Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-03-23
.1HE NORTHERN PACIFIC.
4 NEW DEAL By THE BILLINGS
PARTY.
Wall Street in a aFerment-A Large Amount
of Common Stock Suddenly Issued--Effeot
of the Transaction on the Willard POOL
And How it Failed in Securing Control
ling Interest-Probability the Manage
ment Will Pass from the Preferred to the
Common Stockholders.

NEW YORK, March 22.-On inquiry to-day
at tho Office of the Northern Pacific Railroad
company, it was learned that the persons en-
titled to receive the newly issued stock num-
bered from 5000 to 5000. and that the stock
was pretty well distributed among
them. It was also said that nothing
Is known by the management of
the company as to the amount of stock secured
by the Willard pool. A gentlemen connected
with the company said the proposition 10 dis
tribute the residue of the common stock had
repeatedly been discussed by the board of
directors, and that the matter was left untinish.
ed iu the hands of the executive committee.
The latter body, under the bylaws, had all tbs
powers of the directory, which would prompt.
| iy ratify the act of the committee at the
distribution Of the stock was the clamor raised
| by those who couldn't in justice be kept out
OF it's possession in the present state of the
| stock market. He could not tell how the
measure would affect the schemes Of the
Willard pool. The motive for. the formation
Of that organization was obvious to any one
who knew the the character Of the the
railway and the Oregon railway
and navigation company. The seaport of the
latter company was Portland, Oregon. The
bar at the mouth of the Columbia river was
very difficult Of passage, and severe storms
were frequently off the coast, so it was not un-
common for vessels to be weather bound near
that point for. two weeks at time. Then
there were many bars, shoals, etc., between
the mouth of the river and Portland, render
ing navigation extremely difficult. On
the other hand there was perfectly
plain sailing with q deep channel to Tacoma,
the seaport and western terminus of the Nor.
thern Pacific road, at Puget Sound. There
were twenty-five feet of water at low tide off
the company's dock at that place, and from
there to the ocean there was not reef or
shoal In consequence the cost of chartering
irst-class vessels to 60 from this city to Port
land, was 5000 more than to 60 from this city
to Tocoma.
The line of the Northern Pacific road from
Ainsworth, at the mouth of Snake river, to
Topi, would be 1S5 miles shorter than the
route found through Portland. 1t followed
from these facts that the railroad and steam
boat line of the Oregon navigation company
could be greatly injured by completion of the
Northern Pacific road to Tacoma, and 1t was
to prevent this completion that the Willard pool
was formed. Before that Willard had
tried unsuccessfully to induce the Northern
Pacific company to enter into some plan OF
consolidation or to delay work on the road be-
yond Ainsworth The same gentleman re-
marked if the Willard party had not secured
control of the Northern Pacific before the new
distribution of stock the increase of market
able shares would be likely to aid them in at
tanning their object. If, however, they had
practically secured a controlling interest, the
new issue might tend to lessen their hold.