The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-11-07
Is the Property About to Become
Dividend Earning and Valuable?
GROUNDS FOR THINKING so.
Rumors OF n Big Deal tn be Made Be
tween the Reading, Boston and Maine,
New York and New England, Canadian
Pacific and Grand Trunk.


W
with absorbing interest At this meeting
there will be present representatives of
the Reading probably President Mcleod
himself, also of the New York & New
England, Boston & Maine, President
Van Horne of the Canadian Pacific and
the general manager of the Grand Trunk
railway.
One of the most extensive railroad deals
in the history of the country is liable to
result from this meeting in Montreal, a
deal which will be far reaching in its
consequences.
The predictions regarding the meaning
Of this meeting are not very confidently
made, even by railroad men who profess
TO know something about the plans of
Mr.. Mcleod. and have carefully consid-
cred the possibilities OF such combina-
tion as is suggested.
1t is easy TO conceive that n deal be-
tween these five roads might be condu-
Give of results of the utmost Importance
TO New England in general.
Cannot supply Coal by All-Rar.
The more the matter of the recent deal
is considered the less does it commend it
self to the wisdom of practical men. It's
declared object; to supply New England
with coal by an all-rail route from the
Pennsylvania coal fields, is so opposed TO
generally accepted business principles,
ana seems so impossible of accomplish
ment, that il is almost absolutely neces-
sary to look further for the real motive
for the deal
No one seems TO have any positive be-
lief that the time is at hand when New
England will be supplied with coal
wholly by rail- That time cannot be
forced-when it comes it will come nat
urally, and present conditions do not
point to its early arrival. This fact is
clearly understood by the large coal deal
ers. One fact that makes IL clear at the
start that this deal cannot be carried
through successfully on the lines in
dicated is that no railroad in the coun-
try has cars enough to enable it TO do a
through business in coal. III coal cars
could be sent back TO the collieres just
as soon as they are emptied, the coal
roads could, other things being equal.
supply the country with all the coal il
needed. AS railroads are managed at
present, IL takes a great many weeks for
cars to get back to their starting points.
Consequently it, -is- figured that tor the
Reading and the Boston & Maine to do
the business in coal now done by the
water lines, at least five times the present
number of cars would be needed. This
would necesstate the expenditure of too
many millions of dollars to be practic-
able. p' ~
-. The New England Stock.
1t is interesting to note, in connection
with the reported meeting of the five
railroad systems at Montreal on Wednes-
day, and the possibility such meeting
suggests, that there is some figuring
being done with reference to the pros
pective value OF New England common
stock and the paying of the dividend on
the preferred. A gentleman close TO the
Parsons management. says that he Is
willing to 20 on record that 81 per cent
xx.iIl ha maid on Nav York ann Nav Epu-
land preferred stock next May. Also
that the per cent accumulated dividends
will be paid between now aud then. The
road is in that position to-day where 1t
will take only very little extra business
to make the preferred dividend certain.
1t is not as though the road had just
emerged from receivers hands; it is
earning money and the additional traffic
which it Is about to receive may make
the preferred an investment stock inside
of year.
Has New Haven Been Checkmated?
Another interesting assertion by opti-
mistic New England friends is that the
New York. New Haven 81 Hartford
monopoly Is about to be crippled If not
entirely broken. Mr.. Parsons statement.
in referring to the New Haven, of "Oh,
they begin to see the handwriting on the
wall, do they ~ is prophetic.
Ii is understood also from gentleman
he, President Parsons, is perfectly in ac-
cord with all that is being done with aud
for the New York 81 New England prop
erty, and that he has been a party to the
negotiations which are now practically
complete from the first. This informant
saws he Is under oath not to divulge the
details, but that very important an
nouncement will soon come out relative
10 New England.
1t is gleefully asserted that the New
Haven people have been beaten of
their boots. The New Haven, say these
New England rainbowites. has been
fooled from the outset, and is beginning
now to see how it was done. There is no
need of mentioning any names, but the
present New Haven management is about
as treacherous and has stopped 10 lower
tricks in the efforts TO cripple the New
England as any railroad for many a year.
The New Haven has done everything pos
sible TO bankrupt and hamper the New
England, from severing connections TO
instituting the famous Goldsmith suits n
the courts, but il has been checkmated at
every move.
New Haven's Little Game.
Because, as a very large holder of the
New England second mort gage bonds,
the New Haven expected by It's various
traps and tricks, To bankrupt the prop
erty and then step in and buy IL at its
own price. While dishonest manage
ments were in control of the property aud
were engaged in sucking its life blood,
there was no necessity for decisive action
on the part Of the New Haven, because
the bloodsuckers were Willingly or un-
Willingly playing directly into its hands,
but when Mr.. Parsons and his wealthy
friends stepped in and grasped the helm
the New Haven had no sooner recovered
from It's surprise than IL understood that
II IT was TO gain the victory, IL would
aa la
fore aud IL forthwith began its tactics TO
bankrupt the New England.
Such are some of the anticlpations in
dulged by friends Of the New England.
Let us, PRovIDENCEITEs, devoutly hope
they may be realized.