Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-24
THE GREAT RAILROAD DEAL.
What Mr.. Huutington Says Of His Sale
Of the C.. and u.


The announcement in New York that Mr..
Huntington had sold 10000 shares Of Chesa-
peake and Ohio common stock, GO published in
little comment ON wan street. for il was gen.
orally understood that he had arranged for the
sale of all his railroad property east of the
management Of his roads west Of the Missis-
Gppi. The sale Of the stock makes no change
in the control, % under the reorganization
plant the voting power is vested in the hands
OF Pierrepont Morgan, J. c. Brown and George
Bliss as trustees until 1891. Mr.. Huntington
made the following statement in reference to
the sale: Il have sold 100. 900 shares Of Chesa-
peake and Ohio common stock to Speyer
Co. Tor $4,000, 600. l do not know whether it
was for Drexel, Morgan q Co. or not Other
parties are trying to buy 100 COO shares more
from me. expect in time to sell all my in
terests on the east side Of the Mississippi. be-
cause my interests west Of the river are so
large that they will take up all my time. 1 do
not, however, want to sell my interests at New
port News at present / am building there
the largest ship yard in America" One Of Mr..
huntingtons associates said that the stock was
bought by Drexel, Morgan d Co., but the men,
bers Of that firm decline to make any state
ment In regard to the purchase.
LOOKING TO THE NEW SOUTH.
leading railroad man, speaking of the sale,
said: Il take it that the dead shows that the
Vanderbilts are looking to the new South a. Q
profitable field for investors in the near future.
BY acquiring the Chesapeake and Ohio Q direct
line Is obtained to Louisville. As far as Gin.
cinati Is the natural northern outlet for the
South, the Chesapeake and Ohio possesses the
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. Balti-
more Is waiting for q canal to be cut across the
Delaware peninsula, and even then it will be only
a 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 perishabie traffic mileage
may not make much difference, but for grain
and other materials the shortest route to tide
water is bound to triumph in the long run.
There is no conceivable reason why the pro-
duce 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 convenient port for
export shipment In making this deal the VAN
derbilts have shown traditional shrewdness and
foresight. They already possess the most north
ern trunk line in the United States Now they
have put girdle around all their conn etitors
on the southern side. Hitherto 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 Wander
bilt interest can coerce the Baltimore and Ohio
into adopting q more reasonable aud profitable
policy. do not think that there is anv 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 earning Of fair profit by any or all
OF the lateral trunk lines In all these calcula-
tons there is one future factor never lost sight
OF. II ever canal Is opened across the Isthmus
of Panama or by the Nicaragua route the rail-
road problem of this country will undergo an
instantaneous Transformation. Then the sys-
TENS will all radlate from the center of the
country to the coast, and the business of the
good seaports will be everywhere enormously
increased