Morning journal and courier., 1891-09-07
AruHIsoN,s FUTURE.

ATCHISON,s FUTURE.
 A Vast system Controlling Ten
 Thousand Miles of Railroad-Its
 Future Great Prospects.
 We make the following extract from the September Stock Market Letter of Messrs. F. H. Prince & Co.,, the Boston bankers, in relation to the future of Atchison rail road stock, in which probably more New England investors are interested than in any other railroad property. They say:
 ''The Atchison illustrates the recupera- tive power of western roads far better than any other property because it covers 8 greater geographical extent. Atchison is the favorite speculation to-day in Bos- ton, New York, London and Amsterdam. l It is below the frost line geographically | and above the frost line financially. We | hope that it will be at least three years be- l fore any New England holder of Atchison l securities considers for 8 moment that it ! is time to change his investment. There l is no railroad property in the world in the l position for such magnificent improvement as this. A hundred millions of money were poured out by New England invest ors three to five years ago for the exten- sion of this property, then one of the greatest railroad systems in the world. Twenty millions more of English money were spent to move it forward to the lakes, and twenty-five millions more of stock have since been issued to enable it to ab- sorb it's partner, the St. Louis and San Francisco, and have complete control of the Atlantic and Pacific road. Several millions more have also been put into the Colorado Midland to strengthen the hold upon the Pacific through traffic. This first hundred millions, the expenditure of which began six years ago, and the inter est upon which forced a reorganization in the Co.'s finances, is just beginning to turn it's quota of earnings into the Co.'s treasury. No railroad in the west is send ing more money to the east than the Atch ison. The flow westward stopped some time ago, and that which was expected and prematrrely planned for has become re- ality only within the past sixty days, and this system is now sending east 8 million dollars month.
 "Very few people realize that the Atchi- son was planned and extended to earn, not eight million dollars net as two years ago, but to earn eighteen million dollars net, | and this is what, with continued good crops and the present conservative man agement, it should be doing within three years. Eighteen million dollars of net l earnings seems a large sum of money, but more than two hundred and fifty million dollars spent in past years in expectation | of this return is also a very large sum. Most everybody has confidence in the fu- ture of Atchison in a general way, but
 very few realize that its stock represents larger cash expenditure than the average
 western railroad stock; that it is selling | to-day for less than it has really cost; that I fOrtv a han l four thousand dollars per mile for the con- l trol of ten thousand miles of railroad
 covering the most non competitive territo-
 ry in the country as well as traffic va
 ried between lead, coal and the precious
 metals, and the Southern California fruits,
 Texas cotton, Kansas wheat and Illinois | corn.
 "The best railroad managers estimate
 that it takes five years to make new rail
 road construction self-supporting in the
 sense of returning the interest upon it's
 ed the operations of three thousand miles
 of road and paid dividends upon fifty
 million dollars of capital stock it was
 fairly profitable, but when it applied the
 earnings of it's increased mileage to it's in
 creased capitalization it was not only un-
 profitable, but insolvent It had doubled
 itself too rapidly. It had extended it's
 mileage vastly in Kansas, Colorado, Cali
 fornia and Texas while moving it's base
 forward from Topeka and Kansas City tc Chicago. This construction period was
 closed up more than two years ago, the
 balance sheet struck and reorganization
 was affected by consolidating and solidify ing the whole system and making one
 third of the twelve million of it's fixed
 charges contingent and represented by the
 issue of the five per cent. income bonds.
 ''Now within two years from the plan :, ming of that reorganization the company
 is clearly seen to be earning at the rate o1 the full original fixed charges, which
 means earnings of five per cent. upon the
 income bonds, and this is only one anc one-half millions more than was earned ) during the fiscal year closed two months
 ago. The Atchison extensions were bull to earn more than five per cent. upon thei1 , cost. They were built to add to the divi l dends upon Atchison stock, and it is easi } ly calculated that this years magnifcen
 crops will show results not only equalins l the interest upon the cost of all the nev } construction, or twelve million dollars but one or two millions in excess, whici means one or two per cent. upon the pres ent one hundred million dollars of Atchi | son stock.
 'tOne hundred million dollars of stocl l may look large, but representing ten thou
 sand miles of road and forty million dol
 lars of gross earnings, and but eight mil : lion dollars to earn for fixed charges ant r but twelve million dollars including con ] tingent charges, it does not look excessive
 If there is anything in western railroad l ing the next three years Atchison's earn I ings will gain ten per cent year gross l and half the gain will be net, and withou r materially increased construction expendi : ture, and this means eighteen million dol ] lars of net earnings or six per cent. earned l upon Atchison stock.
 y Certainly Atchisons prospects wer l. | never more brilliant for it's fourteen thou ] sand stockholders of today. Not ever
 whsn a dozen years ago eight hundre' s names represented the entire ownership o l the ten million dollars capital stock cover 3 ing one thousand miles of railroad, an n the stock rose from twelve dollars shar @ to above one hundred and fifty dollars pe 8 share. Of course Atchison will not sel
 at par this year, nor is it likely to reac a one hundred next year, but at fifty dollar y a share, held for three to five years, it vii f yield much larger interest rate than tn 6 law allows.
 y "Atchison incomes have largely rise, J, upon the shorts, but the stock has rise y steadily and solidly upon investment buy ], ing, and to the people who have it at high + CT prices we can only say: keep it unt . the money it represents has drawn it o earnings from this crop and one or tw
 more, and you will not then consider tha
 you hold very speculative investment. i, GRAND ARMY VETERANS. u An Enjoyable Meeting of Admira
 FOote Post.
 At the Saturday evening meeting c 8 Admiral Foote post, two propositions wer ;, received for membership.
 :. George w. Sherman of Pearsalls, N. Y s was mustered in. He isa veteran of Com
 pany G, Second c. V.
 d Announcement was made of the death c l. Comrade H. H. Riggs. He has been at tn s hospital since August 8, suffering iron " pneumonia.
 2 The committee in charge of the post - recent excursion reported that the affai f was b success, and the post would realiz f about $500 when the returns were all in. - Colonel Erickson of Stanley post c e New Britain, was present and entertaine
 the comrades with an interesting speech
 in which he commended Admiral Foot
 ] post for it's excellent manner of doin