National Republican., 1884-09-18

Charles Francis Adams has made re-
port Of tho revenues and expenditures Of
tho Union Pacific Railroad company, of
which ho was lately made president, for
q period emoracod in the first half of the
current fiscal year aud tho six months
last preceding it. The report Is mado to
tho Union Pacific directors, but it Is
aimed at tho great investing public, and
it fairly bristlos with bull points on the
surface.
at will be Observed" says the smooth
Mr.. Adams, addressing an Associated
Press reporter and tho distressed finau-
ciers who have hold of tho bag, that
during this most exceptionally trying
period, after paying every fixed charge,
including tho requirements OF the com
pany's sinking funds and all liabilities to
the government, the surplus income Of the
system applicable to dividends amounts
to 500 per cent. upon tho company's
capital stock" Tho directors and tho
Associated Press reporter are informed
that the total earnings Of the road for the
year covered amounted to $26,957,4 and
that tho surplus earnings of the entire
system footed up to $1O,i52, ,23O, leaving
S3,l70.7O4 to be divided among the stock =
holders in dividends.
Mr.. Adams does, not say whether the
Sl5273,4S6 received from the salo of A,
$4,000 acres' of land is included in the
S26957iSY earnings" but in tho alb
sence Of specific information on this point,
wenre forced to the conclusion that this
money went into the pot thus labeled. If
this is the csso, Mr.. Adams and his col.
leagues are engaged in confidence ope-
ration, and investors should be warned OF
the nature of the game they are invited
to take part in.
The government is interested to the
extent of many more millions than 1t will
ever recover in tho prosperity of the
Union Pacific, and it is vitality concerned
in its workings If it be true that the
company Is selling all that goes to make
its obligations valuable and applying the
proceeds to tho payment Of current ex-
penses, then it will not be long before
tho government, which bears the relation
toward the road Of second mortgage bond
holder, will be obliged to take the road
and assume the first mortgage bonds to
protect itself or else step aside and sacri.
fee its enormous holdings.
When there is nothing more to sell, and
not until thon, can the actual earnings OF
the road be eascertained, and when that time
arrives the government will find itseli
the owner of lines of rusty iron rails ex.
tending from Atchison and Omaha in
the cast to Ogden in the west for all the
| obligations it has assumed in the con-
struction of the road.
1t has heretofore been impossible for
representatives of the government in the
directory Of tho company to obtain infor.
nation touching the business of the
Union Pacific road until it had been doc.
tored by the officers in command. The
stock has been steadily depreciating in
value for long while, having dropped
from 130 or thereabouts to below so, in
| spite of tremendous efforts to keep
it up, and now when it is threatened
with another slump" up step
President Adams with q voluntary
contribution purporting to be statemen
Of the affairs of the company that is cal
culated to mislcad the public as to tn
actual situation. He should have sen
an explanation along with his report
What tho public wants, and what it has
right to demand, is definite information
bearing on the assets and liabilities of tn
Union Pacific and its legitimate income
bearing capacity. 1t has been chewing
on generalities and flub-dub" too long
1t now requires something satisfyin'.