Deals & Developments

Dividends. The directors of American Telephone & Telegraph declared the regular dividend last week. Some 712,000 stockholders will receive $41,990,000 through the action. Electric Bond & Share declared its regular stock dividend but announced that in future payments will be determined annually. Its big subsidiary, United Gas Corp., halved its first preferred. Transamerica Corp. announced that while it could pay a dividend now it will not. Penick & Ford, Ltd. surprised Wall Street by doubling its usual 50-c- extra. Chesebrough Manufacturing and Bon Ami maintained their extra payments but Coca-Cola passed its usual $1 extra (blamed: taxation). R. H. Macy & Co. passed its usual 5% stock extra. Chesapeake & Ohio maintained its $2.50 rate and is the only U. S. road to pay the same dividend as in 1930. Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (the "Queen & Crescent") passed its dividend. In 1930 it paid a $50 extra, most of which went into the lean coffers of the B. & 0. and Southern. International Harvester' which last week received $4,000,000 from Russia, maintained its new $1.20 rate. Phillips-Jones (shirts) resumed preferred payments.

B. &. O. Maturity. The biggest railroad maturity of the near future comes March 1 when $63,250,000 worth of Baltimore & Ohio bonds fall due. Last week, after several delays, the R. F. C. pledged its aid to the B. & O. It will lend the road half of the amount and bondholders will be asked to accept half in cash, half in a new 5% bond. As a special inducement to speedy deposits, bonds deposited before Dec. 22 will receive an immediate cash payment of 10%. Last week the B. & O. bonds of 1933 sold at 67 against the year's low of 31 5/8.

At the annual meeting President Daniel

Willard stated that the B. & O. would be able to meet all other obligations although it would fail to earn interest charges for the year by $4,000,000. He pointed out that revenues were running 50% below 1929, that passenger traffic in the last twelve years had dropped more than 80%.

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