Wheeling times and advertiser. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1839-1849, 1847-03-16

H#f 6aHHpaHys s1eWrkG b. U1rffdEe HR8H
- haare receipts e thS r1aPmg. Are not
zae Ias8ra receipts d tHe 5HHP5#t ageerfa3H
-e0rrfrtTraf Fl So The dividend which
depends upon those receipts must be Heees-
sarlIs eoafctsrai The proposition Is too
pain for Argument, as every one must admit
hl. the ability OF TINS company TO pay either
ahe interest af principal Of the bonds ISSUED,
depends absolutely upon tie future receipts
IT the COMPANY, beyond the necessary e1pen-
So tor repairs. &c. which every one must
admit is TO say the least oi#ig,) uncertain
ADD eaHjtcturai
But should he wanting in respect to the
author Of this paper # were 10 omit TO no
ace the argument advanced by him Ca sas-
tam his charge that the statement made by
me Is lWtrUe.
He saws that the nett earnings Of The COM
pauy during the wear over and above The cur.
rent expenses. including the ordinary repairs
1i railway and machinery, amounted to the
sum OF SAC. 473 81 bsiHg more than SIX per
cent. upon the capital. and thcse, Ii NAV be
observed constituted the aet5ai, nol comic.
laral profits OF the year Now If tins
was 50. the plain duty was imposed BY the
charter upon the company, 10 divide those
actual MOI eowccturai profits amongst its
stockholders aud the State was entitled 10
receive from the company 10 money, ta5t in
boHds.) SIX PER cent. upon her stock, instead
Of The one per cent. now given her.
But apart from his view of h. subject you
viii permit me to askEour consideration Of the
ground upon which the President claims the
right ofdeclaring this dividend under the char
ter Of the company.
He saws that under the charter and under
the law OF the last session. the company is
authorised TO borrow money for the repairs,
upon which he states the nett earnings OF the
company have been expended, and he says
that he found II more adYant agous TO the stock
heldefs ia borrow the nett earnings TO which
they were entitled tom them, than from 9TH
ers, and that bg financial scheme supposed
By the Treasurer and myself to be novel, only
because we had not sense enough 10 under
stand H. he has only borrowed from the stock
holders, instead OF borrowing from Others,
and thereby made nctt profits Of the money
expended III the necessary repairs Of The road.
You will perceive that the whole argument
OF the President Of the company rests upon
the fact alleged By him, that ha borrowed the
money from the stockholders Of the company
instead OF borrowing from others as the char
ter aud law OF the last session gave him pow
er TO do.
A contract for the loan Of the money. like
every other contract, requires two parties,
psrty who possesses a power to lend as we'll
as a party who possesses the power to borrow.
and as this company possesses no power un-
der their charter 10 lend mOatv, il necessarily
follow that the company possesses no power
to contract with its stockholders as st0cttol-
ders for such loan is alleged 10 have been
made to the company by them. But il the
President OF the company intended to aiiege
that the stockholders OF this company iadt.
1idRaay loaned 10 the company the money
which is alleged 10 have been borrowed of the
stockholders, which IS the only manner in
which loan could have been legally effected
with them, then | deny that any such loan
was ever made By them To the company. The
money had been expended IN the repairs OF
the read md when the disidend'was declared.
II was not optional with the stockholders to
take The money or the bonds The only choice
left them was to takc the bonds or nothing.
\ singular loan, truly They first use the
money which the President Of the company
SAYS belonged to the stockholders, and then
say 10 hem that they must take these bonds
OF receive nothing,
Notwit outstanding the utr6imilituden which
Is supposed to exist between the present diyi-
dend and the stock dividend declared in 1888,
upon tine stock of the Washington Branch, |
hunbiy apprehend that mo intelligent mind"
Will discover the sllghtesl analogy between
the two cases
The dividend declared in 1898. was divi-
dend a. four per cent in cash and ten per cent
ia additional stock OF the company. In that
case no discrimination was made between the
stockholders each stakeholder received his
Tour per cent IN cash and his ten per cent oil
additional stock Ia the case of the present
dividend, enc portion OF the stockholders are
p5id their whole IN cash, whilst another por-
ton are pant two Thirds in the bonds of the
company il must be apparent 10 any reflec-
TUG mind thai the stock portion of the diyi-
dend. IN the first case. and the bond portion
IN the latter, neither increased or diminished
the actual amount OF the dividend declared.
that HE Intrinsic value Of the original stock
Mas lessene precisely ten per cent. by the
creation and division, amongst the stockhod-
efs. OF that amount of new stock The 0rie.
mai Stockholders, IN virtue of the stock held
p, them, were entitled to ati the profits ofthe
road, and The dividend To theIn of ten per
cent OF additional stock did not enable Them
10 receive iartblng more than they would
have received without such dividend. The
cash dIsidend 81 four per cent vas in fact the
only dividend except IN nance which was
declared; and as that cash Was rateably div.
ded amongst all the stockholders. and The adj.
dluonai stock also rateably divided. no MINIS.
tee Was done to any portion OF the stockhold.
eTS, aud ne objection occurs to that proceed
Ing, other than the haabuggerruwhi existed
IN declaring what was IN realitya dividend
OF four per cent to be dividend OF fourteen
per cent.
There Is one other argument used bv the
President OF tins company. 10 which | must
BE- pardoned for referring. He saws that che
Board had reason, officially, 20 know. that
tins city owning fan moety Of The whole
stock OF HE company, while literally contrib.
utlng in various modes to the revenues of the
STATE, WAS under an Obligation Of annual,
providing large means 20 maintain her own
hitherto unsuilled credit, and that the nav.
ment M money or It's equivalent OF the protifs
earned BY this company, was. II aat Ad,spea-
sa5tf' Of the utmost importance 10 her fnan-
eial resources
Now yon will bar in mind that the Cify
oi Baltimore owning three millions and a
Al aH