Stockholders' Poll

SECURITIES Stockholders' Poll

Lively issue in Wall Street's adjustment to New Deal business standards is the scrap over competitive bidding for utility securities issues. Month ago hardbitten Chairman Floyd L. Carlisle of Consolidated Edison Co. of New York (which has sold $377,982,000 worth of securities since November 1935 through Morgan Stanley & Co.) took a step which would protect him from the future criticism of disgruntled stockholders who may favor competitive bidding. To his 128,791 stockholders he mailed a questionnaire:

"QUESTION: Do you favor that the Board of Trustees shall, in its discretion, at the time of each future issue of bonds or debentures by the Company, determine the method of selling that issue, according to its judgment of the market conditions and other circumstances prevailing at the time of sale?

"QUESTION: // your answer to the above question is 'No,' do you favor that, irrespective of the judgment of the Board of Trustees at the time as to the method of selling, each future issue of bonds or debentures shall be sold only through competitive bidding?"

Last week, at Consolidated's annual stockholders' meeting, Powerman Carlisle got his answer. It came from 32,000 stockholders, holding some 30% of the utility's 13,655,617 shares outstanding, who replied to his query. Their vote: for competitive bidding, 11%; against it, 89%.

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