New-York daily tribune., 1857-04-28

The Ds,roi. ard Toledo Road will also connect De
troit with the Wabash Valley, the Dayton and Michi-
gan and the Cleveland a1d Toledo iSosds-all hrst-
Glass works There can be reason why the stock
holders OF the Michigan Southern should complain,
e,cent so far IA the construction oi ths line mas tended
10 enibauass the Company.
We see no cause of distrnst IN the Pfoepe.,,Vve
earnings OF this Company. For the past year 'ney
nounted TO g. IA s4S .97 miles OF ROAD, equai 10
ner uage OF gross receipts of nearly - per cent
on a cost not exceeding $ll ,OOo'Ooo. we oene'e
.be Detroit Branch will be equally productive on a
probable cost Of Of 800 600. Ihis wouiI aaa sfo
to0 ,o ,t receipts Of the past year. Allowing the
balance Of the road 10 add a. much more ana We
have s3 COO 900 as the gross receipts oi the Whoie
or equal TO 2l per cent. With good management
one-baf Of this sum will cover expenses Oh AZ Aa
leaving over 10 per cent FOR net earlnsI ,,or.Sle
no doubt that 1858 will produce an equally iavoraoie
result.
There seems therefore, 10 be no DOUBT 'ha' 'ne
stockholders have property as valuable as 'ey ever
supposed il How, then, Is the excessive aepIe
citation of its stock 10 be accounted for Unquestion-
ably 10 the large floating debt II IL carrying ana 10
cupable silence Of the Directors for nearly two years
az to the condition of the Company These two great
mistakes led 10 the selection OF this stock as the most
vulnerable for attack. The success which crowned
the efforts TO bear the stock showed the sagacty
of the parties operating. large floating debt and
no statement from the Directors for nearly eighteen
months in times ike the present, was all that was
wanted These materials dexterously worked
no that the loudest croaker and the most ingenious
inventor Of alsehoOd exercised the greatest control
over the public mind Everybodyl weared with rhe
imporunities of railroad companies, and willing TO
believe anything and everything said against them.
In the present case the object aimed at OF no
trfing magnitude The means were adapted to the
ends. The Michigan Southern Company has been the
best abused in the street Everything said against it
was greedy swallowed and the result was an unpre-
cedented fall of its stock which could only have re-
suited from general feeling of dstrut as 10 It's value
and the condition of the Company
To have saved their credit, and no small incon-
yeuence the Directors, the moment they commenced
the expenditure of money should have spared pains
to keep the public thoroughly posted both as 10 their
plans and their acts. Here has been the great mistake
The floating debt Of the Company has arisen mainly
from the construction of the Detroit and Toledo Rail
road But could the means have been provided for
this road at fair rate of interest every sOckholder In
the Michigan Southern and Indiana Northern Railroad
would be better off tor its construction. Could they
have thoroughly understood this they would not nave
hesitated to provide the means for lts construction,
even had il been necessary 10 orego few dividends
A body of stockholders are seldom unreasonable and
will hold their stock all the more enaciousy for hav-
ing been called upon 10 make sacrlces TOR H. Showa
property To be good one and keep the stockholders
thoroughly informed in regard to its management and
Outsde influence can effect nothing. When the Direct
ors cease TO exert mOroi force they become weak IN
the same degree.
In conclusion We would saw that we believe the
stockholders in the Michigan Southern Railroad have
property as valuable as it ever was--one which,
when released from embarrassment, VIII give them
satisfactory dividends. These may have to be omitted
till the floating debt is largely reduces. III VIII DE
seen by the annexed statement of the companys gem
eral account that the nearly equal to the
amount of the floating debt. The greater part OF these
are good and considerable portion OF them may DO
made available within short time. We take 1t that
il will be the policy of the Company to reduce Its I'M
mediate liability fast possible by conyerson OF
its assets and by earnings of the road for which scrip
stock NAV be issued. The declaration OF such de-
will M
of the Company and gradually carry up its stock and
securities to something like the old figures. A more
rigid economy Of management can probably be intro
duced All that is wanted to make this great work
one of the most productive in the country, as 1t al
ways has been, is TO make the most of it. We are
confident that nothing has been done materially to
impair its value confidence i'll its future productive
ness.
1t will be borne in mind that the annexed statement
embraces the cost of the Detroit and Toledo, as well
as of the Michigan Southern road. In addition TO us
other assets the company have still on hand bonds to
the amount of 81 900. Their sale at reasonable
rates and the conversion of the assets OF the COM
pany into money! would pay of the entire floating
debt and provide all the means wanted for unfinished
work without interfering at all with the cash owl
donds AS this probably cannot be done without con-
siderable delay, the company will probably use or
he present, Its net earnings IN heayInent OF s ueots.
Ii will be seen that the general account bears date
of the lst of January, when the last dividend was
paid. Since then $500 600 income bonds have Deen
paid. We understand that a supplemental statement
is in course of preparation, which wiz bear date OF
the LIST of April. This supplemental statement viii
show an increase in the stock-the total amount being
about $S 600 000t having been increased by the last
dividend and for other purposes OF the e. Company.
The bonded debt is reduced $500 600 by the pay
ment of the income bonds of April |.
The floating debt is about the same as in January;
With the exceptions named the two statements VIII
nearly agree.
Below we give the general statement of the Com
pany: ,
Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad Company IN
general account Jan. ], 1851
Construction including Jackson and Goshen Do, Ds 10