The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-27
MAY BE REORGANIZED
Future of the Bankrupt Atchison
d Santa Fe Railway System.
Indebtedness to Be Scaled Down So
Earnings Will Pay Fair Interest
Rates Will Not BE Disturbed.

Rates VIII Not BE Disturbed.
The Santa Fe road will not disturb any
or the freight and passenger associations
OF which it is a member. ID. B. Robinson,
the general agent under the receivers, said
yesterday: I'VE are going right along as
we always have done. We will withdraw
from no associations without good and suf-
hcient cause. and intend to preserve all
conditions as far as we possibly can as
they existed prior to the appointment OF
the receivers. We viii engage in no fight
unless it is absolutely necessary, and
less We can arrive at the result in no other
way. We viii not fight or make any diff
Guilty unless it is forced upon US"
The work Of the receivers will be TO make
all the necessary repairs and improvements,
and to operate the road according TO local
needs and patronage. In this way the fixed
charges, outside Of interest on bonded indebt-
edness and dividends on stock, will be as
certained, which will be reported to the
court. and the bonded indebtedness will
then be scaled down to such figure that
the earnings viii pay a reasonable interest
upon it. Upon this basis the road will be
Programmed and a new beginning made.
How long the receiyershfp viii last is not
known. The creditors of the company may
get together and agree upon a basis Of
reorganization, or IL may require the usual
grind in the courts. The appointments of
the special masters in chancery have al
ready been made that the work may be
begun at once Chancellor Jobnson's juris-
diction will include the entire system, ex-
cept the ST Louis San Francisco d.
vision Chancellor Reynolds will take
charge Of the St Louis & San Francisco
road. The reason OF this division OF work
IS that the st. Louis * San Francisco may
be operated Independently of the parent
system, the Santa Fe's only interest in il
being that of stakeholder. All other lines
branches ne
property. 1t is believed that the salaries
allowed the receivers will be less than
k25O00 year each. The duties Of Mr. Rob
inson as general agent will be about the
same as they were under President Rein
vice president and agent OF the president
with headquarters at Chicago.
Ex-Assistant United States District At
torney Soper. of Topeka has been appoint
ed general attorney of the Santa Fe for
the Indian Territory and outside of Okla
homa-
Yesterday in the United States Circuit
Court. at New York. Justice Brown ap-
pointed Joseph w. Reinhart, John ]. Nc
Cook and J. G. Wilson. auxiliary receivers
for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Rail-
road Company. The same men have been
edrts of severai sa pTS bey i ny 9He
bonds Of $4,000 each.
Railway Receiverships.
The Santa Fe receivership and the rail-
road situation generally was the leading
theme of conversation yesterday I'm rail-
way and business circles and with attor-
neys. The fact that 425H miles of railway
is in the hands OF receivers was thought to
be really alarming A Journal reporter yes
terday conversed with several railway men
and attorneys as regards the situation and
the prospects of more lines going into the
hands Of receivers. The general opinion is
that the list was about exhausted. Only
one Indiana road is now in the hands OF
he Tnfl q
ern. The Monon and the Lake Erie & West
ern are owned by a strong syndicate which
can carry them through any financial cri-
sis they are likely to encounter. The Big
-Four coserS a good deal of territory and
has been in close quarters, but is in every
respect valuable property. In speaking
of it's financial standing last week, Presi-
dent ingalls, said that last summer he was
somewhat disturbed over the future Of the
road, but IL now stood on an excellent
financial basis, and If every road in the
country should go into bankruptcy the Big
Four would be the last. The Pennsylvania
lines are no doubt solid. and the same is
true OF the Vandalia. In the case of the
too soon to enable the arrangements to
keep out of financial trouble.
The Erie is now in the hands of a re-
ceiver. The Vanderbilt lines on a
solid basis. as is the Chesapeake & Ohio
and the Baltimore & Ohio; recent acqui-
sitiOns have greatly strengthened the prop
erty, and its securities are held by strong
parties OF the Southern roads the Rich
mOnd & Danville system. the East Ten
nessee. Virginia & Georgia and the Queen
Crescent are now in the hands of re-
other more important system of the South
ern lines, and 1t is thought will weather the
storm, having In the last few months done
much TO relieve itself of troublesome in
debtedneSS. Were the Missouri Pacific and
the st Louis & Iron Mountain to drop
q OnlO IL would not be a surprise, yet If
the Gould party and its friends choose to
keep the first-named roads out OF receivers
hands they are amply able to do so. but
the bonded Indebtedness OF these roads Is
such that recievership might lead to cut
ting the debt in two by a scaling-down
process. The Northwestern lines, the Wis
consin Central excepted, are thought TO be
& Northwestern ranking as the strongest
of the three: the Chicago, Milwaukee q
ton & Quincy third. The ranking Of these
roads are placed in the order in which the
securities and stock now stand. New Eng
land has two weak roads, yet II is thought
they will come through without receivers
unless the present depressed times continue
longer than IL is reasonable to expect, New
York and New England stock is tumbling,
however.
All transcontinentaI lines. except two.
are in the hands OF receivers. namely. the
Southern Pacific and the Great Northern
The Southern Pacific is in strong position
the receiverships of the competing lines.
the Northern Pacific and the Santa Fe.
A Well-lntOrneu gentleman SAID: Il look
for few small roads TO drop into the
hands OF receivers in the next few months,
but / think the list Of large systems is
about exhausted, most of the manage
ments have gotten expenses down so that
while large decreases in gross earnings are
shown from week TO week, net earnings
are, in some cases, exceeding those of last
year at the corresponding period. and in
but few cases showing any marked falling
Of"
Built for the People.
There Is a peculiar railroad trouble in
Gray county. Kansas. J. A. Soule. Of
Rochester. n. Y, patent medicine dealer
during the booms in western Kansas, built
equipped and fully paid for, at his own ex-
pense, without bonds. railroad twenty
eight miles long, from Dodge City TO
Montezuma. The road was operated till a
few months ago. Recently Soue sold the
bridges. rails, ties, etc, TO Chicago con-
tractors who are building a Texas road.
The purchasers proceeded 10 take up the
iron and other material The Railroad
Commissioners said yesterday that Judge
Abbott has enjoined the contractors from
DR.. SCHENCK'S