Evening star., 1924-02-26
VIOLENT DECLINES
IN NCOPPERSTOCKS.
Anaconda skips Dividend and
Starts Break-0ther !.
Shares Also Tumble.
nY STEUART p. WEST.

Special Dispatch to Tha Star.
NEW YORK, February 25.-The
passing of the Anaconda Copper divi-
market. The street had been led to
expect unfavorahle, action after the
passing of the Calumet and Hecla
dividend on Saturday, but the worst
it had looked for was cut. News
of the complete omission came as a
very unpleasant surprise and was fol-
lowed by violent drop in Anaconda
within a few minutes.
Coppers I'm Sharp Break.
The selling quickly spread to the
rest of the copper group, although 1t
was less severe in the South Ameri-
can issues, because these, on account
of their low costs, have not been hit
the way the North Americans have by
the low selling prices of the metal.
inspiration had a particularly bad
Dreak on the idea that its 81 dividend
could no longer be considered safe.
The greater part of the list stood
Ep remarkably Well, even while the
selling movement in the coppers was
at its height.
Announcement by the Studebaker
president that a special stockholders
meetsng was to be called for April /
to authorize an exchange of the
tar stock on the basis of one of
the old for two and half of the
new, had IA favorabl effect. At to-
days selling prices the new shares
would have been worth in the mar
ket something over $40, with 81 paid
In dividends, and the street took the
view that. temporarily at least. this
proposition would appear attractive.
Leather Stocks OEen Heavy.
The leather stocks and Coca Cola
We're heavily sold, the former on the
extremely bad report of the Central
Leather. which had evidently not been
discounted in Mondays market. the
last quarter of 1928. Although the
regular dividend was declared, the
point was stressed that during this
period it had not been earned by a
considerable margin. The surplus
amounted to only 80 cents a share
against the dividend of Si.7b.
Railway shares as a rule ignored
the unfaEorable January reports,
realizing that. last months operating
conditions We're altogether abnormal
The chairman of the Wabash spoke
of the weather being the worst in
twenty years and explained that ii
was because of increased -transporta-
tion costs of S250,000 that the jan
uary surplus over taxes and charges
amounted to. only .S23,S29. The Sea-
board Air Line. reporting today for
January, showed that out of an In
crease of S264,106 in gross, it had re-
tanned $1J7.342 in net. This. Incl
dentally, threw light upon the mo-
tives back of the recent buying of the
Seaboard stocks.
Comment on Studebaker Move. -.
Sentiment in the street today re-
garding the projected increase in the
Capitalization of the Studebaker Cer-.
poration was mixed. To some the
idea of giving stockholders two and
one-half shares of new stock for each
share of the present outstanding IS
sue meant simply that the stage was
being set for much wider distribu-
tion. To others it meant that the
new Studebaker stock would be at
tractive. not only because of its lower
selling price, but because of its prob
a bic yield.
The firmness in Studebaker above
the 101 level after today's announce
ment was ascribed largely to cover
ing on the part of people who were
not willing to be short of two and
one-half shares for every one they
had held.
Associated Dry Goods Gains.
Associated Dry Goods common was
q feature today, getting up to new
high. The expectation of larger
distribution of surplus profits during
1924 in the light of the highly ia
vorable income account for 1924, re-
Gently published, was the reason for
the buying. Last year Associated
Dry Goods earned nearly SIS, share
on the common stock. which was
four and a half times the then cur
rent dividend requirements.
1t was a matter of some interest
to holders of sugar stocks that the.
results of the first Cuban sugar CEN
trail to report the completion of OPP
.rations were less than half of the
$1,000 bags which Himely had been
credited with estimating OF course
the results of this one central is of
little use in anticipating the seasons
production as a whole. But last year
the market for the sugar shares was
affected from week to week by the
crop returns as they came out.