Morning journal and courier., 1889-05-22
THE ooNsoL1DArED,s PETITION

THE CONSOLIDATED,S PETITION | No one Hut Henry l.. Goodwin Ap- | pears Before the Railroad Committee
 10 Oppose the N. K., N. HI. & H. R. R. I COmpaHy,s Stock Increase-President
 Clark's Views-The Immense Cost of
 Removing Grade Crossings Other
 HARTFORD, Conn.,, May 21. Especial Correspondence of the JOURNAL AND ! CoURIER.l
 The petition of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad company for amend
 ments to its charter to increase it's stock and
 purchase leased lines was heard by the rail
 road committee this afternoon.
 No one opposed it but Henry L. Goodwin,
 the chronic objector to every improvement
 the Consolidated road attempts.
 MT. Goodwin cherished the hope that this
 would be his long wished for opportunity to
 get the books of this company before the
 legislature and demonstrate some of the wild
 assertions with which he has treated evelJ Legislative railroad committee for years. MT. Goodwin spoke about a dozen times and made lots of fun for the audience, but sLc- | oeeded in his longing no better than he does 1 at tine stockholders meeting of the ConsoH dated road when, he says, "they choke him l off," If the Housatonic railroad is going to oppose the petition it will be in the lobby, I not before the railroad committee. Nene
 appeared to-day. House Chairman Brown I said he had heard that Simeon E. Baldwin ! wished to be heard @ few moments, and the
 hearing was left open for this purpose President Clark was absent on account of | illness, but General Superintendent Shepard ! and other prominent officials of the Consoli- ! dated were present. Ex-Judge Harrison and
 Henry 0. Robinson appeared as counsel for
 the petitioners. Attorney Robinson said | that he had hoped President Clark world be
 present, but he was i'll. The time was late; \ they would not ask the committee to wait | longer, but would go ahead without Presi- l dent Clark.
 | Mr. Robinson then read the resolution
 amending the charter as petitioned, which has already been printed, and also several ! amendments which had been made at the suggestion of various interested parties The | first section he moved to amend so that the | road can only take up the indebtedness of other roads which exist when the resolution | is accepted, being restriction against the
 leased roads iucref sing their indebtedness | hereafter.
 l The clarse regarding the stock merger MT. Robinson would amend by making it | subject to the courts to control the undue | exercise of such power, which is for addi- tional protection of the stockholdAs. Another amendment provides that when ! the chief justice is disqualified to pass upon
 the proposed mergers s1 provided by the | bill, his duties shall be filled by the senior
 disinterested Supreme court judge. Section
 4 is amended to allow trustees of estates to ! subscribe for stock.
 Section six is amended to provide for it's
 acceptance by two-thirds vote of the stock ! holdeis, instead of the board of directors, as the bill was drawn.
 Section five provides that the entire in-
 crease of stock shall not exceed $35, ,00O, ,00O.
 Attorney Robinson said the road has come ! to the partings of the ways. It is not doing
 the service the public requires. The board
 wants to foul track portions and double- track the Shore Line. The directors want to
 make this road everything that the people | w7sh, and also make it the only road in the
 State out of debt. To do this we estimate
 that it will cost $S. .000, ,O00 to double-track
 the Shore Line and four-track paIss of the
 main line, $12, 500, 900 to take up the stock
 and bonds of leased lines, $10,000, ,000 for
 new depots and removal of grade crossings,
 and the present debt is $4, 500. .000. which
 brings the sum up to $35, 900, 000 esked for.
 We want to make these Improvements, said
 MT. Robinson, end simply esk the priv ilege I of putting our own money iuto it. There is
 no stock watering about it. We can go
 along in the old way, paying ten per cent, ! but we want to do more to make the Con-
 solidated road on par with the Penrsylve mia road.
 | President Clark being absent Mir. Robinson
 read the presidents views and ar6 lments ! why the stock incref le is necessary rs he presented them to the directors"
 PRESIDENT CLARK's VIEWS ON 7HE SUBJECT.
 These are three distinct and well defined
 purposes, the first being to provide for our funded and floating debt.
 Your company has issued two millions of | bonds st four per cent. interest, due fifteen
 years henos. It hes floating debt, payable
 on short notice, amounting to two millions | and half. Tbis debt he been incurred in ! the purchS Je of real estate, in the 1nst. lc-
 tion of four tracks through the State of New
 York, and in adding to the equipment of l reports. When the ] ,n67 were i,3ued, provision made for an additional
 thrts millions which are still avail able. But it doe3 not seem wise or
 right that the owne:I of this progeny | should be called uI on to increase their debt, i for the purpose of affording additional fac'l- 1 ties. Granted that we owe to the public and ! shall owe 1t, so long TT it is dependent ul n 1 us for transportation by the rout we occu py, the best and cheare tt se. rice. To prt vide this service we may reasonably F, called upon to increase our investment, but we should not be esked to go in debt for an in- cidentel and remote benefit to our shsre- ! holders. And, in asking for an increase for the purpose of providing for our debts, we | ask for what can do no man any injustice. but for that which is in justice to rs. AS to the requirement of lines in which we ! have leasehold interest for fifty yea l, 1t
 is for the advantage of an conce. led that | your property shorid be unified. Whe prt priety or necessity eyists for an i'm | provement upon any part of this proI srty l there should be no thought in the mincs of | it's managers as to whether the call como fIom leased line or f. -om the main line. ! The whole shor'd be one, separated int 3 divisions for the convenience of OF ,rstion, hr1ka iv, inka ligation. Welcome the day when no stock ! or stockholder of the Naugatuck, of the Air Line, or the Shore Line, or the Northamr ton. but many shareholde.1 of the NswYorK, New Haven and Ha. flora company with { identical interests-moral, fnanciel, ssnti- fected by any proco2s of coercion. The me-ket vriue of both the st )cFs and bono 3 of these leased roads 2 based upon an IT, come of per cent. per e1num. To IT, representing the le ice, it is s1 ad- vantage that we should have no fixed charge in the way of rentals. But it will be for the individual holuer of any share or bond of either of the3e leased roads to determine whether he shall continue to hold hts present investment or become a partner of ours upon terms acceptable to both pal .ies. Otherwise the situation W II remain ss it is. For the third pnrL ose, to wit, prov ision for the cost of future Improvements, the field is unbounded. In the annual report you will see that the tolls paid for the use of the Harlem road have in ten ysaiJ incref .ed nearly 50 per cent. This represents busi- nees orly uFon one end of one division of our road. Who can tell what may be needed in ca,I and engine, ia lands, in tracks and in buildings, du1-ng the ten yeals to comet We must be ready to do all the business that seeks our lines, and to do it promptly and economically. For these reasons it is evident that no defi- nite amount of increase can be fixed. As al- res iy stated, your bonded and floating debt is substantially four millions and half The I stocks and bonds of cur leased roads amount to eighteen millions of dollars The owners