$1,360,000 Fritter

$1,360,00 Fritter

By failing to use their rights to buy new debentures, American Telephone & Telegraph stockholders frittered away $1,360,000. This was evident last week when the company announced that $10,839,700 of the $234,000,000 bond issue went unsubscribed. Since it took eight rights to buy each $100 bond, 867,176 rights expired unused. They were worth $1.57 each on the stockmarket.

Exactly why A.T. & T. stockholders were so reckless was a Wall Street mystery. Many of them ignored the letter sent with the bulky, legally worded prospectus, got no "job-up" letter to enlighten them (something A.T. & T. is neither obliged nor forbidden to do). Another reason was plain carelessness. The rights expired on the Labor Day weekend, when many a shareholder was more interested in golf than gilt-edged bonds.

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