Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-03-11
Aa1lcaster fntelligel,cer.
THURSDAY EVENING. MARCH II, 1880.
DOcile Stockholders.

should be able to ascertain at any time
from its managers whatever they might
want to know about it, and that they
should particularly be well-informed as to
the uses made of its capital and income.
But it is curious thing that the owners of
great property who are associated under
articles of incorporation cannot find out
any more about its affairs than its officers
choose to tell them, and are pOwerless to
compel the discovery to them of what is
done with their money. The published
reports which are furnished them must
content them; and yet, all the time,
their right to all the information they
want is not denied them and the prOffer
to furnish it is freely made, with the i'm
piled understanding, apparently, that no
StockhOlder will take advantage of it to
inquire into matters which it is disagree
able to the officials to talk about. The
late meeting of the Pennsylvania rail-
road stockholders was model one of the
kind. The owners of the property were
admitted by ticket to the hall, but as
most of them live at distance
and all of them know that
they did not amount to anything
when they were assembled, the
gathering consisted of the roads officers
and retainers and few independent
stockholders who could not persuade
themselves to forego their theoretical
privileges, and who were so eccentric and
bull-headed as to he unwilling to comply
with the understanding of the managers
of their property that no unfair advan-
tage should he taken of the privilege
kindly granted them to ask questions
about matters in the report which they
did not fully understand. 1t became ap-
parent before long that it was considered
unfair in the stockholders to doubt their
servants integrity, skill or truthfulness :;
no reflections upon the honorable mana
gers, dead or living, were considered
permissible it was gross outrage to
make them, and altogether unfair and
unbearable; q; and after a very short season
of it, the honorable mayor who presided,
was moved to discharge the meet
ing and so stop the loud mouths
of the disagreeable stockholders.
1t was very remarkable performance
indeed-that meeting. We enjoyed
reading the account of it. 1t was in
structive. 1t was interesting tonote how
absolutely barren of information was
the field which the stockholders were
invited to CLEAN. The secretary read the
number of 4 page and paused for a re-
mark. The first one came in the shape
of amOtion that the earnings of the COM
.pany should he divided among the
owners, instead of being used to
extend the road or increase its
property. OF all questions that could
he considered by stockholders this
certainly was one of the most vital and
important. 1t raised the question
whether the managers of railroad
should take its profits and use them for
alleged betterments-giving them an OPP
portunity to steal them for their own
betterment-or whether they should re-
turn all the profits to the owners and
call Oh them to supply the additional
capital needed to increase the facilities
of the road. And how was this stock
holder answered The president of the
road told him it was none of the business
of the owners to say what should be done
with their profits, the question of a divi-
dend being one entirely for the directors.
Just think of it and tell us on what this
alr% l,n T..
masters.
After this promising opening we are
not surprised at the husks which the in
quiSitive stockholders gathered in large
quantities as the pages of the report were
turned over during the brief time they
were permitted to be with their fellow
owners: until the pressure of their i'm
pudence got too heavy for the manage
ment and they were turned out into the
street. They exhausted the patience of
their servants when they wanted to know
about little transaction in which eX-
President Thomson pocketed $4,000 of
their money and several of their
directors had received thousand
year each for nothing. This was
treading on forbidden ground. Mr..
Vice President Roberts got his
Indignation up because the assault
was on dead man, and in his natural
perturbation he forgot to explain the
conduct of the living. The whole party
sailed out of view hidden by eX-President
Thomson's pail, and there was such a
hurry to adjourn and such deter
minatiOn to choke off stockholder
Parker that we may imagine without in
justice to any one, that the living fellows
who did the weeping and gnashing of
teeth over the dead Thomson had very
tender corns themselves which they
were in hurry to draw in out of dam
ger from the indiscreet Parker's
heavy tread. Certainly they were not
friends of ThOmson'S. These reports
about his venality have been SO many
and are so current that his fame can
only he saved by their investigation and
refutation. But that was a gay meet
ing: and if the Pennsylvania stockhold-
ers are content with the fullness of the
information their officers gave them,
thev are a very nice and docile set of fel-
lows to do business for.