Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-08
TWO CENTS.
THE EELT ROAD SOLD.
Mr.. McLean's Check for Nearly $500 600
Given Today.

Given Today.
SOME OF TIE DETAILS OF THE RAILROAD DEAL
BECOME PUBLIc-TALK STILL ABOUT A CON-
BISArIoS THAT WILL INCLUDE THE METRO
PoIIrAS AND COLUMBIA ROADS.
This morning a certified check on Riggs 4
Co., signed by Mr. John r. Mclean and call
ing for the payment of s275. .l65. was deposited
in the National Bank OF the Republic. For
this sum 5,00S shares of stock Of the
Belt Line Street Railroad Company were
transferred by some forty stockholders 10
Dir. Mclean. The cashier Of the bank during
the day made out checks in payment of the
stock as il was transferred. and before the close
of business the transaction was completed and
the control of the road had changed hands.
As stated in yesterdays STAR. the trans
action was closed yesterday afternoon. The
details, however, were completed today. The
price paid for the stock was the same 10 all the
stockholders who had given options their
holdings namely, SIS per share. While viz
tually the control of the road has been
changed, vet practically the old management
VIII continue, il is understood. for a month,
when the representatives of the new interest
will be given places on the board OF directors
Exactly who will be in active control is not
known and probably will not be known
until the change is made. II is stated on good
authority that the control of this property will
not remain in this CITY but that II will nearly
all so to capitalists living elsewhere.
TALK OF STRONG RAILROAD COMBINATION
Il is further stated that this purchase is only
a part of the plan for creating strong street
railroad system. 1t is not known. Of course.
positively what progress has been made in
acquiring the control of the Metropol-
titan and the Columbia railroads. but il
Is believed that in the course of few days
sufficient progress will have been accomplished
so that definite announcement can be made
The negotiation throughout has been con-
Quoted with a degree Of secrecy that
is unusual IN a deal of such n character.
involving as it does the necessity of such a
large number of people preserving confidence.
In the case Of the Belt road deal an option on
their holdings obtained from no less
than forty different Stockholders. and no
doubt others were approached who for one
reason and another refused 10 sign the option.
This option was good for twenty davs, and, as
has already been stated in TIE STAR. il
was not finally decided to take it mp until the
last day. SO for twenty DAYS the deal has
been known TO forty people and more. But
1t was not until the publication in The STAR
two days ago that there any knowledge
of such a transaction outside of the limited
circle named. The stockholders themselves.
apart from the fact that offer had been
made for their stock, had no information
as to who was the purchaser or whom he rep
resented, and there is not today probably more
then two or three men in this city that have in
side information as TO this deal.
HOW THE TRANSFER WAS MADE.
The work of securing the options on the Belt
stock was intrusted to Mr.. William A. Mearns.
the representative of the barking house
of Corson & Mccartney. and was very
successfully performed. The entire number
of stockholders who parted with their
stock was about forty. Some of the large
holders are George F.. Lemon, II. A. Willard.
W. B. Gurley, c. ]. Bell, George White,
Charles Flint, jeremiah Rusk and J. W.
Barnes As the case stands today Mr.
Mclean holds in his individual name
the controlling interest in this road,
and of course there is no doubt of his financial
ability to continue to hold such an in
teIest if he so chooses or TO buy the
balance of the stock and one or two more
roads in the bargain. Financially Mr.. Mclean
is quite equal to such an undertaking if he
saw fit. What is more. he has such confidence
in the future Of this city that an investment of
such magnitude would meet the approval of his
judgment. In fact, this was the tenor Of the
conversation a STAR reporter had with Mr.
Mclean this morning. Mr.. Mclean said that
be had bought the road because he thought il
was a good thing to do. He considered that
this city was still in Its infancy in regard 10
enter rises of this character. and he believed
that the road was a good property now and in
his opinion would be still better in the future.
When asked if he intended to keep the stock
a whole and in his own name he said that OF
course if he was offered a good price for it he
would sell this stock just he would sell any,
thing else that he owned and thought il wise 20
sell. As to the Belt road becoming a part OF q
new system of street railroads in this city, Mr.
Mclean was inclined to laugh at the idea
AN OUTSIDE SYNDICATE SAID TO BE INTEREsrED.
However, the best informed men are Of the
opinion that the Belt road purchase is in the
interest of some syndicate away from the CITY.
the probabilities pointing to the great syndi-
cate that is largely interested in street rail-
roads in other places being the one that is
most likely to be back of this deal as well US of
the others which have been referred too.
Beyond the fact that options have already,
in all probability, been secured on the stock
Of the Metropolitan and of the Columbia
railroads nothing is known of what is being
done in this direction. IL such options are held
II has not transpired vet who hol DIS
them. The negotiations, if any have been con-
Quoted. are still kept profound secret. 1t is q
significant fact that some Of the large holders
of Metropolitan stock are not talking very
much just now, which leads 90 the suspicion on
the part Of some that there is a deal going on.