Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-08-13
STOCKHOLDERS In COUNCIL.
Annual Meeting of the Nashville and
Chattanooga Railroad Company.


Annual Meeting of the Nashville and
Chattanooga Railroad Company.
The Presidents Report How the
Road has Pared Through an r~a,,,.
fui Year-Tfme of Meeting Chau~ea
Standing Proxies Abolished New
Directory Elected.
The annual meeting Of the stockholders
Of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
was held in this city yesterday at the Chat
tanOoga depot. The meeting was called 10
order at II O'Clock, and organized by elect
ing as President b. q. Fields, of Bedford
county, and as Secretary, NJ. b. Henderson.
of Rutherford county.
THE PRESIDENTS REPORT.
On behalf Of the Directory, Col. w.
Cole, President OF the company, presented
the following report:
'OFFICE OF TIE PRESIDENT CT TIE
NASHVILLE, CHATTANOOGA AND ST.
LOUIS RAILROAD, NASHVILLE, Tenn.
Aug. II. lS74-tO the Stockholders: The
report Of the General Superintendent and
the financial statement of the Treasurer
give full and detailed information of the
operations OF lie road for the past fiscal
year, and also an exhibit of the financial
condition of the company, while the report
Of the Resident Engineer shows the paw
ments for his department and the present
condition Of your property.
For the past fiscal year the receipts have
been:
From fTeights. 81 .2s3 .5i6 96
frOIn Eassage ..................... 81 Al IS
SS.clo Di
For rents and privileges 26,SO2 50
For the same period the expenses
81 yS45,i5I -
Expenses n $40 and net earnings %
40 per cent. OF receipts.
at is believed hat the last twelve months
have been more disastrous to the interests of
railroads than any previous year, and that
but one or two roads in the South and very
few in the whole country have paid any
thing TO the stockholders out of their net
earnings, after providing for interest on
bonded debS; and worse still, great num-
Der all over the whole country failed TO pay
interest even on their bonded debt. These
disasters were brought about mainly by the
momentary panic which set in about the
middle of September of last year, and
from the effects Of which the country las
not yet wholly rallied.
$40 this great general cause for the fall
ing off in business may be added local
causes, such as cholera in Nashville and
other towns in Middle Tennessee during
last summer, yellow fever in Memphis
during the fall, and delay in transportation
over the st. Louis division Of your road
during last spring-all operating to deplete
the gross earnings Of your roads, giving al
together more fOrcible reasons for decrease
OF gross earnings on your roads than it is
believed will occur in any future year.
And the directors congratulate
the stockholders that the company
passed through all these unfayOrable sur
roundings, meeting promptly every ob!iga-
ton of every kind, including interest on
bonded debt, and paying to the stOckhOld-
ers on the LIST of April last two per cent.
dividend on the consolidated capital stock;
and the directors can see at present no rea-
son why that amount cannot be paid 10 the
stockholders on the ilrst of October next,
and go ON as a semi-annual dividend; and
| even increase that amount as soon as the
country fully RECEIVERS from the late none
tary panic and your road receives its full
benefit Fl om improved connections, via
Cairo to st. Louis and Chicago, threHgh
the extension of the Mississippi Central
Railroad already completed.
| TThe General Superintendent reports
falling offinthe gross receipts Of 1921 ,567.T0
as compIred with the previous year, but
only 81, 3S7. 03 in net earnings, showing a
saving of 1899, 1907 in expenses over tie
previous year, while the trseA Sld ma
chinery have been flliy maintained. which
is very encouraging, Tor it shows that your
properly has been brought to a degree of
Improvement that warrants a low average
for operating expenses for any given amount
of earnings, and its good condition author
lies US in saying thai a further reduction
in expenses viii be made during the fiscal
year just entered upon, while We expect
the gross earnings will be increased.
Il asst year the Chattanooga division of
your read was operated at 81 per cent. for
expenses, leaving 50 per cent. of net to
grOss earnings-ayeTaging for the whole
line Is 40 per cent, net 10 gross earnings.
''ThO percentage or expenses to gross
earnings for operating the st. Louis divis-
ion will be reduced as the business of
that new road is developed and increased.
"The Directors cannot see any reasons TO
fear increased competition with your line
between the Northwest and the Southeast,
st. LeIis being the focus in one direction
and Atlanta in the other.
ave Continue to maintain the most ami
cable relations with all eOnnectingroads.
THE Green Line has become an institu-
ton with the roads running between tide
water and the West, and as there seems
to be some want Of information regarding
the character of this interest it may not be
uninterssting to give a brief history of its
origin and the object sought to be attained
by it, as reported to another company.
at is line owned and controlled en-
tirely by the roads in interest, upon just
and equitable principles to all, without the
influence or interest of any outside parties;
the cars being the common property of all
the roads in their use for the object in
view, and run under satisfactory arrange
ments as to mileage, each company reciev-
ing its null pro rata proportion Of all rates
established by the line. 1t has proved a
great success. Companies owing OSer two
thousand miles of road are jointly and
equally interested in the line, extending in
ulhroken connection from Louisville on
the Ohio, Nashville on the Cumberland,
and st. Louis and Cairo on the Mississippi
in the West to Montgomery on the Ala
bama, Mobile on the Gulf, Savannah,
Charleston and Port Royal on the sea, and
Charlotte, y. c., in the interior and all
intermediate points.
"This plan is greatly preferred to the
policy pursued by Western and Eastern
companies in farming out their roads to
private parties who run through freight
cars.
Previous 10 TIC present arrangement,
| freioht betWaen distant pOintS-betWeen
Louisville, Ky, and Augusta, Ca, for in
stance-was transferred from the cars Of
one road 10 the cars Of the connecting road
at the terminus Of each road. At Nash
Vile, ChattanOOga and Atlanta, each COM