St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-03-20

We do not hesitate to recommend the
above bonds for investment, and believe
there is no other security in the market abso.
lutey as safe. that be bought at any
such price, which will pay the investor so
high a rate Of interest. They are not new
security. as the Thirteenth Coupon was paid
at the Farmers Loan and Trust Co., Trustee
of the mortgage, on the first day OF January
The Centralia 81 Chester Railroad is a stand
ard-guage road extending from its connection
with the Illinois Central Railroad at Contra
liza, H., to Evansville, ILL.,, with a branch to
Rosborough Ill.,, and is in first-class fnan-
cial and physical cond ton, bonded for only
$4,000 per mile of first mortgage per
cent bonds, which are first and only lien on
the road bed, equipment depots, termna
facilities, and any and all property of the
company.
The road passes through a thickly popu
lated and fertile agricultural district produc-
ing enormous crops of cereals. The United
| States government statistics show that
there were produced 10 single year in the
five counties through which this road passes,
3.5 1891 bushels of wheat 2.59s,9
bushels Of corn, 2.751,364 bushels of oats,
1898 tons of hay, 14193o bushels of po-
tatoes, and $1,000 barrels of apples, The
greater part of the products of these coun-
ties seek a market over the Centraa 81
Chester Railroad, it being the only direct out
let to Chicago. via the Illinois Central Rail-
road and to New Orleans and tide water. via
the Mobile & Ohio r.. r. and Mississippi river
The entire country through which this
| 10 with nj ID,
the supply inexhaustble and large mines are
now open at Centralia Nashville, Coulter
vile. Sparta Rosborough. and Schulines
The Randolph Coke and Coal Co. an or
ganization with capitalization of $500, 900
is now successfully operating several very
large coal mines and OF coke ovens on the
line of this road in the vicinity of Sparta.
The coke business is new and very impor-
tan industry in this locality and is proving
of very great value freight producer to
the Centralia & Chester road
A connection will be made within the next
few weeks at Salem with the Ohio 81 Miss
issippi r. r. (Which is the Baltimore & Ohio
system) giving direct outlet to the East.
At Salem, connection will also be made
with the Chicago Paducah & Memphis r. X D.,
which will give the Centralia & Chester X
X. another direct outlet to Chicago via the
Chicago, Paducah & Memphis and " abash
railroads.
The short piece of road between Evansville
and Chester on the Mississippi river will be
completed by October LIST next. The railroad
company is just closing the purchase of a
large block OF land with about one mile of
frontage on the Mississippi river at Chester,
where the company proposes to put in side
tracks and build docks, running the main
line into the city OF Chester. The company
will put in a side track to the Penitentiary,
which will also give the road large amount
of busiress from their large output of manu-
iactured DDS The docks as well as the
land will be owned and controlled by the
railroad company and covered by the first
mortgage bonds of the railroad company
the docks will afford an opportunity to the
barge lows gong up the river to drop off
their empty barges at the docks of the COM
pany, to be filed with coal and taken down
the river again on their return trip from st.
Louis, thus saving about 200 miles of tow
ing from Chester to St Louis and return,
and also saving a charge of 81 per car
charged by the docks of East ST. Louis
where coal is loaded on the barges at that
point With this connection made with the
. Mississippi river it will give the coal miners
most direct outlet for Their products to the
Cairo. Memphis and New Or cans markets
and give to the shippers of grain for the for
eign market cheaper and more direct con
nection with ocean transportation at New
Orleans than via any other line.
Since the agreement of the railroad com
pany with the Randolph Coke & Coal Co
to give them this outlet. arrangements have
been made by several independent parties to
open up coal mines on the line of the Contra
liza &, hester r. r., which VIII give it al
least five times the present coal traffic
During the ! ist fiscal year, without tn,
Evansville extension or the Rosborouel
branch in operation, the company earned
not only the interest on its mortgage, owe
- and above operating expenses, taxes. etc
but small surplus on the stock, and this
time when the transportation business O
the entire country was practically paralyzeC
by the great railroad and coalstrikes. Will
IS. the addition to the property of the Evans
ce vile extension and the Rosborough branch
tn both of which now in operation, and tn
improved financial and industrial situation
he tn oughout the country, the gross and ne
lis ending July LIST, 1896, will far exceed any
On thing in the history of the road. and shou
or show, in addition to all fixed charges and ex
he penses. a large surplus, and it is not unree
sonable to expect that by January next tn
TT company will begin paying regular dividend
be on it's stock.
at From the above facts it must be evident t
On any business man that there is no risk O
or specul ton whatever in buying the firs
Is mortgage bonds of the Centraia & CheSte
en- railroad. passing as it does through an oil
OF and well.populated country rich in agr
he culture and mineral resources, and bonde
It. Tor only SIP 600 per mile of first mortgage
ed per cent bonds, which is only about half t
i'd bonded Indebtedness of any other railroad
ey that part of the country.
be over $500 900 OF these bonds now hel
for investment by many of the largest insu
ance companies, savings banks, and some
the richest aud most conservative investor
in the country.
GrisWoId & GilIett,