The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-03-23
RAILWAY NOTES.
The Boston g Maine and Eastern Alliance

4 NCuuoSudy portsmouth ChroElCie says
There can be but one result of the meetings
of the Eastern and Boston S5>Maine railroad
stockholders on Wednesday of next week. The
proposed union secures to the Maine road a
| permaneney in its dividends which its share
holders will be only too ready to welcome.
With the Eastern 1t is simply question of
how great figure the vote win command, as a
majority of the stock is in favor Of the project
for which every director in the board, save
| one, voted.
Ii these roads, with a capital aud debt aggre
| eating ovec thirty millions OF dollars shall
conclude to join hands, bury the hatohet and
operate CONFORMITY. they will probably succeed
in doing so. They win operate the roads, le-
gally il possible, but at all events they will
| operate, in some mode advantageous TO the
combined property This will be done under
legal advice, probably under the best legal
opinions afforded by the Suffolk bar; and as
the penalty fof disregardng the injunction of
the supreme court by railway corporation in
New Hampshire, when operated under ad-
vice, is fine of one dollar for each director
1t is not difficult to foresee that these roads will
doubtless be able TO accomplish their purpose
in one way or another
The article then goes on to show how the
battle between the Boston & Maine and East
ern resulted in parallel line from Berwick
to Portland, making heavy unnecessary ex-
penses, the interest ON which must be paid by
the Maine business and places beyond These
expenses are caused by duplicate trains and
competing freight charges, which consume
much OF the income. The argument of finan-
ciers is that what can be saved by an eeonomi.
CAL fair, judiciouS ana honest conduct of the
business, without raising one iota of the rates
for passengers or freights, is that the people
Will be better accommodated by the union,
and, as far as the public generally are con-
cerned, be used with more uniform justice
than as at present.
To the saving In expense of running through
trains viii be added the economy Of using the
roads as an entire double track for freight
TRAINS by running all outward through freight
over one line and the inward freight over the
other. 1t Is commended that as far as Ports
mouth is concerned we shall DO the gamer
The through trains OF the Eastern win be run
over the Portsmouth and Dover road, having
junction with the b. & Nj, at that point and
passing over the B. u NJ line to Portland
where, OF course, there will be but one station,
saving In that outlay alone from two to three
thousand dollars per month
There will probably be new accommodations
from Portsmouth, in the way Of apsearly train
eastward, leaving here in season 10 meet the
will take passengers from the Dover & Winnie
plseogee railroad, and from the Portsmouth,
Great Falls Il Conway road, and from Dover,
Great Falls, Salmon Falls, South Berwick
and that region, at about s o'clock in the
morning, transporting such passengers east,
affording increased facilities for visiting Saoo,
Blddetord and Portland, and returning the
same day. This certainly would be an i'm
proved facility for Portsmouth and kittery
people at least.
The theory Of the unionists is, II the bust
ness OF these roads in competition is now done
at the cost OF large annual outlay which
might, by consolidation, be saved, and the cost
OF which OF course is borne by the patrons OF
the roads, it will be for the advantage Of the
people and corporations doing business with
each OF these lines that economy should sue
coed waste, and the saving thus benefit the
patrons. As business proposition this, of
course, can have but one aspect.
Eastern and Boston and Maine Alliance.
The Boston Journal OF yesterday says: Hav-
ing received several inquiries in relation to
the proposed terms upon which the Boston and
Maine proposes TO lease its rival, the Eastern,
we have been able to afford satisfactory an
swers upon all the inquiries except one-and
that an important one-in regard to which
there appears to be very divergent views held
by the authorities Of the two roads in question
AAC ASeeoO AtcuAA AAActg Vi To subject 10
the conditions under which the Eastern's f.
nanees were reorganized several years since
which provides that no dividends can be paid
upon the stock until the debt shall have been
reduced 10 S10,000,000: and whenever the
debt is so reduced the company is to pay into
a sinking fund S100,000 per year. Now II is
part of the scheme in the new lease that the
debt shall be reduced to SI0,000,000 by chang
ing all above that sum into a preferred stock
The questions here arise, with the preferred
stock plan perfected, does the 100000 have to
be paid BY the Boston and Maine into the
sinking fund before the dividend upon the
preferred stock is paid, or do the preferred
stock dividends have the preference. Boston
and Maine officials claim the sinking fund
comes trst and t56 preferred stock second. /
while Eastern officials claim the contrary Al |
prominent holder of Eastern bonds snstains /
the Boston and Names officials position, and |
regards this view OF the question as fatal to the
scheme 70 change portion of the debt into |
stock, since it places the yearly contribution TO
the sinking fund before their own income;
and, besides this, under the terms OF the
lease $4,000 toward the preferred stock divi-
dend would not become payable until the Bos-
ton and Maine stockholders had received nine
per cent, and of the $4,000 TO be equally d.
viGed between the two roads, while giving the
Boston and Maine stock 10 per cent, the S70,-
600 due the Eastern would not equal the divi-
dends upon the preferred stock even at six
per cent. or, in othsr words, the Boston and
Maine stock will receive 10 per cent. before
the Eastern ANIMAL interest and sinking fund
requirements has been met, should that debt
become reduced to 100000, as now pro-
posed, in order to secure dividends upon
Eastern under the terms of the lease. The
question has also been revived as to the pay
ment of the interest on the debt of the Eastern
in gold. A director Of the Boston and Maine
understands that it will bs so payable il re-
quested.
Grand Trunk.
The traffic receipts Of the Grand Trunk Rail-
way for the week ending March 10, 1885, we're:
1882. 1882.
Passengers. ........... ....S 7S'431 $3.50
ftos orr A-o