The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-11-14
The Baltimore d Ohio Road and the
Panic.

Auids, all the complaints that have
been made gainst the Baltimore road, and
their name is legion, there Is one thing
that can be said to the everlasting credit
Of Its managers, and that is that they have
never perverted its operations to promote
speculation In the stock. In other words
they have never made fancy stock out
Of II, but have held 1t up In the market
higher and higher on its merits as sound
dividend paying investment.
The results OF such q policy are very
apparent in the present panic. There ID
no material shrinkage In the price ol Bal
timore & Ohio shares. They have sold
within week at forly.fve per cent pre-
MUM, while the. Pennsylvania road has
recently sold down to so cents on the dol.
lar and has been obliged to pass It's regu'
lar semi.anntal dividend. There Is no
suspicion that the Baltimore road will
fall TO pay any Of its maturing obligations.
It's credit Is strictly firstclass in all the
markets OF the world. Tho London holder
Of its stock or bonds feels just as conf.
dent Of tho solvency Of the Company as
he does Of tho "dcbentures" Of the lead.
ing English lines. And whatever comes
Of the panic, whether Vanderbilt stocks"
go up to par or down out OF sight, he ex.
pects 10 see but a very slight variation in
the shares of the Baltimore Company.
he congratuates himself that ii Is not
like Erie, or New York Central, or even
Pennsylvania Central, or for that matter
almost any other prominent American
railroad. He believes, 10 other words
that he has something reliable and sub
santIal even II the panic results inspecie
payments and o still further shrinkage ir
Sllsecuri,ies. ''l -
And speaking OF this favorable opinion
towards the Baltimore road in foreign
markets, we understand that the BAR
INGs, Of London, through whom the COM
psny negotiated their last loan Of $4,000
OOO-at 90, sent over their agents this
summer prior to placing tho loan on the
market and made o thorough recon-
noiasauce Of the main line and oil Its
branches and connections, and satisfied
themselves that as o great property II
could be relied on under all emergencies
to do an immense and paying business.
Their agents spent weeks in making theil
examination and as the result Of 1t recon.
mended the loan to the English capitalists
and consequence Il was promptly placed
M0O IN sterling money, which would be
something likeo scven,een in our cur
rency.
Tho Baltimore Company has therefore
this good credit at home and abroad tt
fall back on when twitted with want o
proper enterprise in extending thei
connections to important points Eas
aud West. We think 1t possible enough
that they might have had just al
good credit and been decidedly NOR
euterprising than they have been, but a
between being slow and sure on the ont
hSnd aud fast and insecure on the other
like perhaps one or two Of their rivals
they have certainly chosen the better part
At all events they can console themselve
that although the Pennsylvania road ha
completely headed them of at Philadel
pbia, at Pittsburg, and at Columbus, ant
even ,unneled under them at Baltimore
and supplanted them south ol Washing
ton, that no paper bearing the endorse
ment ol hejFfesident, Vice. President AMI
Directors Of the Baltimore road has gon
to protest, and that the Company hay
not been compelled 10 pay Ito stockhold
era in scrip payable q year or eighteei
months after date. a,' V|Fl
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