, 1873-10-17

h
Tho Nation is still laboring In a hoayy sea Of
watercd stock. It endeagors to show now that
there is no connection between tho practice
| among railroads Of Issuing fictitious stock aud
tho grievances Of which the farmers complain.
To do this it has deemed it only necessary to 70
| over Poors Manual" noto tho increase in the
| capital stock md debt Of certain number of
railroads. ind also the iucrcaao in the freight
earnings Of the aamo roads. As it finds TINT the
increase in tho freight earnings Of these roads
has not been In the precise proportion
Of the. increase Of stock and indebtedness,
is no relation between tho two, aud that freight
charges depend In no way upon tho amount Of
water TINT may have been injected Into the rail-
road stocks. AL TINT the Nation can claim to
have proved by this array Of figures is TINT tho
managers Of railroads do not Immediately voto
to raise freight charges when they decide to
water tho stock. It needed no ghost to como
from the graVe to tell us that. They aro not
quite 30 green. 1t iB worry oyldont, howeyor,
from tho figures tho Nation presents, that both
creased, though it fails to state how and where
fore.
Tho Nation takes the railroads of Ohio to IL
luatrate its point, and cites the casoof the Pitts
burgh, Fort Wayne l. Ohicago Railway among
others to prove it, showing that the capital
stock md indebtedness Of this road Is s35, ,852,-
GIG, and that itB disidonds arc only per cent.
Then it observes triumphantly aud innocontly:
We should like very much to be informed by come
who interests himsnf iu tho Farnerg' Movement,
When he speaks of the Directors "increaalng tho
freight charges to pay Interest on watared Stock"
which Of tho dyidcndpaying roads in Ohio liz has In
mind.
We reply that wo have the Pittsburgh, Fort
Wayne Chicago III mind as ono Of thcn,,--not
that It is singular in this respect, but because
thore is an ovent In the history Of this road
which enables uB to stick pin, before going
any farther. Some years ago, when Fisk and
Gould wore holding high carnival in Eric, they
made overtures (or wero thought to hayo done
so) to the Fort Wayne Company, with view to
leasing its railway, aud thereby securing con-
necton, ria nlansaold, with Chicago. Tie
Pennsylvania Railroad Company became alarmed,
and Immediately sot measures on foot to
Hsouro the lease for thamsolyos CONFER
once between tho particB in interest deyelopcd
certain views on tho part OF the Fort Wayne
gentlemen, which may DO stated In tho rough
thus: The present and prospective earnings
Of our road aro such, that If wa lease our proper
ty to you on tho existing stock basis no shall
lose largely. You will pay us tlxod rental on
a rising valuo, and put the difference in your
pockets. This difference belongs to u.s." Tho
Pennsylvania gentlemen wero used to stock
Watering, and hence no labored argument was
needed to convince them Of the soundnoHB Of tho
Fort Wayne position; 30 they told the Fort
Wayne gentlomon 10 estimate tho prospective
ing earnings, capitalize the amount aud execute
lilo lease on the basia of I per cont por annnm
on tho total sum Of cash and water thus
achieved. This waa done. Tho Pennsylvania
Company secured thoir Wostorn extension and
Tue Fort Wayne people got the 1onnsylvania
Road as additional security that their earnings
should mover full below per cent OF tho real
and fictitious capital cooked up at DIroctora'
meeting. Tho freight charges on tho Fort
Wayne Road wero adjusted to produce this per
cent; for Of course tho Pennsylvania Company
never intonded to take money out OF their own
Treasury to pay dividends on Tort Wayne
stock.
But asys the Nation. 1.-THE amount which