Although Judge Gary’s estimate of the worth of the Corporation’s properties is considered by experts very conservative, the writer proposes to disregard it for a moment and to discuss the value behind U. S. Steel stock on the most conservative basis--that of tangible assets in 1901 plus tangible additions since. Even on this basis, which is certainly a bed-rock computation, it will be seen that the assets behind “Little Steel” are considerably larger than its par value. Eliminating from the balance sheet $508,302,500 common stock under the plea that it represents nothing but good will, we still have $741,019,795 surplus accumulated in nineteen years, or sufficient to restore with tangible value the common stock item wiped out and still leave a surplus of about $233,000,000. Or, deducting from present book capital and liabilities, plus surplus and reserves which may fairly be regarded as surplus, the common stock item, leaves a balance, representing tangible investment of $1,670,028,825. On this basis the assets behind the common stock are not far from $150 a share. There is still another way of calculating values, and here again let us eliminate the original common stock for reasons already given and place the value of the investment in the Corporation in 1901 at $815,000,000 in round figures, or approximately the aggregate of the bond- and preferred-stock issue. The ingot capacity based on this investment was 9,425,000 tons. The ingot capacity on December 31, 1919, was 22,350,000 tons. Presuming that investment has increased proportionately with its capacity, the value behind the Corporation’s securities is now $1,930,000,000 and this makes no allowance for values represented by coke by-product plants, cement plants, increased ore reserves, shipyards, etc. Ingots alone are taken as the base of the calculation since this product is generally regarded as the measure of a steel company’s capacity. In studying the Corporation’s annual reports, the analytical investor will find certain indications that appear discouraging at first glance. They must be examined in the light of other facts and particularly in the light of comparative tangible investments. Reference is here made to the increasing tendency shown in the operating ratio of the big company. Normally, an increasing operating ratio, a tendency toward diminution of the margin between operating expenses and gross receipts, is not a healthy sign in any business, and the Corporation undoubtedly shows just such a diminution.