The Portland daily press., 1890-03-19
THE BOSTON AND MAINE.
The Proposed Consolidation with
the Eastern and Other Roads.

The bill reported by the legislative com
mittee on railroads, providing for the com
pletion Of the consolidation Of the Boston &
Maine, Eastern, and Portsmouth. Great
Falls and Conway railroads, requires that
the stock issued for consO idation purposes
shall be sold by auction. bill also.pro-
vide for the issue of S5, 900 of new BOs-
ton and Maine stock. the proceeds from the
sale of which will be used for making i'm
provements upon the system of roads, and
that this 5000, 900 of stock shall be sold In
the manner provided for the sale Of other
railroad stock. under the laws which may
exist at the time of the issue. Some criticism
of this provision having been made by those
who feel that all railroad stock issued here
after should be sold by auction, a reporter
waited upon Mr.. Furber, the general man
ager Of the Boston and Maine railroad. Mon
day morning, and asked him the reason for
this difference in the method Of disposing of
the consolidation and Improvement stock.
"The difference" said Mr.. Furber, "grows
partly out of the different purposes for
which the stock Is to be used. The plan for
consolidation looks to the combination Of all
the stock of all the roads in one new stock,
and 1t does not contemplate the increase of
the present aggregate capital by a single
dollar. The bill authorizes an exchange Of
Boston and Made stock for Eastern and
Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway stock.
on such basis as may be agreed oil, II that can
not be accomplished upon satisfactory terms,
1t provides that the new Boston 81 Maine
stock may be sold and the other stocks pur-
chased with the proceeds. The only proper
way in which this can be done Is to sell the
new stock by auction. III 1t should be sold
otherwise and for less than its market value,
our own stockholders would be wr0nged, for
the money received for 1t must be used for
the purchase and retirement Of the Eastern
stock. Ii 1t should be sold for less than 1t
is worth, every dollar so lost would come out
Of our own stockholders, for more new stock
would have to be issued to take up the East
ern."
"But would not the same reasoning apply
to the stock issued for improvement pur-
poses?"
Certainly: if the stock should be sold at
Si25 share when II was worth $500, the
company would be Obliged to issue 5000 shares
TO get 81 900, 900, instead of 5000 shares. We
have no surplus to divide, and as we shall
need all the money we eau get for improve
ments, we should want to get 1t with the
issue of the smallest possible amount of
stock. There is no doubt whatever that,
with this in view, the stock would be sold by
auction whenever 1t became necessary TO
raise money, from time TO time. for improve
ments, no matter wnetner the law required
| 1t or not"
"Then why was not the bill 80 drawn as to
| require 1t to be sold by auction?"
'Simply because the company felt that
when general bill was pending, having
that In view in all cases, the Boston q Maine
ought not to take the brunt Of the fight ON
that issue, That is question Of general
state policy, and ought to be settled on its
merits. You will see that Ii bill passes re-
quiring that all new railroad stock shall be
sold by auction, by the terms of our sbill the
issue Of this Improvement stock would be
governed by it,"
would the Boston & Maine object to so
amending the bill as to sequire the sale Of
this stock by .auction?"
1T would make no objection whatever to
such an amendment, il anybody sees ft to
offer it. 1t would simply require us to do
whot would be done anyway, from necessity.
| am certain that the friends of the ConsOli-
dation bill will not make the slightest 0ppo-
wish In their bills to seem to be fOrestalling
the action of the legislature upon the general
subject but If 1t shall be thought best to pro-
ceed in that way, 1t will be entirely accepta-
BILE to them. 1t would badly seem fair, how
ever, to saddle us with the responsibility for
the change of the general law, in this direct
way, especially II there Is to be any oppOsi-
tion to the plan of requiring all new railroad
stock to be sold by auction. But the order
Of procedure in the legislature is matter for
il to decide. The friends of the Boston &
Maine bill will be content with its decision .