St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-18
THIS THE OPINION OF THE LEAD
ERS IN THE NORTHERN Pa
CIFIC DEAL.
ROADS FINANCES REVIEWED
THE GUARANTEE OF MIR. HILL
AND IT'S MEANING TO BOND
HOLDERS.
e. v. SmalIey Sees Great Danger
to Northern Pacific Commu-
mites in Consultations.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe
NEW YORK, Aug 1.-THE gen
eral interest felt throughout the
Northwestern states in the Berlin
and Wall street scheme for placing
the Northern Pacific railroad system
In the control of J. ]. Hill, president
of the rival system, the Great North
ern, is my apology for presenting to
your readers rather fully the pres
ent attitude of the negotiations for
that purpose. Wall street now re-
CARDS the original plan as dead. That
is the opinion, 1 learn, of J. Pierpont
Morgan, who was to have been the
chief hacker and the chief banker
OF the proposed combination. 1t is
also, as l know, the opinion of Bray
ton Ives, president of the Northern
Pacific company, who has been the
most conspicuous antagonist of the
scheme; Of Mr.. Cromwell, who holds
the difficult position of counsel for
the receivers of the Northern Pa
c1flc, and also of counsel for the
b. d. Adams is chairman; of Henry
Willard, the largest individual hold
er of Northern Pacific securities; of
Charles B. Wright, the veteran Phil
adelphla supporter of the Northern
Pacific, and of such competent out
side observer as George M. Pullman.
L need not, therefore, discuss that
nj
is still a good deal of mystery con-
| corning the real motives underlying
| 1t on the part of Mr.. Adams and his
| committee. That committee repre-
sents on absolute majority of the
| Northern Pacific second mortgage
| bonds, of the third mortgage bonds
and of the consolidated mortgage
bonds. This has been disputed, but
l know it to be true. 1t was Mr..
Adams plain duty to protect the
present and future interests of all
parties having money invested in the
Northern Pacific, except the first
mortgage bondholders, who need no
protection, and the stockholders, who
were not considered at all in the Hill
plan. Yet he fathered the preposter-
Gus proposition to turn the Northern
Pacific, with all the interests of
TOWNS AND INDUSTRIES,
dependent upon it, over to the Great
Northern company, and this for
nothing at all but guaranty of what
the road is now earning in these
dull times. He proposed to present
the Great Northern with $4,000, 900
of valuable new Northern Pacific
stock, carrying with it the absolute
control of the road, and Mr. Hill
was to agree to nothing in return
except that the bondholders should
get seven millions a year, which
they will get in the present fiscal
year without his guaranty or assist
ance. So absurd and onesided a deal
was never before heard of in the rail-
road man:pulations of Wall street.
Mr.. Adams has been called on in
vain for explanations by indignant
Northern Pacific stock and bond
holders. He has had nothing to say
except to talk about the bad man
agement of the Northern Pacific and
the good management of the Great
Northern, and what a fine thing it
would be to have stable rates
throughout the Northwest, and no
cutting or rebates. 1 tried to talk
with him one day about the dam
gers to the business interests of the
people of the Northwest that would
result from a gigantic railroad mo-
nopoly, controlling the traffic of five
states. He replied that the people
had had their way long enough in
railway matters, and that it was
now time for the men who had in
vested money in railway lines to
assert their rights and look after
their own interests. I asked him if
he could not find some better way
to protect those interests than that
OF delivering up the Northern Pa
c1flc into the hands of its great sue
cessful enemy, Mr.. Hill Mr.. Adams
retired behind the defenses of q pair
OF slngularly cold and keen black
eyes and said he must decline to dis
cuss that question. Mr.. Adams is q.
fnancier of great ability and of pc
culiarly