Importance of the Railroad Accounting Officer to the Financial Analyst

Abstract

always the problem of selecting, from the plethora of railroad statistics, the significant data, so that recommendations may be made. Even under conditions of relative normalcy, such as those of the '20's and '30's, selecting the proper railroad securities has proven difficult. In the late '20's many common stocks, later wiped out in section 77 reorganizations, sold well above equities, which subsequently withstood both a major depression, and a major war and emerged from these periods with well-merited investment characteristics. For instance, such common stocks as Baltimore & Ohio sold at 145?/ in 1929, Rock Island at 1431/2, Frisco at 1333/4, New Haven at 132?,2 Monon at 120, Northwestern at 108?2, Missouri Pacific at 1013/8, and Erie at 931/2. All but Baltimore & Ohio and Erie were wiped out completely in subsequent reorganization proceedings. Compare these 1929 quotations with Chesapeake & Ohio, which sold at 697/8, Louisville & Nashville at 7738, Virginian at 421/4, Norfolk & Western at 721/4, or with Union Pacific at 1483/4, and Santa Fe at 14938. Prices in each instance have been adjusted for subsequent stock splits.