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FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1892. 



cotton-manufacturing industries in Europe, owing 

 to the strike of operatives in England and the 

 derangement of trade with the East, caused by 

 the unsettled price of silver. Speculators based 

 their operations upon the falling off in the yield 

 resulting from decreased acreage, unfavorable 

 weather, and the smaller use of fertilizers, and 

 the price of cotton was maintained at compara- 

 tively remunerative figures for the planter. The 

 report of the Bureau of Agriculture showed that 

 the yield of wheat in 1892 was 515,949,000 bushels, 

 valued at $322,111,881 ; corn, 1,628,464,000 bush- 

 els, valued at $642,146,630; and oats, 661,035,000 

 bushels, valued at $209,253,611. 



Stocks. The principal events affecting the 

 stock market this year were the formation of the 

 coal combination by the Reading managers ; the 

 change in the ownership of the New York and 

 New England, and its eventual control by the 

 Reading; the collapse of the Western Traffic 

 Association ; almost uninterrupted selling of 

 American securities for European account ; the 

 death of Mr. Jay Gould ; the semipanic in Sep- 

 tember caused by the cholera cases in New York ; 

 and the unsettling fall, Dec. 19, due to excessive- 

 ly high rates for money resulting from large 

 withdrawals of gold for export to Europe. The 

 feature of the market early in January was an 

 advance in New York and New England, due 

 to purchases for control by Mr. Charles Par- 

 sons, formerly President of the Rome, Water- 

 town and Ogdensburg, and by Mr. Austin Cor- 

 bin, of the Long Island, and it was announced 

 on the 6th that the latter would be made Presi- 

 dent of the New York and New England. The 

 rise in this stock stimulated an improvement in 

 the whole market, and the tone was very strong 

 until the 7th, when a sharp fall in Chicago Gas 

 had an unsettling effect. This was followed by 

 manipulation which resulted in a general distri- 

 bution of stocks among nonprofessionals, who 

 were led to purchase by reports that the upward 

 movement had only been temporarily checked, 

 and that it would soon be resumed. Bearish 

 attacks were encouraged by evidence of disagree- 

 ment among some of the members of the West- 

 ern Traffic Association. At the meeting of the 

 advisory board on the 15th, charges of rate cut- 

 ting were presented by the Missouri Pacific 

 against the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the 

 Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe, and the South- 

 ern Pacific, and instead of promptly acting 

 upon these charges the board postponed their 

 consideration until the next meeting. This led 

 to a threat by the Vice-President of the Missouri 

 Pacific that his road would withdraw from the 

 association, and the bears claimed that the with- 

 drawal of this road would cause a disruption of 

 the association. The bearish demonstrations 

 were vigorously directed against Missouri Pa- 

 cific, the other Southwesterns, and the Grangers, 

 and rumors of serious trouble with Chili still 

 further aided the decline in the market. One 

 feature was an advance in the Chesapeake and 

 Ohios on the announcement of a plan to fund 

 the first and second preferred stock. Another 

 feature was a rise in Missouri, Kansas and Texas 

 securities on news that interest would be paid on 

 the second mortgage bonds. The coal shares 

 improved, and Reading and New York and New 

 England advanced on a report that these lines, 



the Boston and Maine and the Baltimore and 

 Ohio had obtained control of the Poughkeepsie 

 bridge, but it subsequently appeared that the 

 Reading only was interested. American Sugar 

 Refining stock was broken down about the mid- 

 dle of the month by news that an issue of $25,- 

 000,000 more stock had been authorized, but 

 later it recovered on reports of preparations to 

 absorb the Spreckels and other refineries in 

 Philadelphia. Distillers and Cattle Feeders, 

 which had been strong early in the month, fell 

 off on a report that the United States authori- 

 ties would investigate the business of the trust. 

 After the 22d the Grangers were strong, and 

 there was good buying of National Cordage. 

 Toward the close of the month the Southwest- 

 erns improved on news that Mr. Jay Gould 

 would not insist upon a special meeting of the 

 Western Traffic Association to consider the 

 charges made by the Missouri Pacific above re- 

 ferred to. Manhattan Elevated was favorably 

 affected by a decision of the Court of Appeals 

 which settled the question of damages to prop- 

 erty on the line of the road ; and the whole mar- 

 ket was strong at the close on the announcement 

 that Chili had made overtures of peace in re- 

 sponse to President Harrison's ultimatum. The 

 most prominent feature of the market in Feb- 

 ruary was the formation of the Reading combi- 

 nation to control the production of anthracite 

 coal. On the 4th there were large purchases of 

 Reading, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, 

 and Central New Jersey, which attracted atten- 

 tion from the fact that the buying was appar- 

 ently so confident and the rise so decided. On 

 the 10th it was announced that the Reading had 

 secured, by purchase of stock, a controlling in- 

 terest in the Lehigh Valley ; that this road and 

 the Central New Jersey would be leased by the 

 Reading, and that capitalists connected with the 

 Central New Jersey had bought enough stock of 

 the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western to en- 

 title them to representation in the board of 

 directors. On the following day it was further 

 announced that the Central New Jersey would 

 be leased to the Port Reading, a New Jersey cor- 

 poration controlled by the Reading. These 

 details of the plan for a coal combination caused 

 a sharp advance in all the stocks of the roads 

 named, and Erie, Delaware and Hudson, New 

 York, Susquehanna and Western, and New York 

 and New England moved rapidly upward, the 

 latter in the expectation that this road would be 

 benefited by its connection with the Pough- 

 keepsie bridge, which would be used by the 

 Reading for its Eastern traffic. The business in 

 this group of stocks was enormous, amounting 

 on the llth to over 1,400,000 shares. After the 

 details of the combination were made public 

 realizing sales were liberal, and investment hold- 

 ers of Delaware. Lackawanna and Western and 

 of the other coal stocks and European holders of 

 Reading stock and bonds sold freely. The down- 

 ward reaction was aided by the news that the 

 State authorities of Pennsylvania and of New 

 Jersey would inquire into the legality of the 

 combination. The tendency was downward for 

 these stocks until the 26th, when there was a 

 sharp recovery, led by Delaware and Hudson, on 

 a rumor that control of this road was sought by 

 the combination, and the market was active and 



