The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-23
NO TRANSFER TO Be MADE.
The Georgia Southern and Florida To
Go Under the Hammer.

No Authority for the Statement That
1t Has Been Absorbed By the Sea-
board Company-Probable Origin of
the Story-Chairman Smart of the
Bondholders' Committee Denies the
Entire Statement-A Co-Receiver
Win Be Asked for-Something About
the Property.
Whatever may be the source of the re-
port that the Georgia Southern and Flor
ida railroad had been, or would be, trans
ferred to the Seaboard system along with
the Macon. and Northern, there seems to
have been little foundation back of it.
1t is well known that while the prop
erty is now in charge of the court and
the bondholders practically, any DISPOSE
ton that is TO be made of the property
must be with their consent and lznowl-
edge. Mr.. H. P. Smart is chair
man of the committee of bond
holders appointed at one of their meet
ings held at Baltimore, Oct. 26,
and appointed for the purpose of acting
for the bondholders, a majority of which
or 1861, OG0 have been deposited under
the agreement formulated by this COM
mittee with the Mercantile Trust and
Deposit Company, of Baltimore, which
has been made trustee for the bondhold-
ers.
| NO TRANSFER CONTEMPLATED.
GAS chairman of that committee" said
Col. Smart last night ~ think l am in a
position to know of it if any such trans
| fer had been made or was contemplated,
as nothing of this kind could be done
without the knowledge and consent of
the bondholders. There has been no such
| transfer made nor will there be.
$50 far as the statements in the At
lanta Journal are concerned, 1 will say
| that Mr.. Smith is not the attorney for
the bondhclders, but for the trustee, the
Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company,
of Baltimore, and his duty is to proceed
with the foreclosure of the mortgage for
the trustee at the direction of the bond
holders. So ne is not in position to know
or to say that the bondholders have taken
any such action. Mr.. Wilmer is the at
torney for the bondholders, and he has
already made contradiction of the state
| ment.
TO APPOINT A Co-RECEIvEB.
81 was not present at the last meeting
| of my committee held in Baltimore Dec
O." said Mr.. Smart, "as l was unable to
get away on account of q slight attack of
illness, but have a certified copy of the
minutes of that meeting, and, according
to that record, there was not even any
discussion of such an action on the part
| of the bondhOlderS.
"The only action of any particular i'm
portance taken at that meeting was the
adoption of resolution to ask the court
for the appointment of co-receiver for
certain reasons. The petition for that CO.
receiver has not yet been made TO the
court, but the committee decided to ask
that MIR. Skipworth Wilmer, the present
attorney for the hondholders, be appointed
co-receiver with MIR. Sparks. This APP
pointment will probably be made when
asked.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SALE WILL 60 ON.
81 will go on to Baltimore to attend a
meeting of the committee about Jan. L,
which will make preparations for the
sale of the road in March, as directed by
the court The preparations for the sale
OF the road will go right on as they have
begun, and, unless the Macon Construc-
ton Company wants to carry the matter
of foreclosure from the Bib superior
court to the supreme court, the sale will
take place as appointed by the court the
first Tuesday in March.
What turn the sale may take, l, of
course, am not prepared to say. II the
Georgia, Carolina and Northern is pre-
pared to put up the S3,420,000, which is
the par value of the first mortgage bonds
the $500, 900 interest due on them, and the
amount of other expenses, they can buy
the road when it goes under the ham
mer, otherwise it will be bought in for
the bondholders and reorganized as they
will never consent to let it go at less than
what is due them"
POSSIBLE ORIGIN OF THE REPORT.
Mr.. Smart thinks the report of the
transfer arose from the fact that the
Seaboard Company NAV have obtained
possession of the Macon and Northern
, with the additional fact that this com
pany did, at one time, endeavor to get
: control of the Georgia Southern and Flor
ida through a deal which did not mate
rialize. 1t is not thought that the bond
holders would favor any such transfer, as
| it is their belief that the interests of the
I road lie in the west, and not with the
| Seaboard Company or any other eastern
Z | connection.
SAVANNAH LARGELY INTERESTED.
I OF the first mortgage bonds g., 667 ,OO(
5 have been deposited with the trustee and
l they are held subject to the orders of the
) bondholders' committee. At the meeting
= at which this committee was appointed
= S3,000000 of them were represented, 1926,
900 of which were held in Savannah and
a all of these have been deposited with the
trustee.
! The road is 2S5 miles in length from
= Macon to Palatka, Fla. The stock is al
= held by the Macon Construction Com
: pany, which was fighting the foreclosure
q because they held that the road was
e worth IS, 900, 600, and thought if not solo
: now, its worth might be realized and the
stock be of some value.
e THE ROADS EARNING POWER.
Mr. Smart believes it has an earning
= power to more than meet its fxeC
2 charges and interest, aud thinks it would
I do well if reorganized. The gross earn
: ings of the road in 1892 were S7SS, 445, and
. in 1898, S817 1921, but under the receiver
: ship the expenses have increased during
9 1898 by S115,567 which somewhat cuI
o down the net earnings. The roa(
/ earned net in 1892 s243, 900, anC
: in 1898 s176,000 A peculiar
. fact in connection with the property il
y that the through traffic showed an in
. crease of S2S3, 900 over what it was in 1892
= while the local traffic for the same time
showed a falling off of more than S2l9. 600
- The bondholders have not received AM
; interest in two years, and their desire i:
> TO get the road in position where it will
: pay them what is due.
g MIR, HAYES HAS QUALIFIED