Morning journal and courier., 1892-10-27

vicinity new and independent trunk lin
of railroad to Buffalo and the west. Tn
tendency of modern times Is to consolidat
great interests, in fact, protection agains
sharp competition compels the owners o
great properties to come together. 1t make
them strong financially and enables then
to serve the public to better advantage b,
giving them through trains without tn
annoying delays 30 usually experienced b,
broken connections at junction points, {,
say nothing of the incidental economy il
operation. All this, of course, is to tn
advantage of the stockholders as we'll a
the public. I may add, think, with pro
priety that the vigor and strength of tn.
present Boston and Maine system is largely
If not wholly, due to its policy of allianc,
and consolidation, bringing added traffic
to the lines. This alliance is but anothe,
| step in the same direction, but of larger
scope and camprehends a wider field"
"Does Mr.. Jones retain his interest In
Boston and Albany2"
"Most certainly. ought to say that
the alliance is not expected to produce
| any other change in the directory of the
dictated. President Jones will not eever
his connection with the road, but as chair.
| man of the board of directors, the property
| and business will continue to have the
benefit of his care and oversight"
"Where does the New York and New
England road come in?'
"Of course, the main feature Is the alli-
| ance between the Boston and Maine and the
Reading, but as the New York and New
England will practically be used as a con-
nection between them with great advantage
for a considerable portion of the traffic,
friends and others of the Reading have
deemed 1t best to acquire large interest
in that company.
''This, L think, is all I need say at this
time"
Hon. Frank Jones, the new vice presi-
dent and chairman of the board of direc-
tors, says: sit is the greatest thing that
ton and Maine. Only bear one thing in
mind. There is no amalgamstion of the
two systems, there is no exchange of stock,
there ia no traffic arrangement. In fact,
there is no arrangement of any description
which will merge the two companies into
one corporate organization" -
Mr.. Jones was asked what position the
New England road occupied in the arrange
ments as now contemplated. He replied:
'You will pardon me if I decline. to enter
into any explanation at this time. The
New England property was a necessity in
certain directions, and it was thought ex-
pedient for friends of the Reading system
to own a majority of Its stock. l shall, as
heretofore, hold the same position as re-
CARDS the management of the Boston and
Maine railroad as in the past Mr.. Mcleod
naturally will make his headquarters in
Philadelphia, and as chairman of the board
of directors I shall have charge on this end
of the line"
Hon. W. G. Whitney of New York says:
"From my standpoint this selection of Mr..
Mcleod is greatly to the interest of the
Boston and Maine railroad. have no in
terest in the Reading combination and
never have had. AS Boston and Maine
director think this will help the proper
ty. Since General Manager Turner died
various persons have been talked Of as
manager of the property. The property
need a great railroad man. Mr.. Mcleod is
one. Mr.. Jones has stood by this property
honestly and effectively, and its prosperity
has been largely due to him, in my opin-
ion. But he needs help. Mr.. Jones has,
to my knowledge, gone so far as to offer
the management to one other distinguished
railroad man. Now, if honestly worked
out, there is no alliance for the Boston aud
Maine equal to that of Mr.. Mcleod and
his friends. In the first place they
are not in the same territory, and do
not compete for the same business, there
fore one cannot be run to the prejudice of
the other. They are both interested in the
development of the joint business and not
in the suppression of the business of one in
the interest of the other. Mr.. Jones, who
Is the largest individual holder of this
stock outside of the holdings of the Nc
Leod interest. is of the opinion that this
alliance is for the benefit of the Boston and
Maine, and it seems to me if honestly car
ried out 1t would be so. 1 am assured
that there is no intention to saddle the
Boston and Maine with the New England
in any form, nor with any other property.
1t can't be done without legislation, with
out the general concurrence of the stock
holders. When that isproposed 1t will be
time to consider and fight it."
Director George G. Haven of New York,
representing with Mr.. Whitney one of the
largest interests of the Boston and Maine,
when approached made the following OBJ
servatiop: "The only question before the
directors of the Boston and Maine was,
will the election of Mr.. Mcleod as presi-
dent improve and add to the value of the
systemP 1t seemed very clear that the
Boston and Maine requires the services of
the highest grade of railroad talent. This
is certainly found in the selection of Mr..
Mcleod. Any alliance with the great
Reading system, comprising as it does over
O,OOO L1l1cs VI 1d1iO9Iy OAS1b W LILO DObtOA
and Maine great advantages in the distri-
button of more of both its freight and
passenger business. There is no sugges-
ton or purpose of any lease or guarantee
either of the Reading, New England or any
other line. 1t is reported that friends of
the Reading have the majority of the stock
of the N. Y. and N. E. railroad, but this
has nothing whatever to do with the Bos-
ton and Maine. The acquisition of a large
amount of Boston and Maine stock by
New York and Philadelphia capitalists will
be of great advantage by enlarging the eli
entail Of the Boston and Maine and the
probability of very strong names in the
the directory of the road will tend to i'm
prove its position in the business COM
munity of the whole country"
Archibald A. Mcleod, president of the
new combination, is only forty-6ve years
old and has been railroad man all his
life, beginning as road man on the North
ern Pacific. He was first heard of in con-
nection with the Philadelphia and Reading,
when Austin Corbin, who was then it's
president, and to whom Mcleod is con-
nected by marriage, made him first vice
president and general manager of the
road.
Soon after his appointment he won big
| fight with the Brotherhood of Locomotive
e. zineers and another with the coal
| strikers at Port Richmond. After this he
had long controversy with the Pennsyl-
| vania railroad and the Philadelphia Mar
ketmen's association over the question of
depot site, and this also went his way.
His engineering of the big coal combine
was his master stroke. By it the Readin g
road, by lease, acquired control of the
Lehigh Valley and the Port Reading rail
roads and the Central Railroad of New
Jersey. On the day of the announcement
of the deal on the New York stock ex-
change, the transactions aggregated 500, !
900 shares, the greatest previous record
being the day of the money panic in De-
cember, 1886, when the recorded trans
actions reached l ,079. 900 shares. Reading
shares jumped from 81 to 64t as against 81
at the close of business on the preceding
day.
Hon. Frank Jones, the vice president, ID
a native of Darlington, N. H., is sixty
| years old, and is a self-made man. Orig
inally engaged in various business enter
prises, he has latterly devoted the greater
part of his time and energy to the building
up of the Boston and Maine railroad, Of
which he has been q director since 1885
He was elected president of the corpora
ton in 1890, succeeding President Georg,
G. Lord. He had been director of tn,