Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-09-29


From the Louisville Courier-Journal Of yes.
terdAy.
Review of Spectators .One-sided's
BaIance-sheet.
WHERE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CON-
Troll OF THE LOUISVILLE BRIDGE CON-
PANY REsTs-vALUE OF THE PROPERTY
$2l, ,00O, 600 NOW, Against Sl5, 900, 600
IN 1868.
Spectator criticises, in the Courier
Journal of Tuesday, the past manage
ment of the Louisville and Nashville
Railroad Company. Assuming to write
in spTit OF fairness, he gives only one
side of the story. Intelligent stockho!d-
ers cannot be so readily deceived. The
reports of the company are before them,
aud they will, no doubt, prefer to get
their information from authentic scurc- s
in preference to accepting Spectators
garbled account of The same.
Spectator" although, no doubt, q
good book-keeper, presents to his readers,
whom he wants to influence against the
road, only one side of the ledger. The
other side he carefully hides from view.
That side suits him best which represents
the expenditures of the company.
The other side, which shows the assets
of the company, and the property &C
quired for the money expended, does not
exist for him He wants to leave the
reader under the impression that the psst
management had squsndered some eight
million of dollars-the amount of bonds
issued.
If he had carefully examined the COM
psny's reports and their books before at
tempting to enlighten the stockholders,
and endeavored to present the facts as
they are, he would have been able TO
prove that the company has something 70
show for the expenditures made. He
could and would haye found that the
company has spent one million of dollars
in the extension of the Lebanon branch,
$3, 800, 900 in the purchase of the Mem
phis and Ohio and Memphis, Clsrksville
ami Louisville Railroads; that they
have invested 100000 in bridge
stock, 800, 600 in the stock of the Eliz4-
bethtown and Paducah Railroad, and
that they have purchased rolling stock
during the last two years, and increased
their depot and shop facilities to accom-
moda.e the rapidly increasing business of
this "mismansged" road to the extent of
81, 100, 900, and, besides this, the COM
psny has still On hand upwards of g, 900,
900 of the s., 900, 900 of bonds author
lied to be Issued for the purpose of re-
deeming the outstanding first mortgage
bonds.
Spectator could have readily account
ed, not only for the eight millions of
bonds, but for greater sum. He could
have shown that all of the bonds and the
earnings of the road have been judicious-
ly expended in enhancing the value of
the stockholders property, now worth
S2l, 900, 900, instead of s15, 900, 900 three
years ago.
Let the stockholders await the next an
nual report, which will fully show, as all
of the previous reports have shown, q
complete statement of the expenditures
of the company, the value and the char
scter of the property acquired, and which
official report will be complete refuta-
ton of the one-sided statement made by
Spectator" evidently for no other pur-
pose than to prejudice the stockholders
against the present management of the
! road
Spectator" does not confine himself
] to mere misrepresentation Of the re-