Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-01-02


ais Position.
The following letter as received Friday
evening, but was unavoidablY crowded out
through press Of matter:]
Editor Morning Nelps Your correspond
ent ''Good Faith" in this mornings paper,
replying to "Division," says: SIT so hap
pens that could On give hasty glance
at the interesting communication of 'Dlvl-
SION In your paper Of Wednesday until
late hour last night" and he should have
added, for the protection Of his reputation
as a fair-minded critic, that at that late
hour" he fell asleep when he had read
scarcely half Of even the particular para
graph in the communication at which such
umbrsge was taken. For, after the use of
the naughty words ''untortasnate wordipg,"
as applied to the Southwestern Rail
road lease, language of the most
unmistakable character follows, from which
no other conclusion is possible than that
the writer of them fully accepted the con-
struction put upon the Southwestern lease
In the distribution Of the June scrip divi
dend. Unless, therefore, It be accepted
that ''Good Faith" was somnolent as these
latter words came under HIS eye. one cannot
escape the conviction that he has sacrificed
good faith in a critic to figure as punster In
hippant witticism in his caudal paragraph.
! and indulge in an ungenerous aspersiOn,
which, am sure, on a Teperusal, his own
| sense OF right must condemn.
do not complain at g Good Faiths" criff-
cism, but claim that to sustain the nom de
plume assumed it should have been really
marked by good faith and fair statement
of the case.
That cannot think It In good faith my
words 't9fortunGte 100rding" are made the
| synonym of covenant breaking" and
"wroDg doing" when nothing in my entire
article can be distorted to Justify the infer
ence that they could be saddled with that
construction eveH as words Of c0ncealment.
| That my position is unfairly
stated, and your correspondents conclu
sions, therefore, unfairly drawn, it is only
necessary to refer to my first communica-
| ton, where every impartial reader can see
| for himself that the portion of rsgraph
| quoted and criticised is without Significance
as to the legal construction of the lease,
while the closing part of the same, does most
| distinctively set forth the opinion of the
writer, that the lease is binding upon the
Centla al as construed for the June dividend
Had your modern Don Quixote in his cham
| pionship Of the right lived up to the faith
in his borrowed plumage, and been as zeal
GUS to keep the plight as in others he
would have it, though he might have lost
the opportunity Of inscribing Nind mill on
bis banner, would have saved the fair es-
cutcheon Of his goddess, Good Faith"
think It is safe to take IT, therefore, that
GOOD Faith" is an owner of Southwestern
stock, and, as he naively charges 1t upon
Others, Is only chsmpioring the inter
est OF his own pocket. 1t is entitled to
his earnest support, for, surely, II there has
ever been bonanza, Southwestern has been
that to its shareholders, and yet their raps-
city is unappeased. That its ownership
was a necessity to the Central at the
time of the leasing, do not think any one
will dispute, and / will admit even the
further fact, in the light Of the profitable
character of railroad property at the time
1t was executed, that the rental and
other considerations were not excessive
It is In the disaster and wreck that have
visited this kind of property since that
lease, which would have made it better
for the Central shareholders to have been
swallowed 6y than &c have swallowed 1t0 the
Southwestern. The terms of the contract
are that it shall last for the chartered ex-
iste nee OF the corporation, and all renewals
thereof; that their shareholders shall
receive dividends IN the proportion of
sElt 60 - % enmnsred with those
az the -euIa.. ana fha6 the
Central shs pa Il interest on the b9nas of
me company outs -ndirg a. the tlul1 of the
r. and The nJ1as rhemes Ives 20 msturif y.
sc part Of fne rent c~nsidarA1 Brt b.
IS further stipulated that Che dividends OF
30 snIth7 eln should 1eFer Vo below
even Der 7ear per annuL Enough the Gem
tas IA ri st pav any dfvideris N ira own
shareholders end. L4E51te -as South sf-
ern was to participate 10 a ratio OF eight 10
ten In all stock or other dividends or divis-
ions of sccumulations.
To show that 1t was right and proper to
employ unfortunate wordiDg' in com
pairing the relative conditions of the Cen
trail and Southwestern shareholders under
the lease of the latter, I have taken from
the reports of the Central Railroad and
Banking Company for wears 1872 3-4-5 81
and and 1880 l, the receipts and expendi-
tUres on account of Southwestern Railroad:
Receipts 1879 to 1851. inclusive. 81. $50 657 AZ
Less expenditures 1917 to ISL. 5,1s921sS1
Net profits in ten years. .........S2, 4s3 444 Is
or SPAS, 344 AZ per annum, equal to less than
ftae % per cent. on five million capital Of
Southwestern Railroad; whereas the share
holders in that period have received, exclu-
sive OF June scrip dividend, per cent. In
1872 and z per cent. annually thereafter 10
June last. Now, reverse the picture. The
aggregate of cash dividends covered by
this period paid to Central shareholders foots
up So, 075, 900, or 1907 500 annually, eoual
to a very small fraction over per cent
and, including the June scrip dividend, rise
to an average Of per cent. In all kinds OF
dividends. Making the came calculation
for Southwestern, their dividends are made
to average ten and three-tenth 40 3-1O
per cent. annually, and, besides
this, II the lease were broken
tomorrow the Southwestern shareholders
would come into the possession of a prop
ertY In first class order and freed of exceed
ing a million dollars of Indebtedness, while
its condition when the Central took charge
OF 1t required heavy expenditures for re-
pairs, as per reports of Central In years In
Guiding and succeeding lease.
Now, Mr.. Editor, we have at the end of
the first decade Of the lease, against the
H1enfortatnQte '0ordtng' Of which presumed
in my humility to lift nv feeble
voice, reached a point supported by
the figures heretofore given in which the
positions of the two corporations in the d.
visions of the profits are exactly reversed,
the average dividends Of the Central for the
past ten years being eight per cent. and
that of the Southwestern ten and three
tenths per cent In the face of the inevitable |
logic Of these figures who can now say l |
was not justified in doing so when l de-
clared that the "tGnf0rtunGte lOOrding' of the |
lease had worked great hardship to the hold |
ers of Central stock That it is the agree
ment between the lessor and lessee, |
and should be construed and carried out in
good faith, all will admit. But that the |
makers even supposed that a time would |
come when a legitimate construction of 1t |
would reverse the positions Of the contract |
ing parties in benefits and profits, l do not |
think any one, even ego d Faith, - will have |
the temerity to claim. Yet we have this re
suit reached before us, and as no one doubts |
but that our representatives in the negotia |
tions meant to guard at every poiut the in
terests of the Central shareholders In the |
lease l am at last again forced to charge the |
trouble to the unfortunate. SOording, and, rot
withstanding its hardships, resume my claim |
for full and Just DIVISION.
-bs-e~%N--
Lieut.. 8. NJ. Symonds, .. s. N, says: "By |
the use of Liebig Co.'s Arnicated Extract of |
Witch Hazel cured myself Of a severe and |
chronic catarrh." Beware of cheap, worth |