The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-28

through fostering their local business and make
through traffic secondary. The c., II. 81 l. has
been doing so much better of late than in for
mer years that they will demand as large per
cent at least as the c., l. st. l.. & C. is allowed,
while the poor Wabash and the cleverly- inclined
L., N A & C. Airline will be contented with
whatever they can get In this connection the
per cents carried since March H. lSS2, by the
five roads in the Indianapolis Eastbound
Freight Association becomesa matter OF interest
From Indianapolis proper the c., l., st. H. 81 e. mas
carried 4. per cent; the c., H. d l.; 10 per
cent; the Wabash, u per cent; the e., ST L.
& P, 3O,9 per cent; the Bee-line 443 per cent
From points west of here the respective roads
have forwarded, in tonnage per cents: The
Wabash, Z of one per cent; the c., l., ST. H. a.
c., 12 per cent; the c., H. &c l., AZ per cent;
the c., St L. & P, 466 per cent; the Decline,
ALB per cent. In the newly established pool
there will be two new roads, namely: the l., Z.
& w. and the L., N. A. & c. Airline The l., b.
& w. per cent will be fixed on it's prospective
business, which certainly promises we'll
A Demand that Stockholders Should Be Rec
ognized.
A railroad official of large experience yester-
day remarked that the time was coming when
stockholders would hold their directors response
BILE for management of their property and bad
exhibit of earnings. He said toe much Of their
business was turned over to the president to look
after, and he in turn was partner too frequently
in stock pools through which the company's in
terests were often sacrificed to his personal
benefit or the particular syndicate of which he
part. Then the secrecy with which the
affairs Of most Of the leading railroad companies
of the country are managed he thought was I'M
doubtedly one great cause of the present dstrust
OF their securities, and the enormous shrnkage
in their values. One consequence of habitual Sc
crecy is that the managers come to regard secre-
cy as an essential part of good management. and
accordingly, when trouble comes, their failure to
take the public into their confidence and to let
their stockholders know exactly what the mat
ter is, and who is to blame, creates distrust
among stockholders. An Eastern exchange re-
Gently published an article on the relation
of presidents to directors in which very strong
grounds were taken, the article going so far as
to say if the president was, as he ought to be,
merely the agent of the directors, and was not
present at their meetings to browbeat DIRECTORS
and flout at criticisms, one moral cause of the
extraordinary difficulty of finding out what is
going on 'insde the road would be removed
The directors would then attend to their work,
and the president to his. This, accompanied by
a change increasing the voting power Of minority
stock, would accomplish great deal; compul-
sorry publicity of accounts would help on the
good work; and the time might come when the
right of stakeholder to know something about
the actual management of corporation would
be acknowledged in fact as well as in law.