The daily gazette., 1883-08-04
SOME PLAIN FACTS.
A Statement In Relation TO the ChesapeNAze
q Delaware Canal Company. n

q Delaware Canal Company. III
To THE EDIToR OF THE GAZETTE: Cy-
clones Of wind and water are having their
days of riot and ruin, and the destructioh OF
| property has been fearful far and wide over
] this fair land of ours.
| There are other cycloiies as destructive,
sweeping through the mental ard social a.
well as well as over the physical cosmos! A
few months or years will oblituate all traces
| on disturbed Nature, but who or what shall
restore the status OF the Others
Months have passed since the cyclonic
wave swept over che title world of the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company:
the second in factdurfng the past IL months
To judge from present appeafaLces its
affairs are not in As, hourishing ennditioh as
| thc loanhOideIs could wish, and they ARE
likely to be no better under the wilkins
y icawuer stand itiilaul-wait-ior-so
to-turn-up policy. Uud,r this st6nd- sJilI
| rule, persistently adhered to for years, the
company Is losing ground yearly. In tsct,
| since 1875, the loss (toGal dIsbufse-
| ments over grss rcceipts) has
been more that Sll2,O00, or at tue tate
of Sl6 900 per sun'im. There has been {. o
| extrao dinary, 80 called, expense account
since that date, taking the average for a
| series Of years; If it be not lock repair; or
a new d edgrr, it may be anew bridge or
possibly new boilers for pumping works;
some such items are expected from year to
year. and are provided for the average yearly
expense estimates. The loss referred TO OF
$4,000 yearly, has been made good, as
needed, from the contingent fund. This
fund was created In 1864 as q protection to
the mortgage loan of the company, in case
Of any serious disaster to the canal or its
works The surplus revenues of the com
pany have been invested in other securities
than said Mortgage Loan until 1885, as will
be seen from the annual reports, at which
time the fund had to its credit 1851, 600, to
be applied to payments on account of any
damage to the canal, thus avoiding the bor-
rowing of money for such purpose outside
the company's own treasury. From the
eompany's reports, it will be seen that the
financial condition of the company was
satisfactory, although the revenue had
been falling off for several years
previous. Still the Company enjoyed
fair share of the trade moving north and
south.
In 1877, 1t was deemed advisable by the
managers, that the Canal Company should
obtain the right to transport passengers and
freight, which included that of owning
steamers, wharves, &c, necessary for that
kind of business. This right was obtained
by the proper legislation, and became part
OF the original charter of the company, but,
tor some reason better known to few of the
members of the management, this valuable
franchise has not been made profitable, at
least not for the benefit of the stock and
loanholders of the Canal Company.
The loanholders are anxious about the
present condition of things, and the feeling
is that of fear that another cyclonic wave
will certainly come, but only to the utter
ruin of the prospects of the stockholders
Is there no remedy? Yes, beinc loanholder
myself and living some knowledge of the
company's affairs, a few suggestions or ideas
are thrown out and offered TO the man
ayers who have the welfare Of the
company at heart The canal propir is
only IA miles in length; is In the best con-
dition, and has a lock capacity tor passing
steamers of SO tons freight room. The
revenue of the Canal Company is derived
from various permanent sources, among
them, that received from the Ericsson
Steam Lines, the most valuable. The ton
mage OF these lines in past years has been
very heavy, and, as q source of revenue for Il
the Canal Company very valuable, SO much |
50, that 1t was considered paramount i'm
portance to foster and encourage an increase |
OF II by all the protection within its then |
power. Since 1872, there has been no in |
crease OF tonnage by these lines, but other
wise, a falling off; especially is this notice
able in the traffic between New York and
Baltimore, via canals. 1t would be sup
posed that the natural growth of the large
cities and the adjacent country, from which |
the steam lines derive their business, would |
show corresponding increase of tonnage
and freight revenue TO these companies,
but 1t is not apparent to those |
most interested In the welfare of |
the canal company If the truth must
be made known, these lines of steamers are |
and have been for long years enjoying a |
monopoly OF the freights between Baltimore, |
Philadelphia and New York via the canals, |
the printed public "CiFcularn Of certain of |
the directors of the @. & d. @. Co. to the /
contrary Notwithstanding. This is believed |
by the business community at large, and is
well known to few favored ones. As a |
consequence of this monopoly, the profits of |
these steam lines In the past have been very |
large, and now for the suggestion: Let the
canal company transact It's own legitimate
businees-the transportation of freight and
passengers between the cities mentioned;
put the profits, what there may be OF such,
much or little, in Its own pocket, and adopt |
the modern improvements In the transaction
of such business Then the result will follow |
mo shortage account of revenue at the end |
'of each year; the loan of the company going |
back again to par or near that desirable end; |
and last, not least, the loan maturing in |
1885 can without q discount be extended |
another 80 years. 3H#Ezt LsoANhoLDER. |
= ----s.- $50 -ae4%.--
COtton Crop In this Memphis District