Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-26
GATH'S GOSSIP.
ISpec' al Telegram to tie Globe, |


New YORK. Nov. 25.-The great sale of
lands by the Northern Pacific Railroad
company is fully confirmed by officials of
the company. Some months ago num-
Der of English capitalists who had thor
ougly examined the lands of the company
east of the Missouri river, determined to
make large purchase. Messrs. Lee, Hig-
gins d Co., of Boston, the we'll known
brokers, were chosen to promote the
scheme, and negotiations were at once en-
tered into with the company, which have
now met with complete success. Under
the agreement the purchasers are to take
100000 acres of land east of the Missouri
river, and pay for it in preferred
stock at par. The price of the
land is 81 per acre, so that
on the completion of the contract $4,000
COO, or 10000 shares, of the preferred
stock will be retired. The original amount
of the preferred stock was $51,OOO,OOO. Of
this nearly $11,OOO,OO0 has already been
retired on account OF sales of lands or is
In the treasury of the company. This will
leave outstanding, when the $12,OOO.OOO
presented by the syndicate is retired, be-
tween $25,OO0,0OO and $29, 100000 of pre-
ferred stock. The common stock remains
as it was originally issued S41, 100000.
The syndicate will naturally be desirous to
secure the dividend already declared on
the preferred stock which amounts to II
per cent. and is payable on Dec. 8,
their contract with the companygives them
the privilege of holding the stock until
they will be entitled to this dividend. If
the stock can then be sold at the present
price, which is thought possible in view of
the retirement of SO large an amount, tie
syndicate will make about 81 per cent by
the transaction. The land will thus really
cost them about $500 per acre in cash.
lis transaction is one of the largest that
ever took place in land in this or any other
country.
Gen. MacMahon, who has recently been
with Gov. Cleveland, says: 'He told me
that he was receiving an enormous mail
from all parts of the union, every
letter making some mention of him as the
expected quantity in 1884. ''Now," said
Cleveland,''I shall carry sufficiently
large burden on my shoulders in assuming
the governorship over large state, which
is an Office I have no familiarity with.
When in addition to that they want to hold
me responsible for Democratic national
victory two years hence, it is too much,
and makes me feel little blue at the load
that Is put upon me.''
Gen. MacMahon says "Ohio will not be
looked to in any event 10 furnish our can
didate for president, while she remains
an October voting state, because
We cannot engage in battle on
the skirmish line, as in Ohio and Indiana
for years past, letting the Republicans
concentrate on those states and overcome
US before the presidential election is well
On.'
President Porter of the Minneapolis &
Omaha Railroad company said to-day.
SThe trouble has arisen from the mania
for railroad building, which has been fos-
tered by the profits realized by the getters
up of construction companies. They got to
work to build a line, aud in order to in
sure double or treble return for the
money actually expended, capitalize and
bond the line flor two Or three times its
possible cost. This is what brought up the
panic of 1873 and we don't propose to SUBJ
NIT to it to our injury. The st. Paul COM
pany has been engaged in building lines
in every direction, without regard to the
right of other companies, and when they
began to infringe on our territory we
cried halt, and adopted what we consider
the best means of enforcing the injunc-
tion."