The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-08-15

RAILROAD MoRALTY.-About week since,
we bad occasion to denounce, in the money
article of this journal, an over-issue of stock
in the Michigan Southern aud Northern Indiana
Railroad Our statement was met by a fat
contradiction from the Treasurer of the road;
and the smaller journals were procured to re-
iterate the denial with the usual abuse of the
HERALD. There being however, some common
sense in the New York Stock Exchange a COM
mittee was appointed to investigate the charge.
That committee communicated with the Presi-
dent and Directors of the company, but were met
in 80 shutting manner, and it was go obvious
that those officials did not desire to afford them
the information they sought, that the committee
abandoned that channel of inquiry and sought to
ascertain the truth at the hands of the New York
Trust Company, which has lately consented to
act as register of the stock. We publish in
another column the correspondence between the
Company and the Trust Company, which was laid
before the Exchange Board yesterday morning
Meanwhile the President of the road, finding
that neither the emphatic denial Of the Treasurer,
nor the'angry statements of the petty journals in
the brokers' interest could avail to conceal the
truth, sought to forestau the action of
the committee by publishing, in the New
York Tribune of yesterday, sort Of general
confession of his guilt. In that curious
document the President coufesses that, while
the stockholders and the public were autho-
relatively informed in the last printed report of
the company that the amount of stock issued was
only ten millions, the amount actually outstand-
ing was $10,3l7, $50; in other words, that there
had been an over-issue, unauthorized by the
stockholders and unknown to the public, of
$3l7,75O worth of stock; and consequently that
the old stock was deprecated to that extent.
With what looseness our railroad matters are
managed, and what standard of principle or mo-
rality governs the actions of those whohaveAthem
in charge, this uublushing confession of Presi-
dent will enable the public to Judge
But even this is not the truth. From the let
ter signed John A. Stewart, of the United States
Trust Company. and published in another
column, it appears that the amount of outstand-
Ing stock of the Michigan Southern and Northern
Indiana Company is not $3l7, $50, but
liz shares prefen ed. Sl72oo
$685. do. old stock ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 666,600
Total. ............. sssa ,7co
This statement comes from the company which
is the register of the stock, and may therefore be
relied upon-so far as that company knows.
This is not the place to enter upon an elsbo-
rate discussion Of the matters of detail which
have arisen incidentally to the main question.
We will only add here that the power thus
exercised, and which was exercised in slightly
suit to the comnnunity, by the late Robert
Schuyler, is power which no officer of
company, or board of directors or finance
committee ought to be allowed to exercise.
Every new share of stock that Is issued d.
minishes, pro tosao, the stock already issued
and thus each issue actually takes money out of
the pockets of the old shareholders. To do this,
without their consent, and without the knowledge
of the public, is fraud of q very serious charac-
ter, and one which the laws should be adapted TO
punish.
We are too well accustomed TO the ptevarica-
tions and buster of Wall street to dwell at any
length upon the spirit in which our disclosure
was at first met. The police say that rogues
usually bluster when they are arrested But we
are sorry, very sorry that the President and Di-
rectors of the Michigan Southern Railroad did
not persevere in their intention of suing us for
libel, as II was announced they we're going to do.
A libel suit against the HERALD by such COM
pany would shed food of light upon the rail
road system as carried cut of late years. it would
do world Of good. We must say that the
greatest disappointment the public have met
with In all this affair has arisen from the failure
Of the company To prosecute us as they promised.
The WATERING PLACES" SHYsrER NEWS