Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-05-09

place them. The total cost of our cars ha
E been S5SS 900. Jan. lst last we owed som'
$50, 900 or $40 900, | think our assets wer,
a tritle the largest. We paid two five PEI
cent dividends last year. We paid no divi
dends in 1871.
E Adjourned to a. IN. Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY FORENOON.
Is general agent of the Vt. Central manage.
ment-sometimcs attend to their business al
Montpelier, and stay through the session
They pay me 81 900 year and expenses
In 1857 ! commenced at 81 90; few years
ago they increased my salary to 81 800 and
some four or five years ago to s., 200. | am
corporator in the V. l. c. Co. was an
officer elected at the first meeting, and have
since served as a director. | am Vice-Pres-
ident and ex oihcIO member of the ex-
ecutive committee. and have salary of
$500. | hold 223 shares, and as trustee for
my daughter l2j. paid $50 on share !;
par value is 800, and hold certificates for
that. suppose that the management was
short of ears, unable to procure them, and
| felt justified as their agent in helping to
get up this company to supply them.
understood that the cars were to be made
where We could get them best We had no
shops. We had not, 80 far as | know, any
purpose to let our cars to any other than
the Vermont Central roads | did not and
do not know that nineteen-twenteths of the
stock was or is owned by the Vermont Cen
tral management and their immediate
friends. ! was not. that | know of, ap-
piled to by any member or officer of either
House of the Legislature to be let in as n
stakeholder Had no inumation from
any officer Of either House that the bill was
Lob FHs.W. ]. Il
keep still and he should have some of the
stock.
testified that he became trustee and mana
ger in $50. Am a stakeholder in the Yer
mont Iron and Car Company for a little
| over 300 shares. Do not know what salary
| receive As trustee; have charged none.
Have given no bonds, and been asked to
| give none. am sorry to say ! have no in
tercst in Cheney Co. : Express | have
been in part owner of the St. Albans Foun-
dry Company. Further testimony on this
point was deferred until the arrival of Mr..
| Grout.
OTIS D4URY
Am one Of the Advisory committee chosen
by the bondholders, and it is my business
to examine the accounts of the Trustees
and Managers. Ny salary is $500 year.
Have never filed any written objections
| Own 800 shares Vt and Canada and SEQ
| GOO 1T mortgage bonds Own l29 shares
| V. /. S C.. Co. Don't know who asked me
| to take stock My only motive was to assist
| for rolling stock on the road. Did not know
/ that IL was to he made or repaired at the
/ Vt Central shops. The management had
| bad no means of raising the mo9ey-S2,-
/ 0OO, 600 of equipment bonds wefe before
| that issued, to be sure, but We had other
/ liabilities 10 be paid. | supposed stock in
| the V |. S G.. Co. would pay, else would
not have taken it. | own 100 shares in the
[ National Car Co. Ii has hever occurred to
me that that there was anything inconsist-
| ent with my duty to b0ndh0lder- in holding
/ stock in the companies.
Before | became q member of the Advisory
Board investigated the prices paid the St.
Adams Foundry Company for ear wheels.
l | filed paper in court containing my ohlec-
/ ti0ns to the prices paid W c. Smith for car
wheels. Ny objections were argued in
I court. and the quality of iron was explained
and everything was fixed up, but ! cannot
| say whether satisfactory To me or not.
Cro-S-examined-our committee thought
| the arrangement with the National Car Co,
n good one for the public and the security
holders. Ii made the line more popular
and secured more business. did not enter
money az the expense of the roads. and
think now the roads have the best bargain.
The changeabie gauge was a doubtful ex-
pertinent. The expense of operating It has
been very great and it has not succeeded.
did not expect the Rutland road would
pay It's rent the first few years | thought
that If We lost 5000 200 the first year. there
would be saving 20 the Central by reducing
competition. | expected the lease would
run MS behind a hundred thousand or more
the first year, and the Ogdensburg lease dit
10. ! expected 90 make up half of it at
least IN the ending of the competition. Do
not know exactly how much We lost on the
Ogdcnshurg road the first year. The sum
of $500. 600 might have shown against Us,
but We had property TO Offset it.
| Do not think my Investment in the Vt.
Iron a. Car Company good one at the
present rate Of > cents a mile. ! knew moth
ins Of the Company till chartered. We
gave the contract 20 manufacture to the Vt.
Central shops because We could get better
car.
j. ". HOBART.
Am general freight agent and have been
for II years My salary is $1,000. Am
director in both ear companies and a mem
ber Of the executive committee, my salary
being : 1873 from each. Ny office i some
times called master of transportation. |
dictate what cars shall be used on the road.
Adjourned till o'clock.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
ro---eXamined-Prior to organizing the
National Car Company we really had no
facilities for getting freight from the West.
There were the red. white and blue lines on
other roads between Boston and the West.
and they were getting all the business. 1t
WAS doubtful experiment, and there was
difficulty ia getting the stock. The people
on our line are very much better satisfied
with the facilities than before. Cars now
come from Chicago TO Montpelier in about
six days The income Of the Vermont Cen
trail was increased by this line by some
$3.50 900. After deducting the payment
to the Car Companies, we considered that
there was margin of profit to the roads.
The cost of the ears was 81 .07O per car
The price for use was at first , cents mile
The Vermont Central and Vermont *
Canada were only small part of the line
say about one-eighth The rate now is
cents mile. and ! that for long runs it
might do very well. On short runs it is
not enough. The life of the ear cannot be
more than SIX or seven years. The dividends
have been ten and twelve per cent. or some
IL or l6 per cent, on the money paid in.
We could not support the cars continually
on less than about - per cent annually.
The Vermont Iron a Car Company was
organized specially for transporting lumber
from Ogdensburg and Ottawa, and the ears
are five feet longer than ordinary cars The
Vermont Central paid p cents mile at
first and now > cents, and the Car Company
keep them in repair. The cars run over the
lower roads and on the Northern road get
4 mills ton per mile, or if the car is load
ed with ten tons, it Is equivalent to 1 cents
a mile. The cars do not average to be half
loaded on the way back Itexceeds 2i cents
per mile that we average to get from the
lower roads The payments from the lower
roads are greater by some eight or nine
hundred dollars a year than the amount re-
| ceived from the Central. Our road exchan-
ges cars with other roads. and the rate is %
cents per mile run. We needed the Yer
mont Iron ~ Car ears and now need as
many more. These ears rave never, except
in one instance been used to the preiu-
dice of the Vermont Central cars NV
directions from the Managers were 20
this effect. The exception, of which
! heard last night, was that the agent at
Montpelier directed subordinate to load
the Vermont Iron and Car Company ears
in preference to the Others Last October
! owned 100 shares, and now own but seven,
having sold because thought | could do
better with my money. ! have done like
wise with my National stock. Witness
corrected his testimony as to his salary in
one Of the companies, it being 500 less
than he said. Am not aware of any frauds,
peculation or corruption in connection with.
this company or this road, or of the legis-
lature, or the public. If we had the cars
of other roads instead of the National cars,
in the year ending December 30, 1872, We
should have paid over ten thousand dollars
more than we did, by actual computation
Of 2i cents per mile The business of the
road increased net $l27 900 that year in
consequence of the use of these cars. Some
forty-one of these ears are now running on
the Eastern road at 81 day. which
largely exceeds the sum derived from the
| Central.
The Atlantic " Great Western have the