The Portland daily press., 1893-04-06
M'LEOD'S SURRENDER
Caused by the Clamor Following the
ReceiVership.
A NEW YORK PAPERS VERSION OF
READINGS TALE OF WOE.

Bearing of the Latest Move on the Ad-
| yenturous New England Campaign
Mcleod May Devote All His Energies
to this Section of the Country-How
the Reading Was Forced to Cross
| Poughkeepsie Bridge.
New YORK, April 5.-The Tribune to-
day says: The news of the resignation
of A. A. Mcleod as receiver of the Phil
adelphia & Reading was not known in
Wall street yesterday. 1t may not be re-
ceived as wholly unexpected, however,
in view of the previous resignation from
| the board of directors of Thomas Dolan
| of Philadelphia. Mr.. Dolan is a wealthy
manufacturer of that city. and was one
| of the members of the pool in Reading
which locked up 100000 shares of stock
until the enterprising schemes of Mr..
Mcleod brought the company face to
face with bankruptcy. Mr.. Dolan was
| regarded as the principal supporter of
Mr.. Mcleod in his adventurous cam
paign in the New England States. His
retirement was excused upon the ground
| that private interests demanded his en-
tire attention. Skeptics in Wall street,
however, looked for deeper reason, and
| feared that it might foreshadow further
| adverse developments in Reading affairs.
Dispatches from Philadelphia yesterday
afternoon said that the talk of the street
ran to the effect that Mr.. Dolan did not
| know anything of the difficulties of the
| Philadelphia g. Reading until two days
before the receivership was secured.
The retirement of Mr.. Dolan was in
terpreted yesterday as indicating the res
| ignation of Mr.. Mcleod, but the news of
the latters step has come sooner than
was expected. Ever since Mr.. McLeod's
appointment as receiver of the company,
which was
Wrecked Under His Management,
there has been loud outcry among New
York and foreign bond and stock hold
ers. The letters received from abroad
by prominent banking houses here were
full of stories of the injury done to the
general credit of American securities by
| the continuance in the management of
man whose control of Reading had re-
suited in disastrous insolvency. The
Tribune voiced the Indignation of the
security holders, who looked upon Mr..
McLeod's prominence in the receivership
as scandal hurtful to their interests.
| The pressure of the dissatisfied credit
| ors and owners of the property has evil
! IDENTIFY been so severe that Mr.. Mcleod
and his associates are at last compelled
to yield to it. By his own confession, in
| his letter of resignation, there was an
impossible barrier to the financing of the
receivership in his holding office as re-
ceiver.
1t is yet too early to estimate the full
effect of Mr. McLeod's surrender upon
the future of the Reading property. In
itself it is believed that it will be bene-
fetal. But much will depend upon the
acts of the receivers, who will now be
freed from the hampering influence of
Mr.. Mcleod as a colleague In the last
few days rumors have been persistently
circulated to the effect that the financial
| situation of the company was
Far Worse Than Was Indicated
| in the statement of the receivers on
March 13. 1t has been freely charged
| that the floating debt was $4,000, 900
greater than that statement showed, be-
cause of engagements made in the tran
control of the New York and New Eng
land railroad. The retirement of Mr..
Mcleod it is thought, may foreshadow
control of the reorganization by Drexel
| & Co., to whom the Reading manage
ment has been forced to look for the
| financial assistance that has postponed
| the now pressing need OF funds to be Sc
cured on more comprehensive scale.
| A Philadelphia despatch quotes a
| gentleman interested in the Readings
affairs as saying:
ssMr. Mcleod will not long be out of a
position 1t is even limited that in the
| future he will devote his whole attention
| to the development of the Reading Com
panys leased lines in New England.
| That is to say, some person will be
| chosen president of the Reading Compa-
| ny who is friendly to Mr.. Mcleod and
the Reading Company's interest in Penn
sylvania, and the company's leased lines
in New England will be run conjointly
and Tor their mutual interests. The
general sentiment in financial circles is
that Mr.. Mcleod, having acquired the
Poughkeepsie Bridge and adjoining lines,
was forced in the interest of the Read
ing Company to branch out into New
England as an act of self defence. There
was no object in acquiring a bridge that
led to nowhere. Then, too, the leasing
by the Reading of the large railroad and
coal interests in Pennsylvania threw into
the company's hands vast product that
had to be marketed. Mr.. Mcleod nat
urally turned to New England for this
market. The burden was too much for
the Reading Company and the receiver
ship resulted. do not think that Mr..
McLeod's withdrawal will seriously af-
feet the Reading Companys New Eng
land interests"
Another report is that Mr. Dolan, Mr.
Wanamaker and other heavy holders of
Reading have quietly unloaded Reading
and bought heavily of New York & New
England and Boston & Maine.
Thompson Out of the Cold