Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1858-11-19
Report of the President and Directors.


Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Company take pleas
ure in laying before the Stockholders at their twenty
third Annual Meeting, the condition of their road
Corporate bodies, like physical, must feel occasional
depressons atmospheric changes and convusions a
feet the latter vcsstudes in the business of the coun
try affects the former.
The great monetary arrangement of 1857, which ex-
tended its blasting influence throughout the commercial
world, bore peculiarly hard English and American
Rails Produce of every description withheld from
market and it is well established that in the proportion
produce is so withheld travel is diminished and gener
al stagnat0n in business supervenes Thus the prosper
ty of its Rails becomes good and reliable fiscal barom
eter of country. The work intrused to our manage
ment passed through this trying with great
cess. Our receipts from freight and waytrave fully at
test this fact The gross receipts have been diminished
but the diminution has been, an the main, with our
through travel which is attributable to entirely different
causes. The opening of new routes Of travel and the
greatly reduced rates of fare steamers between South
Atlantic Cities and the North, drew from our line
large amount OF the through travel but the safety
and expedition Of the great Seaboard route unequaed
by any competing line, may confidently calculate up
return of this travel-and indeed it has already in
goodly measure, returned But it is source of graf
fcation, that Notwithstanding the heavy falling off in
this travel all of our current have been prompt
ly met our debt has been reduced and net surplus
left in hand which authorized distribution among the
stockholders of per cent. dividend In TRUTH by rigid
economy, profits have been large during any
preceding year. The report Of the Superintendent will
show that this economy has been practiced without
interfering in the least degree with those important road
improvements which have been kept in steady progress
for the last five years-such as filling up treste-work
the substituting of good rails in the place of those which
had laminated and the completion Of good station and
warehouses and other convenences and necessary ap
pances and fixtures which have heretofore greatly
required. We refer you to the accompanying Report
Of the Engineer and Superintendent for statement of
the reseps and expenditures and of the condition in
detail of the Road and its equipment.
The roadway and all of its necessary furniture is at
present in high order Independent of the two principal
causes assigned above for the dmnutOn OF receipts from
through travel exists another that has proven to
be beyond our control. We refer to the breaking up
by the Virginia Companies of the through ticket from
Wilmington to New York The convenience of the
travelling public should be a paramount consideration
with all enterprises which depend upon travel for their
support. More particularly should this consideration
have had controlling influence with all the Companies
constituting the Atlantic ne at the very time when
the opposite policy was adopted. The Virginia and
Tennessee Road, our great competing ne was on the
eve of being completed the outside steamers had re-
duced the fare from Charleston and Savannah to New
Ork from $25 to $l5. On side novelty if nothing
else, drew portion of the travel from u.s. while cheap
injured the other These reasons should have
made every connecting road more anxious to extend all
possible facilities to the travelling public but far
from this being the case the very opposite policy
forced upon us by the Companies running from Weldon
to Washington City The eUI still exists and but one
remedy presents itself for our adoption. We must put
our Company in the possession of an independent outlet
to the Chesapeake bay and the ocean. Whenever this
shall be DONE connecting lines North will be dependent
u.s. and not we on any of them for the privilege of
through ticket. There arc two modes by which this
great desidcratum can be obtained. One by the con-
structon of road from Enfield direct to Suffolk. The
right to build this branch readily be secured and
the people along the proposed line have evidenced
strong for construction We understand that
subscription could be easily obtained sufficient to pay
for the grading leaving the supersructure the only
expense which we would have to meet An experiment
tai survey ordered some time since by the Directors
but in consequence of the absence of the President it
has not been executed We have every reason to believe
that the way travel and freight would sustain the
ming of the road and if this should be So its advantage
to our company would be beyond calculation At Suf
folk independent of being placed Immediately in
tiOn with two rival lines to Norfolk we would have the
command OF good steamboat navigation to any point
on the Chesapeake bay, the Atlantic coast. Anoth
er plan has been agtaed at Board which has been
entertained with much favor but, on account of its i'm
portance in all its aspects definite action has been
TAKEN it being deemed best to refer the subject to the
stockholders for their consideration. This is the pur
chase of such interest in the Seaboard and Roanoke
Railroad as will give our Company controlling infu
ence over its action. Such interest is supposed to
be in the possession of individual who is willing
to sell it to provided agree the terms and
duu we possession Ol all Sucn lnIOf
nation In reference to the condition of this Company
you may desire to have to enable you to decide upon
the propriety and policy of such purpose.
Since the last meeting of the stockholders, first
English debt (being bonds issued in 1889 has become
due and we have succeeded in making an arrangement
with the holders of these bonds under which, by the
payment of onethird in cash. we have obtained an ex
tension of time upon the balance for fourteen additional
years. To enable us to make this payment we author
lied our Agent in New York to sell so many of the
bonds of the State of North Carolina lin which bonds
we had invested sinking fund.- as would realize $40,
444 49, the sum necessary to be raised for the cash pay
ment This he did by selling the bonds at $95 the
erage price at which purchased being $94. This
payment reduces this debt to $l46,222 22 and makes
the whole amount Of our Indebtedness 944,726 20
portion of this debt consists of the bonds o.
the Company endorsed by the State, amounting ii
the aggregate to $250,000, which payable il
equal instalments On lst JAM 1852 1860, 1861, 1862
and 1868. These payments can be readily made, as
they fall DUE by Withholding semi-annual dividend
thereby distributing among the Stockholders $4,000
instead of $4,000, for the ensuing five years Or
the State would renew its endorsement for shOr
period of time say four ve six years, the deb
could be easily paid without any interference with ou
seven per cent. dividend The matter is respectfully
submitted to the Stockholders for their determinations
Our six per cent. bonds issued in l849 amounting t.
S443,555 Sc, will fall due in 1869 The legitimat
accrues from our sinking fund will put the Company il
full possession of to meet this debt at maturity
well to qudate the bonds endorsed by the State
We will then have four additional years to meet The deb
of $l48444 which has just been extended. Thus a
the expiration of fourteen years the Road will find tse
relieved of debt, and that too, after regular annua
distribution of seven per cent dividends.
The change in the character of the sinking fund wa
made by the Directors for the reason that from the fol
plan of setting aside the proceeds of freight from tn
North Carolina Road the amount to be invested wa
uncertain, and therefore unreliable The substitution
the present plan in its place, to wit the setting apar
for that purpose of annual amount equal to three
cent the capital stock of the company, affords bone
holders certainty that sufficient will be set asid