Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-09-06

the following letter to the Cincinnati
Enquirer: Coming back to the city,
after summer rowing, | find the most
newsy point, after all, to be Wall
street.
[ went to an old acquaintance who
does a large banking business larger
than many people know-and who has
a conservative head, to-day, and chat
ted with him an hour on the market
Said /: "What is the main point for
me to look at as news to-day"
Said he after a minute: Perhaps
the decline Of
NEW YORK CENTRAL STOCK.
Not long ago it was 40. Now it is
IA | have no doubt myself but it
will 90 to par" He added in a mo-
ment: 1t will 90 below par. When
they get it to par they will never rest
till they put it further down. The
fact is, It's figures carry doubt wheth-
er it is earning this year its dividends
and whether it can pay them next
year.
'Why?o said |, Central must be
the strongest of all our Eastern
stocks.
1T has had great chances in the
past, said my informant. at had
no competition, but the present Van
derbilt was just as shrewd in getting
out of his immense load of Central as
his father had been nearly twenty
years before in getting into Central.
The old man saw that when people
got through gambling in gold they
would 90 into a great railroad enter
prise like that, which only required
strict management to make money.
His son, who has, ] think, more in
telligence than his father, because he
is better educated and reads more, saw
several years ago that the family estate
had made its best out of New York
Central, and had best got out so he
sold 300, 600 shares in block, amount
ing to $50 600, 600. He has been sell
ing since, and in my Judgment the
family interest in that railroad is
comparatively small"
"Why did he sell?'
FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
In the first place, the legislative bust
ness at Albany was very annoying to
him. The Albany lobby is bigger
than the Washington lobby-that is to
say, it is more mendacious. The Cen
trail had to disobey the laws all the
time, and it was constantly being
black-mailed, and had to spend money
both to get legislation and to prevent
it, and after while they began to get
up investigating committees, and Van
derbilt saw that some day or other he
might have to go into q court Of JUS
tice to answer for the misdeeds of his
corporation and its agents. He also
saw that, with his large wealth, there
was no place SO secure for him to hide
than under the shield of the United
States and in distant securities remote
from the state of New York,
where he lived. Although a very in
offensive man, and for so rich a man
a singularly upright one, he knew
that in these socialistic agitations, with
the talk against mOnopolists, and
cranks in every village ready to assail
somebody, he did not want to
STAND IN THE FRONT.
He made up his mind that he had
enough money; that more would be
no good to him or his children; so
some time ago he not only resigned
the Presidency of the New York Cen
trail Railroad, but he would not allow
any of his sons to succeed him, and
put in Mr. Rutter, the freight agent
as President
Why was Mr. Rutter elected to be
President Of the Central 2"
L think it was because he had been
successful in controlling great deal
OF merchants freight from New York
to the west, and the railroads were
making a dead set for all that freight.
He probably thought by putting
Rutter at the head of the railroad the
merchants would have additional rea-
son to go to him and make their rates
instead of chaffering with the mere
agents OF other lines"
What do you think of the
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD?n
L think 1t is in the best position of
any railroad In the country to make
fight | have understood that Cassatt
left that road because his policy was
not adopted. He wanted to attack
the New York Central on its own soil
for invading the Pennsylvania terri
tories. He wanted the Pennsylvania
to take charge of the Hudson River
West Shore railroad and work it right
into the New York Central's belt and
compete with it at every station. Mr..
Roberts thought otherwise. Vet [
should not wonder if the Pennsyl-
vania assumed 3 very intimate rela-
ton to the West Shore road
What do you think of the
NORTHERN PACIFIC ACHIEVEMENT 2"
think it is a great big bubble.
Securities which originally cost from
$50, 000,0 to $25, 600, 900 have been
run up to S219, 900, O00 This man
Willard, who is essentially a schemer,
though a successful one, bought out
the Oregon navigation company,
which had a lot of old steamers, for
about 50, 500, 600. He then got up a
kind of blind pool, and induced
l., r /,