The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-10-26
The Eastern Railroad Middle.
Rx.Director Cummings Speaks-He tells
about the Wastes-.Mr. Wooldredge's Sal
ary-How Bonds are sold-$3OO 900
Short ON Six Months, etc., ETC., etc.

n low udyc oiuC0 OOuu SummlQRS OF
Woburn, well known director of the Eastern
Railroad, resigned his position on the board. A
Boston Herald man has interviewed him and
ELECTS many matters of interest. He first I'M
dertook to learn of the financial condition of
the road, but the Treasurer, Mr.. Parker, put
him toff, asking him to wait until the books
were made up. He had heard that Presiden t
Woodbridge had salary of $4,000 a year. Mr.
Cummings was put off respecting this matter,
but at length found that the President had $1O,s
600 from the Eastern, $1,000 from the Great
Falls & Conway, and $4,000 from the P. S. &
P, making the comfortable sum of $4,000. AT
the request of Mr.. Cummings this paying of
$4,000 was stopped in June, but Mr.. Woold-
redge had been paid to August at that time.
The following are Mr.. Cummings remarks
as given by the Herald:
In July last, in conversation with Mr.. Wool.
dredge about the road, urged that a change
should at once be made SO that its affairs could
be conducted on the most rigid system of econ
omy; that not dollar should be spent that
could be avoided, and that, in fact the earniL gs
would have to be brought up to maximum
point if the road was to pay interest on its
bonded and floating debts. had no reference
to the question of dividends, because I knew
earning enough to pay its interest account.
This policy which was the only wise one to Dur.
sue, was delayed, however, until matters had
assumed critical aspect.
The first real difficulty I had with Mr.. Wool
dredgewas In regard to sale of $780, 900 of bonds
to some of the directors at So per cent. of their
par value, when the same class of bonds was
selling in the market at that time for 80. These
bonds had been retained as security by the di-
rectors in question in consideration of their en-
mi nj rfoi ion rrofoo Thoxy
had the privilege of acquiring the bonds at the
lowest price at which bonds were sold by tax
ing up the notes they Endorsed. This waslafter
the syndicate had been formed to float the ST.
of doing things, and held that the directors
had no right to make bargain with the road
where they were interested. as they were in this
transaction. 1t did not seem right that they
should have the power to fix price when they
were to be the R91chase1s and spoke my mind
tleman, however, held that the directors had
perfect right to DO what they had DONE 1 re-
torted that it was not right and he couldn't de-
fend it. and some sharp words passed between
uSl which will rot now repeat.
L continued my investigation into the affairs
OF the road, and found that it had debt of
$h5,OOO,0 900 hanging over it. also found that
between the LIST of December, 1874, and the LIST
OF September last-that is, for just nine months
the road was 100000 short in earnings of
paying the interest on its debt for the time. L
began to examine, with view to discover the
leak. 1 found that from $50 to 400 free trip
passes over the road were being issued each
day. found that over 2100 annual passes had
been given out. found that the road had been
carrying large amount of freight to various
competing points between and including Bos-
ton and Portland at less than So per ten tons l
found that the affairs of the general ticket
office in Boston, and all other ticket offices of
the road. had not been examined for some two
and half years.
L also found that the system of selling and
counting the tickets was such that frauds in
sale could not be detected. When the tickets
taken up by the conductors we're brought in
stations at competing points, and those on the
line of the road itself never counted. I spoke
to Mr.. Russell, the ticket master, about this,
and represented that no proper knowledge of
the business in tickets could be arrived at I'M
less all the tickets were counted, and their
number, etc., compared with the re.urns of the
agents along the line. He replied that this
could not be done. I told him that it could,
and brought him to the ticket master of the
Boston & Albany road, who showed him how
the various tickets issued along the line were
sorted and counted as they were brought in,
and separate account kept with every agent.
Mr.. Russell acknowledged that this was an i'm
provement on his system, and if he had the
power he would adopt it. At the next meeting
of the board, in September last, on my motion,
structed to sort and count all tickets, and open
separate accounts with all the ticket agents.
When this power was given, Mr.. Russell raised
the objection that there was not room in the
station in Boston to do this work, but that it
could be done in the station at Salem. But
both President Woodbridge and Manager
Hatch opposed the work being done there, and
as consequence, the new system has not been
tried up to the present time
Mr.. Cummings then proceeds to give theirea-
son of his resigning. He told the directors
there should be change in the management
that the President should resign. Mr.. Wool
dredge thereupon rendered his resignation
which was laid on the table. At subsequent
meeting, it was voted to to ask him to
withdraw it. Subsequently two of the direct
ors visited him and said that the division on
the board was the source of embarrassment,
and it being intimated that he was the cause of
the trouble, he resigned
Mr.. Cummings statement concludes as fol-
lows:
The road, as 1 have said, was short in its
earnings 100000 of paving the interest on its
debts in nine mon tbs of last year. But if it
had been wisely and economically administer
ed during the past year, l think. with the
amount of business done, it would have yielded
more than would have paid that interest, at
the very least
believe that saving of more than $500, 1000
on the passenger traffic alone could have been
made; that saving of over 100000 on the
freight traffic could have been effected; that a
$4,000 saving on the train service might have
been made, by running less number of trains
than were run without proper necessity; and
that finally another $4,000 might have been
saved in the running expenses Of the road, and
this item would embrace the salaries paid.
The expenses of our Washington street Of
fee were more than 60 per cent. of all the re.
ceipts of that Office. 1t cost the road $1,000
month for advertising, when it should not
have cost one-half that sum, if the work was
judiciously done. This will give an idea of
how extravagantly the affairs of the road have
been managed.
As to the corporation itself, still believe
its franchises to be good property. With the
business which it has already, it cannot fail to
make good returns if properly operated. 1t is
quite true that its branches are not profitable;
but if they could be run judiciously as feeders,
and the affairs of the road in general properly
and economically managed, as they can and
should be, 1 am confident that it may yet be
brought up to dividend paying basis.
The Bangor Mystery.