DeCi^mberS, 1894
Record and Guide.
83 f>
ESTABUSHED-^ WARpH 21*^ 1868.
61111.
upiir^ipfiR.
Dented io Rea,lEstate.guiLDir/o ApptfrrEeTUR.E"i{otisEHomDECQHAiioii,
.Bifsif/ESs Afi) Theses ofGejJer^I lr/TEi\ES7.
PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS.I
Published, every Saturday.
TfiLEPHOSE,......0ORTLANI>T IS70
Communicatfona should be addressed to
C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street.
J. 3. LIA^'DSET, Busineas Manager.
Eeooklyn Officr, 27ti-282 Wasuinqton Street,
Oer. Post Office.
" Entered ai the Post-office at Xew York. y. Y„ as second-class matter.''
Vol. liv.
DECE>[BER S, 1894. No. 1,39.-
For addilional Brooklyn matter, see Brooklyn Department immedialely
following .Xew Jersey records {gage y02;.
rpHE week close.'i iu .tlie Stock Miu-ket with very lieavy pur-
-*- cliase-s fov the short iiecoimt, aud inasmuch a.s the hear
(lieads favoiahle uews a?; uinch as the hull dreads tiufavor-
abie uews, these purchases aro some iudieatiou of a condi¬
tiou of aiJaivs which sliould he pleasant to commercial- iuterests
as a whole. The mere intimation that a hill to permit pool-
iug amoug the railroads might be i)assed has caused a good
deal of covering in railroad stocks aud the .somewhat better
advice-s of the couditiou of trade whicii have appeared this week
have given au impetus to the industrials aud other classes
of securities to advauce. There is, too, a considerable aud
geueral buying movi-iiieiit iu bonds iu anticipatiou ot!
the demand whicli should arise at the opening of ue.-it
year heeanso ot tin- .laiiuai'y disburseiiient,s. It is argued
also, though ]ii'ihap.s wiili more voufidence tlian the circum¬
stance.^ justify, that the uew year will.see the Governuient
relieved of its embarrassments so far as the tleticieucy ol'
reveune to meet rertuirements is concerned aud, further, that
the prospects for currency legislatiouare belter than was antici¬
pated wheu Cougre.'^s luet on :\louday last. Reliable informa¬
tion from the AVestern anil .Middle State.-=; is lo the ettect that iu
the former bu.siness i.s much improved, aud iu the latter that it
is very good for the time of year, tio far as speculation is con¬
cerned, as that will be dominated by news from Cougress, flnc-
tuatiousin pi-ioes are likely to he shai-ii aud of considerable
extent.
rpHE efflux of gold from tlie ISank of England has had the ef-
-^ feet of hardening discount rates, wliich, while still low as
compared with normal rates, are more indicative of returning
business activity than for some time. The compauy which has
been formed to take over tho remaining Bariug a.ssets has is¬
sued ¥."1,000,000 4 per cent lii'st debentures aud !t^2,500,000 r.
per ceut seeoud debenture.^, the proceeds of which are to he
used ill payiug off the unpaid advances of the Bank of England
to take up the remaining assets, which have a market value of
!ji8,500,000. Ill additiou, the liaring eonnections provide a.
guarantee fund of ^2,.">00,000. This, with the ])riva.te estates of
the members ofthe film, whieh were turned over at the time of
the failure, aud which are said to he worth auother t}41>,500,000,
makes a total of assets with an estimated face value of nearly
double the preference shares. This no dimht amply secures
these shares, aud il may be taken that this unfortunate liqiiida-
tion is at last placed where it eau do uo further mischief. As
the as.s('ts are mainly South Americau .securities, these have im¬
proved as a result of the coutidence shown ill them by the uew
company. The lesults of ojicrating the Englisli railroads
for the second lialf of Ihe year, .so far as now ascertained, do
uot warrant tlie expectation of a general udvauce from pres¬
ent low dividend rates. The iiiHated conditiou of the Paris and
\ ienna markets is causing lii'sifation iu other speculative cen¬
tres. .So far, fhe suspected markets have held their own, but
as everyone knows that is uot enough. If prices cannot advance
they must inevitably fall, and there is no reason whatever why
French aud Aiisfriau aud Huugaiian securities should follow
the tirst course, aud very good reasons to .iustify their takiug
the seeond. Advices from A'ieuna, it is true, indicate that lueas
ures have heen successfully takeu to prevent a crash, hut with
â– that fact established it would prove (hat a period of liiiuidation
has begun, in whii-li, of cour.se, prices eaunot fail (o sufter. The
eonversiou of the Indian 4 per cent rupee loau has been a great
success. The governmeut cotton report, for the seasou of 189-1
shows a decliue in the area sown, anil fair to satisfactory pros¬
pects for the crop throughout the peninsular. Deposits in the
saviugs bauks of France for the eurreut year are expected to ex-
'. jieed withdaawals by $10,000,000, as agaiust au opposite result
of about .'p4.000.000 in 1S9^, showing that the conlideiue of
depositors in these bauks has completely returned. Xet im-
pojtsof gold iulo Frauce for the first teu months of the year
auu>unfca to$lL',000,000. From Germany reports come that
business iu fhe Khenish-Wesphalian iron aud steel districts is
shrinking so that shutting dowu has beguu and may go farther.
Theoulylineof the iron trade iu which business eoutiuues in
any way satisfactory is lu the making of coustruction h-ou. The
Rheui.sh silk trade is improving somewhat.
----------•----------
"JV/rR. CLEVELAND intimates that a hond issue will be
-^'J- resorted to by the Treasury whenever it is uecessary " to
maiutain a .sufficient gold reserve, aud in abundant time to save
the country and make good the financial declaralionsof our gov¬
ernment." The events of tho week seem to .show that the decla¬
ration has had a very favorable intluenct' upon busiue.=s and
upon the markets of the countiy, and has not fallen as Hat as
mauy olher .similar declarations from the same source, because
business meu hope Mr. Clevelaud is now talking from the card.
If, however, the Treasury i.s obliged fo come into the mar¬
ket for gold at frequent intervals, it will be at an increasing
cost, The way iu which the syndicate that took the last issue
of bonds wasmade up shows how difficult it is becouiiuy: to
reach the gold iu private hands iu the country. The example
set by the subscribers to the syndicate and tlie reward t hey have
obtaiued for their foresight in providing themselves with gold is
not likely (o be lost on the rest of the community. The banks
are exercising great care iu the kiud of money they pay out,
keepiug silver issues as much as possible iu the hands of the
public and retaining others in their own. Tn the liscal year of
1893 this coimtry exported $50,000,000, uet, gold in excess of
what it produced, aud while for the tiscal year of 1894 the net
exports were uot iimre than ten or twelve per cent of the esti¬
mated productiou, they were much more thau was warranted
hy the seen couditious of our foreigu trade ; on auy sign of jnob-
able ciinency disturbance here gold would go out rapidly. Onr
Goverument, which a few years ago reuewed matiiriug bonds
at two per ceut, sold the $50,000,000 issued last Fehruary at
117.22:t for about $40,750,000, and at higher figures for the
balance. Again last moutb it sold the whole issue at 117.077.
If Cougress fails to afford relief to the situation aud the Gov¬
ernment has to come agaiu iuto tho market, it will be morethan
ever on the buyers'terms. The i>o.ssession of the gold iu hand
secured the last i.ssue to the Stewart syudieate; ou future oc¬
casions it will be more than ever necessary for the Secretary of
the Treasury to deal only with those who will not draw on his
departmeut for the proper kind of currency to pay for the bouds.
It is easy, therefore, to see whither we may drift and the dutv
that lies upou Cougress to at ouce throw out the life-lines.
----------------M------------------
/^F all the mauy decisions made in the courts in the last year
^"^ on labor ijue.stions, that of Judge [Dallas, in the United
States Circuit Court, at Philadelphia, is likely to be most accept¬
able to the commuuity. It in a sense couipletes the rule laid
down by Justice Harlan last summer, upholding the right of the
workman to leave his employmeut at the moment of his owu
pleasure when not affected hy coutract obligation, .liulge Dallas
applies the same rule to the other side by holding that the
employer, similarly unaffected, canuot be compelled to employ
or retain in his employmeut any ijerson whom he considers iiuHt
from any cause for such employment. The case inwhich this
decision was reudered was affected by circumstances which but
for the good sense and independenee of the court might have
ended in the temporary establishment of a rule bearing uujustlv
011 emph)yers instead of the one that is so obviously the just
and fair one, that of equal liherty to both parties. The case
was brought by several; of tlie Reading employes agaiust
the receivers of the property to prevent the dismissal
of the complainants because they were members of a
union, iu detiauce of a rule of the Reading service. Tu addition,
oue of Die ofticials of the uuion iu question aud not aReadinf^
employe iit all heeamo a petitioner. The Attorney General
thought it uot indelicate to teuder the court his advice, and some
attemi>t was made to set up the claim that the times permitted
the discussion iu eourt of socialistic xtroblems. But the court
was indifferent to these influences, remarking that its functions
were limited to ai!miui.sterii)g the will of the Legislature as
embodieil in the law. The uniou official was ruled oiil of eourt
as haviug no standing in the case, aud the petition of the Reading
emjiloyes was dismissed. TCven the petitioners are to be con°
giatulated upou this outcome because what they sought—the
invalidation of contracts requiring that employes should uot be
members of auy trade union—as an infringeineut of the
employer's powers and discretion could uot have been main¬
tained for any length of time and ill the interval would; have
been productive of endless mischief.
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'HENEVEEthe dividend ou a railroad stock is ]ijis.sed Or
reduced, discussion is reuewed upon tlie nature of the
.surplus whieh tlie companies as a rule carry iu their aceouuts. To
W