Evening star., 1923-01-12
NEW HIGH RECORDS
MADE IN STOCKS
Studebaker Leads Motors in
Advance-Tire Shares Are
Especially Active.
BY STUART p. WEST.

Special IHe SldE
NEW YORK. January 12-Trading
on the New York Stock Exchange was
more active today and more stocks
took part in the advance. That rep
resented the main difference between
the trading today and Thursday. In
dustrial stocks, as usual, were IA
vored, one after another having its
turn. ....-.-
Studebaker was the leader Of the
motors, but the motors as a group
attracted less attention than the tire
shares The recent succession OF in
creaseS in rubber prices have put
these companies in good condition ana
all of them are making money. United
States Rubber, Kelly Springfield.
Goodrich, Lee, Fisk and Ajax were
all actively bought at rising prices.
Rubber first preferred, in which there
has recently been a good deal or IN
vestment buying, was selling over
IL points above it's low of last autumn,
at which time it was feared the diVi-
dend might be cut.
Several New Highs.
The pool in Beechnut Packing had
no difficulty in putting it's favorite to
a new high. High records were also
reached in California Petroleum and
in Cosden, operations in the latter
having in view a dividend increase
later in the year. Sulphur stocks were
taken up and so was Cerro de Pasco,
in which a higher dividend is expect
ed within the next two months.
The fact that American Water
Works in its latest monthly report
showed earnings at rate sufncient
to pay dividends on all three classes
of stock was an adequate eXplana-
-tion for the rise in these issues
Railway shares did little, with the
exception of Delaware & Hudson,
which bad a spectacular overnight
jump on the statement by the presl-
dent of the company that DIVIDENDS
would be continued at the present
rate. although surplus would have TO
be dipped into quite heavily.
Department. Store stocks.
In the specially class of stock s
again today the strength of May De-
partment stores and Associated Dry
Goods was an outstanding feature.
In each case earnings played a large
part and the action of the common
stocks of both those companies indi-
Gated the confidence which the street
has that improvement will continue
in the dry goods and merchandise
business at an accelerated pace dur
ing 1923. May Department is earning
around SO share as againsA the
50 dividend rate. Associated Dry
Goods not only will show net income
for 1922 of nearly $14 a share and
the current earnings are also very
favorable
While the majority of the oil stocks
We're advancing today, Pacific Oil did
little and was only moderately active.
The movement of this stock was signifi-
cant chiefly of the condition of the oil
industry on the Pacific coast. 1t is re-
ported that Pacific Oil is not earning its
dividend which 10 mot S1lrnriSinpr n
view of the comparatively unfavorable
statistical position of California crude.
Oversupply i'm OIL Fields.
While Pennsylvania crude has been
advancing recently and Mid Continent
prices have shown q fir1ner tendency,
with the likelihood of higher prices
within a few weeks, California fields
have had an oversupply of crude perto-
leum and the situation needs correct
ing.
Central Leather in 1922 showed to
better advantage than in either of the
two previous years. The annual re-
port of the company is expected to
show a surplus after charges. In the
first nine months this surplus after
charges amounted to S12s,0O0. and
while the final three months were not
up to the third quarter, the belief is
that the nine months surplus will
have been increased. In 1920 the
nearly $26,000,000, while in 1921 the
loss was close to S12,000,O00. Bank
loans have been brought down to
nearly $4,000,0 900, compared with S.
100000 at the end of 1921 and SILL
100000 at the peak.
The various markets, financial and
commodity. continued today to re-
fleet satisfaction after discovering
that the much -talked-of European
crisis had not after all interfered with
their normal operations.
On the stock exchange the indus
trial list was very strong-stronger
even and more active than on the
previous day. The principal changes
in the bond market were nearly all
upward. Cotton had another sharp
rise which carried prices well above
anything seen in the last two and a
half years.
French exchange got up above the
z cent level again, a recovery of fully
half the .entire loss since the break
off of the Paris conference. Ster-
ling touched S4.6S, or within cent
pound of the seasons top, reached in
the middle of December. Foreign
government securities held their i'm
provement from their low prices
early in the week.
In the investment portion of the
market the most striking feature was
not the irregular advance in prices, or
indeed anything that happened in the
ordinary dealings, but rather the
large offerings of new securities, ac-
tual and prospective, The S50,000,-
600 Cuban loan transaction was par
ticularly interesting, as 1t illustrat cd
the change for the better in Cuban af-
fairs. A year ago after the terrific
losses occaSioned by the slump in
sugar, such a transaction would have
been almost inconceivable on any
terms. Today the successful bidders
mil