The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-12
U. p. DIFFICULTIES.
George Coppen Talks About the


Plan of REORGANIZATION.
Besides being chairman of the board
of directors of the Denver & Rio
Grande Railroad company, George
Coppell, Of New York, at present in
Denver, is a member of the reorgani-
cation party of the Union Pacific rail-
road, says the Denver Republican.
Next to the Santa Fe reorganization
committee, this Union Pacific party is
the most important railroad body in
the country. Mr.. Coppell is IF the be-
lief that the reorganization of the
Union Pacific is a matter of an early
date, how early, however, he cannot
conjecture. He thoroughly under
stands that there are any amount Of
difficulties in the way, but neverthe-
less is confident that way out of the
dilemma will be discovered.
There is a railroad and it becomes
involved" Mr. Coppell explained yes
terday, land the government is APP
pealed to for assistance. The assist
ance is granted and a mortgage taken.
Now comes further trouble, and the
question arises, how is the government
to be handled? AT the present time it
is not handled at all. Our committee
has arrived at the conclusion that the
government rights are 10 greater OF
more sacred than those Of an individual,
and that in the settling up or straight
ening out of the affairs of the Union
Pacific it will fare with the private In
dividualS who each riSked their money
in the same venture and shared the
risk of the government"
How does your reorganization COM
mittee propose to go about straight
ening out the affairs of the road?'
Appeal to the government
'"Io what particular officers of the
government" Mr.. Coppell was asked,
but there he confessed he did not
know
For all that, though, our committee
Is going right ahead with it's work,
and it will be better for the people that
it should do so. 1t is difficult to COM
prehend that the government should
prove a stumbling block in it's interest
In this road any more than any other
holder of its securities should be-
The popular side of the Union Pacific
trouble seems to be in favor of reor-
ganization, with the government drop
ping out and leaving the road to be
operated as other roads are The claim
is made by shippers that the road is
hampered by the government and that
it cannot be handled to the general ad-
vantage of the surrounding country as
it would be with an independent man.
agement. The plan of the reorganiZa-
ton committee, to which Mr.. Coppell
alluded, affects 1927 miles of track up
on which the total funded Indebtedness
is $140, 426,S62 The lowest net earnings
of the property was in 1894, and
amounted to s4.316,077, and even then
they were $316,077 in excess of the max
imum amount of the bonds proposed
by the eorganizationists. In other
words, run as it is now, the Union Pa
cif1c is being involved more and more
each year. Under the plan to be pro-
it's net earnings as bad as in 1894, which
was the fatal year for all industries
owing to the panic of 1893, it would still
pay a handsome revenue. At present
the fixed charges and deductions from
net earnings average Sc, 500, OO1, to
which must be added the interest due
the government.
The reorganizationists propose in the
new deal to- issue $100, 0CS, 900 of first
mortgage railway and land grant 60
year 4 per cent gold bearing interest
bonds, 5000, 900 per cents preferred
stock and SCI 900, 900 per cent common
stock To secure these a, first and only
lien is to be given upon the entire
property, track equipment, land, and
all else. The preferred stock is to be
entitled to per cent non-cumubative
dividends before the payment of div
idend upon the common stock and
present stock is to be assessed to fur
nish s1O,OOO,OOO or $15,OO0,0 900 for imme-
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