably wait to get out entire or with
a profit.
Washington Utilities interests never
made penny out of the proposition. .
but they did relieve some holders of
Washington Railway common at fat
price.
Terminal Taxicab.
Yesterdays listing on the stock ex-
change of sos, 800 common stock of
$113,600 shares of the preferred stock
was followed by some peculiar bidding
for the shares.
1t was announced that the common
IL per cent. The first bid was SO for
the common, with three or four men,
bers running the bid price up to II in
about the same time 1t takes to tell II.
while the preferred shares reached 81
i as the bid figures.
Movement In Bank Shares.
Most of the bank stocks were given
point or two rise in the bid prices
yesterday, In fact, the ease of money
and the good earning power Of the
banks.s even during the plethora
period, making their shares desirable
! investments. 1t might pay investors
to look up the bid and asked prices
on the official sheet OF the exchange.
All national banks listed are divided
payers; the trust companies pay
without exception and SO do the saw
ings banks.
There are still some bargains left.
MergenthaIer Dividend.
The regular 2k per cent dividend
has been declared on Me-genthaler
shares. payable June 80 to share
ings of the company are keeping up
well, April showing liz per cent,
with indicated earnings for the year
placed at better than 19 per cent.
For the month of April earnings
Columbia Graphophene.
The Columbia Graphophone Com
pany plan for dealing with the in
debtedness of the company, which
provides for the freezing OF the en-
tire obligations from April I. 1922.
to AugustS1. 1925, is now in opera
ton. OF the $6.000,000 per cent
notes more than IS per cent have
consented to be frozen and the COM
pany will be given a chance to show
whether 1t can recover under more
normal conditions.
The obligations total about SEQ
000,0
Local shareholders and ex-share- 3
holders might be interested TO know
when and why the s6,00000O per
cent notes were put out.