The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-17
MONON ANNUAL MEETING
THE OLD BOARD OF DIRECTORS RE-
ELECTED WITH ONE EXCEPTION.
Newspaper Men Kindly Remembers G..
w. BOyd-President Spencer De-
tends the Southern Railway.

! Albany & Chicago railway held their annual
meeting in this city yesterday and elected
| as directors w. III. McDoel and Gilbert B.
| Shaw, of Chicago; Calvin S. Brice, of Lima,
| o.; James E. Murdoch, of Lafayette; H. H
| Campbell, of Boston; J. A. Hilton, Joseph
| II. Bond. Washington E. Conner. John
| Greenougk, Frank r. Lawrence, John G.
| Moore Samuel Thomas and E. r. Thomas,
| of New York. At the meeting out of a
| total of 100000 shares $4,000 We're voted for
| the above named board. The terms of
I Samuel Thomas, John Greenough, John G..
Moore and Calvin s. Brice, who Were
| reelected, expired at the close of the last
year. j. A. Hilton was elected to fill the
| place of e. III. Sibley, deceased. The finaa-
| cial exhibit of the company was published
| in the Journal of Tuesday, but there are
| a few points in the report of President
! Thomas and of w. H. McDoel, general
| manager. which will be read with interest.
Touching on points regarding litigation and
| the physical condition of the property, Mr..
Thomas says:
This company was invited to join with
the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company
and Southern Railway Company in pur-
chasing an interest in the Kentucky and
Indiana bridge at Louisville. This acqusi-
tion being deemed of much value to the
company, was secured, and the cost.
$9S,5o427. appears in the balance sheet. The
equipped in a most complete manner at a
cost of 1898 $50. "a, which appers in the bal
Monon Railway Company, in which cor
poration they vested. the whole of the
securities of the latter being held by your
company. The above expenditures and ad-
ditions to the property of the company ex-
plain the principal changes in the balance
sheet as compared with last year. The an
nexed tables from the auditors Office give
as usual the details of expenditures, re-
ceipts and traffic On the Gath of August
a receiver was appointed for your company.
The credit of the corporation, which here
tofore had been excellent, was completely
destroyed by an unexpected judicial de-
cisfon in an appeal from various suits aris-
ing out of an alleged guarantee by your
company of the bonds of the Richmond
Nichoasville, Irvine & Beattyville railroad
of Kentucky. The circumstances of this
litigation may be briefly recounted. In 1889
the then directors of your company passed
a resolution authorizing the guarantee of
bonds of the Kentucky railroad mentioned,
and this action taken without the
knowledge. of the stockholders, notwith-
standing the fact that the law of Indiana
preScribes that any such guarantee must
originate in petition signed by ma
jority of the stockholders of the guarantee
ing company Your management have con-
stantly contended that the guarantee under
the circumstances above narrated was
illegal and fraudulent, and moreover the
alleged obligation was repudiated by the
stockholders as soon as the affair came to
their knowledge, and the board of directors
which had authorized the guarantee was
elected from control. In nineteen different
suits brought by various sections of the
bondholderS in the Kentucky railroad, de-
csions had been rendered in favor of your
company, but in August last all these de.
cisions We're reversed on appeal. Under the
menace which this decision created and
owing to the action of the litigants in at
taching your companys property in vari-
Gus States the holders of the floating debt
of your company became alarmed, and
pressing for payment, receivershp be-
rsdoed m 10 IS tbe esp
ment felt by the management, after strug-
Cling with adverse conditions which they
thought had been successfully surmounted,
that the fortunes of the company should
have suddenly been compromised by an
event which the management could neither
foreSee nor avert
Vice President and General Manager Nc
Doel, now receiver of the road, says: Your
than at any previous time. over 900 tons
of seventy ve-pound-per-yard steel rails
have been placed in track between Monon
and Indianapolis. All light rails between
those points have now been replaced by
seventy-five-po und-per-yard steel; 1875
miles of track have been ballasted with
stone, 27.49 with gravel and 1.79 with cin>
ders. Eleven steel and five Howe truss
bridges have been erected during the year;
eight stone piers and abutmentS have also
been built. New engine house. turn table
and yard at Belt junction. Indianapolis,
ments, together with a new freight station
and necessary track facilities which have
been secured at Indianapolis. enable us to
care for our freight traffic and equipment.
heretofore handled by the Lake Erie &
Western railroad. Freight earnings show
an increase of 1908 per cent, the rate per
of O024 cent over previous year. Passen-
ger earnings show an increase of 1855 per
cent. rate per passenger per mile being 061
against 2151 the previous year the differ
ence being caused by larger proportion of
excursion business during the current year
The details of the operation of the several
departments are FULLY given in the tabu-
lated statements herewith. to which your
attention is respectfully invited.
The other side Heard From.
For some days past the press has been
publishing articles emanating from E. st.
John vice president and general manager
Of the Seaboard Airline, defending the
course of that road in rate matters, and
at last Samuel Spencer, president of the
Railway Company has taken the
matter up and has written letter to the
Hon. l.. N. Trammen chairman of the
Railroad Commission of the State of
Georgia. in which he shows that the state
ments in regard to the present rate war
made by General Manager st. John, of the
Seaboard Airline, contained in his letters
of July % and n. addressed to Mr.. Tram
NELL are malicious falsehoods. In regard
to the charge that the Seaboard Airline
has had to resist boycott made against it,
Mr.. Spencer says:
1.-THE chief and governing cause of the
boycott so called. was the persistent, Sc
cret and therefore unlawful manipulation
by means of billing to fictitious destina-
tons and the change of destinations en-
route under which his company secretly
in favor of one set of ship
pers against all others, and fraudulently
deprived it's most friendly and important
of their just proportion of the
revenues accruing upon such traffic. THESE
frauds were proven and the Seaboard Air
line made restitution in money TO its de-
frauded connections.
AS to the charge that the Southern Rail-
way Company has endeavored to crush the
Seaboard Airline Mr.. Spencer says:
THE Southern Railway Company has
made no objections to competition when
conducted fairly and openly upon business
principles, and 1t has never sought TO sup
press it. Its relations to its competitors
thro ighout the Southern territory to-day
are abundant testimony upon this point.
Testimonial to Mr.. Boyd.
Gorge w. Boyd, assistant general pas
ser err agent of the Pennsylvania lines
eas;x who is one of the most popular pas
senger officials in the country and highly
esteemed by foreigners whom he has en-
tertained in trips the pennsylvania
lines last week received a novel and hand
some gift from the Washington CORE
spondents as slight token from them or
personal attentions during the national
conventions at St. Louis and Chicago in
managing the special trains provided for
the use CT the correspondents in travelling
to and from the conventions. The corre-