The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-08-01
The Great Railroad Deal.


Mr.. Huntington has sold 100, 900 shares of
Chesapeake and Ohio common stock,
created no surprise and little comment
on Wall street, for it was generally I'M
derstood that he had arranged for the
sale of all his railroad property east of
the Mississippi, and would devote him
self to the management of his roads west
of the Mississippi The sale of the stock
makes no change in the control, as un
der the reorganization plant the voting
power is vested in the hands of Pierre
pont Morgan, J. G. Brown and George
Bliss as trustees until 1891. Mr. Hunt
ington made the following statement in
reference to the sale: 81 have sold 100,-
900 shares of Chesapeake and Ohio com
mon stock to Speyer & Co. for $2,500,000
do not know whether it was for Drexel,
Morgan & Co. or not. Other parties are
trying to buy 100000 shares more from
me. | expect in time to sell all my in
terests on the east side of the Mississippi
because my interests west of the river
are so large that they will take up all my
time. | do not, however, want to sell my
interests at Newport News at present. |
am building there the largest shipyard
IN America" One of Mr.. Huntington's
a jsociates said that the stock was bought
by DreXel, Morgan & Co., but the mem
bers of that firm decline to make any
statement i'll regard to the purchase.
IA. Ii Of
the sale, said: II take it that the deal
shows that the Vanderbits are looking
to the new South as a profitable field for
investors i'll the near future. By acquir-
ing the Chesapeake and Ohio direct
line is obtained to Louisville. As far as
Cincinnati is the natural northern outlet
for the South, the Chesapeake and Ohio
possesses the very great advantage of
being the shortest route to the seabOard
at Newport News. New York is not the
only port in America, and the Wander
bits are looking far enough ahead to see
this. Below it, Philadelphia is too far
inland. Baltimore is waiting for canal
to be cut across the Delaware peninsula,
and even then it will be only ship
canal route. The first clear port at the
edge of the Atlantic ocean is Newport
News. Sooner or later the long land
haul will break the backs of the railways
engaged in it. For passenger and per-
ishable traffic mileage may not make
much difference but for grain and other
materials the shortest route to tidewater
is bound to triumph in the long run.
There is no conceivable reason why the
produce of the South and Midwest should
be hauled to New York for shipment.
For the northwest, OF course, this will
still remain the best and most convent
ent port for export shipment. In MAX
ing this deal the Vanderbilts Jamestown
traditional shrewdness and foresight.
They already possess the most northern
trunk line in the United States Now
they have put girdle around all their
competitors ON the southern side. Hith-
erto the Baltimore and Ohio held this
position, and was a standing menace to
stable rates on the Pennsylvania and
New York Central systems. Now the
Baltimore and Ohio into adopting a
more reasonable and profitable policy.
do not think that there is any desire or
intention on the part of the Vanderbilt
party to quarrel with any other trunk
line. But they will be in position to
/ meet any move made against the earn
ing of fair profit by any or all of the
lateral trunk lines. In all these calcula-
lions there is one future factor never
lost sight of. If ever a canal is opened
across the Isthmus of Panama OF by the
Nicaragua route the railroad problem of
this country will undergo AN instant
taneous transformation. Then the sys
TENS will all radiate from the center of
the country to the coast, and the bust
ness OF the good seaports will be every
v-ho 1c1y