Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-07-27
The B. E. O. RAILROAD.
An Interesting Railroad Speech
from President Garrett.
From Baltimore American. july 13.

From Baltimore American, July 13.
The regular monthly meeting of the
Directors of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
road Company was held, yesterday at
Camden Station. Mr.. John w. Gar
rett, the President, presided. There
was more than a quorum of the MEM
bers present, and Mr.. Garrett received
| the congratulations of all on his safe
return to Baltimore from his trip across
| the Continent, and on account of the
evident beneficial results it had on his
health. These courtesies over, the
| usual routine of business was transact
ed, after which the Board listened
with great interest to statement from
President Garrett relative to his trip of
900 miles over the connections of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to the Pa
cific, and embodying his views as to
the lessons that Baltimore business
men and others might learn from his
experience. He stated the prospects
for increased business, in view of the
great advantages of the port of Balti-
more, and its geographical location to
the cities of Chicago, st. Louis, Cincin-
natl, Louisville, &c. He called atten-
ton to the fact that the Cincinnati
Southern Railroad would be open for
one hundred and sixty miles from Gin
cinnati to point south of Danville,
KY, by Jan. l next, and that it was
expected by the Trustees that the en-
tire line from Cincinnati through Ken
tueky to Chattanooga, Tenn, 33S miles,
would be completed by July 1, 1877.
The city of Cincinnati has already ap-
propriated $l6,000,0 900 to the construc-
tion of this work. Mr.. Garrett stated
that he looked especially for a large
increase of business between Cincinna-
ii and Baltimore on account of the i'm
meDse advantages in distance for Gin
cinnati using Baltimore as its Atlantic
port. Tho advantage by the Baltimore
& Ohio Road in distance, as compared
with New York by the New York
Central Road to Cincinnati is three
hundred and four miles.
MIR. Garrett called attention to the
fact that the latitude of San Francisco
is 80 AN, of Washington, Baltimore
and Cincinnati, 390, of Louisville, 380,
st. Louis, 3S40 and of New York 40,
showing the natural geographical rela-
tiOns of these great centres of business
as being with Baltimore, and not New
York.
But what is the interest of the city of
Baltimore in the Baltimore & Ohio
Road? 1t is S2,250,000 of stock, on
which the city has for many years re-
eeived 10 per cent. dividends, making
profit directly in cash, annually, on
this investment, beyond the interest it
pays on the bonds issued in payment
for this stock, and this difference be-
tween and 10 per cent, viz: 4 per
cent, is one hundred and thirty thou
sand dollars year. But, besides this,
the city owns its proportion of the
surplus fnnd of the Baltimore d Ohio
Railroad Company, viz: S34 ,O69, ,791 SO.
This great fund has been invested in
the important and invaluable exten-
sions and improvements of the Balti-
more & Ohio Road, not only in Mary.
land, Virginia and West Virginia, but
in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and other
States, by which vast business has
been brought to Baltimore, and thrO'
which the city of Baltimore has been
sustained and strengthened and made
successful in her rivalry with New
York and other Atlantic cities.
The proportion of the city of Balti-
more in this great surplus fund, due to
her ownership in the stock of the road,
is S, ,419, ,O33, SO that, instead of the city
of Baltimore having but So, ,25O,0 900 in
the Baltimore & Ohio Road, it really
owns of the capital the vast sum of
$1l 1863, ,O33, and certainly it is not too
much to say that this surplus fund
promises ultimately to pay as we'll di-
rectly and in all forms as the invest
ment of the city in the Western Mary
land Railroad.