The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-02-13
THE RAILWAYS Of the METROPOLIS.

Their Secret History Revealsd-Thsir Cost,
Their Business and their Probable Future
The MiIlions Pocketed By tho Railroad
RinG-Why the Railroads are Not Remuner.
asive 60 the steckholders, &c.
Atlength after fortnight Of railway blockade. Aqua
Rus has opened to public travel those parts Of railway
lines which were hopeessy buried by the
snow storm. and the Seventh avenue branch Of the
Broadway and Seventh avenue line, the Fourteenth
street and other cTosstown running a. regularly
the whims Of their managers viii permit And now
that the cars have resumed, the easily pacined public
may be expected to forget the annoyance TO which
they have been subjected by the railway kings who in.
stead Of keeping their vehicles moving throughout the
night Of the great Storm suffered their tracks TO be
showed under-forget as they forgot the stupendous
theft Of the extra penny And the publlcs representa-
tves at Albany 10 whom several petitions for new
railways have already been sent may presume upon
the forgetfulness Of their masters give Us before
the close Of the session another batch Of railway monopo
lies They VIII surely do SO II the "third House. man.
Csuvres adroty It did in 1s6o-tbe year in which
the majority Of the city railroads were chartered
Let US look back TO the session Of $780, The railway
operators had stocked their cards for the passage Of
about thirty city railway grants The majority OF the
charters had been carried through the Assembly without
serious opposition, and were barganed through the
Senate the being that Governor Morgan
would nterpose his veto merely matter Of FORM II
limited that the Governor was not wholly hostile to
the building of the proposed railways and it known
that he desired throw of granting charters
upon the shoulders Of his political opponents therefore
he vetoed the several city railway bills with the excep
ton of the bill confirming the action Of the New York
Common Council, giving the Ninth Avenue Railroad
Company . charter TO from Spuyten Duyvil
creek to the Battery and this he signed
As had been anticipated. the Assembly passed the
bills the Governors head but those OF citizens
who opposed the giving away Of streets had hopes
Of the Senate until the bills reached that body On that
day, after the reading Of the minutes, Colonel Bliss
now Of the Metropolitan Board OF Health, but then
Governor Morgans private secretary appeared at the
seat Of republican Senator Prosser and invited that gen.
ticman to hasten to his Excellency's chamber. No
sooner had republican Senator Prosser departed tn an
democratic Senator Frank B. spnola called up the rail-
road bills from the Assembly and moved their reference
to the First Committee Of the Whole; and the motion
prevailed Senator Prossers absence giving the demo-
cracy majority. This done, the Hon. Frank moved
that the committee go session. and the motion
carried by the majority. Frank then put the bills
through their several stages and within brief half
hour they had been duly enacted The railway bills hav
ing been passed Senator Prosser returned from his inter
view with the Governor reaching the Senate Chamber
just in to second the movements Of his bosom
friend Spnola who had at that moment sprung upon the
Senate bill providing for the enlargement Of the locks
OF the Stat canals-a job which supposed to be
worth cool million to somebody OF course Sena-
tor Prosser who had all along urged his Lock Enlarge.
ment bill upon the Senate did not vote against It's pas.
sage But alas for human constancy the honorable
Spinoa having push ed the through the Senate
hasened with to the Assembly and there mannuvcred
IT. defeat II he bargained with any interested person
20 carry the lock enlarge ment in the Senate. he
ssnly KEEP: his s WORD and anybody contved to let
q any other BILL possibly that person gained wisdom
from experience.
BROADWAY AND SEVENTH AVENUE
and the incorpOratOrS John Kerr Edward p.
Cowles, Anthony J. Hin, Hugh smith, John s. Hunt.
3 BaSoock Robert Marshall John Kelly and Jacob
eonspicuousy in other city railways, and who had
learned better than 70 get charter for any small sum Of
a. ,000 and they pretended in commencing opera
lions on the 25h Of July 1853 TO have paid capital
Of occ IT, however their actual cash capital
does happen that With SIS 4O6 IN excess Of the run
nng expenses in 1884 an excess Of $l9s over the
digious debt Of 81, 5Oo,ooos Can Messrs Murphy,
s ss. Bradley q r ss gas
Company, make satisfactory roplyf The CONSOLE
dated Stage Company was supposed 70 have been dam
Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad: and therefore
TO that company the railroad gave onetwelfth Of the
swsIfth a. Then prior 70 the completion Of the
road tho stage line propretors were assessed $40
making their apparent investment $4,000, for which
they were gwen In return certificate OF one-twelfth
OF the railway company's stock and $lO8 600 OF its
bonds The $40 900 assessment for the building and
eqnIppng Of road, and II this sum represented the
cost Of twelfth, the figures would indicate $4,000
tho actual cost Of the line. II the incumbent
directors were 70 assert that since the OF the
sivey their rolling Stock the poor stockholders might
point the Third Avenue road with It's eight miles Of
Second avenue It's valuable lands In Harlem and its 10
and 800 horses and ask whether all these cost
ouy 81 406 509 the seventh with four les OF
double track single depot not 200 feet square, 9s
and 764 horses, ought 70 have cost anything like
$500 600 To do the gentlemen exact Justice must
be added their President frankly admits that the
total cost of the road and equipment but $402 SEQ
And yet in the companys first annual report 70 the
State Engineer the OF road and equipment put
down At $2e4s, l6s. These are curious figures. But
what Is curious is the fact that the stock
ere get ssm annual dividends q i've per cent while the
tire property drug in the market at eighy.hve
cents on . dollar
retired sockhodor volunteers some further infor-
NATION concerning this remarkable road The gentle
man says that the concern Is mainly owned and wholly
controlled By whose Sy Ss s
stock has been watered throughout and Is not utrn-
scay worth TIE paper which It printed that the
she entire stock for the bonds that enormous
ber Of shares given 70 gee the charter through the
Legislators; that two well known citizens are sup
posed have realized at eas, $500 00c EACH and two
Others not lees than $780, 900 each out Of the road
that the stock which taken by the original stock
holders did mot cost them . dollar beyond the
100000 which they raised for the purchase OF the
railway iron; that in tho early history Of the road
George Law and John Kerr fought each other
bitterly for the control of the corporation; that
Board OF Directors chosen every month for Time
but that Thurlow Weeds immense interest decided the
in favor Of Mr. Kerr, and that since that time
the road has been managed by John Kerr, Thurow
Weed, Jacob Sharp Hugh smith, Sheridan shook, Will
liam r. Webb an6 John T. Conover.
The act authorizing the construction OF the
BLxEcKm STREET FULTON FERRY RAILROAD,
like others which enacted on the 11th or April,
1890 passed Governor Morgan's veto and the
incorporxtos stephen Roe, John Stewart Charles
w. Lawrence, John Kennedy james s. Hunt Charles G.
Clarke John Fox, William Ravensteyn, William II. Peck,
John q. Thompson, Thomas Ryan and Joseph s. Craig.
These gentlemen supposed 10 be the real stock
holders; but early in the roads history Francis B.
Spinola turned up owner, and became Super
intendent After the passage Of the enabling act
the twelve original stockholders we're assessed
$500, 600 for the laying OF the rails and
stocking Of the road and subsequently, the road hav.