New-York tribune., 1897-01-08
PRICE THREE CENTS.
CORBIN CONTROL CEASES.
A MAJORITY OF LONG ISLAND STOCK
NOW HELD BY A SYNDICATE.
CHARLES NJ. PRATT AT THE HEAD OF IT-srxrI
THOUSAND SHARES TRANSFERRED YEsTER~

CHARLES NJ PRATT AT THE HEAD OF IT-sfxTt
THOUSAND SHARES TRANSFERRED YEsTER-
DAY-DErAILs OF THE OPERATION.
The holding OF the Austin Corbin estate In
the stock OF the Long Island Railroad was yes
terday transferred to a syndicate headed y
Charles NJ. Pratt. son Of the late Charles Pratt.
The Corbin estate held 6OUOo shares Of the pa
value of so each. or $3.WOWO altogether. The
Pratt estate held S3.JOOWOo Of the stock. Add
ing the Corbin stock. the Pratt syndicate now
holds S6.50O.0C0, or more than a majority Of the
entire capital stock of the railroad. which 10
S12WOOOO
Before Mr. Corbns death last spring he had
negotiated loans something in excess of S1.10O.-
600 with about twenty banks and trust CONF
panes To secure these loans he pledged his
Long Island stock and some other Long Island
securities owned by him. At the time Of his
death the Long Island stock was quoted at ~.
subsequently ii declined. and two weeks ago II
sold as low ~ or s21 for each so share. The
stock in Wall Street terms is called half stock"
Full shares" those worth >io0 each
When the stock had sustained heavy decline,
but before it had touched the low point. addi-
tional collateral or security for the loans re-
quested from the Corbin estate. \ syndicate Of
the loans was formed and the Corbn residence
at Fifth-ave and Twenty-eii;hth-st was placed
in the hands of the Union Trust Company as
trustee as a further protection Of the loans Tho
following committee was appointed 10 look after
the Corbin estate interests: Edward King.
president of the Union Trus; Company. Dumont
Clarke. president IF the American Exchange Na-
tional Bank. and George 5. Edgel. ce-presi-
dent Of the Long Island Railroad and d son-in-
law OF Mr. Corbn
After negotiations lasting for some ten days
Charles NJ. Pratt. the manager of the Pratt es-
tate. agreed To pay off the Corbn loans IN consd-
GRAFTON Of the transfer 10 the syndicate Of the
Corbin Long Island stock and other securitie,
and claim against the Long Island Road for
some $4,000 for money advanced by MIR. Cor
bin This last sum was "A part OF the fioatlns
debt OF this road BY this arrangement the
/ Fifth-ave house. held at >JiDVtD reverted to
/ the estate The proposition was accepted, and
| the Corbn control OF the Long Island Railroad
and allied enterprises on Long Island ceased. Al
the office Of Mr.. Pratt, In the Standard OIL Build
/ ing, No. ~ Broadway an authoritative contr-
nation Of the transaction was furnished by AL
fred c. Bedford, Mr.. Pratts secretary The cost
Of the stock TO the Pratt estate was between "
and ~. or between so and SD ~ share.
There were sales yesterday the NewYork
Stock Exchange of 40 shares AT -. The last
previous sale was at -.
Besides its capital stock Of S12OOOOO the
Long Island Railroad has bonded Indebtedness
! of Sli.Jn.UO. The railroad system consists OF
.,.H miles Of road OF which ~ are owned sew
enty-nne leased. and twenty-five operated The
| company has paid dividends as follows: In 1sS2.
/ | per cent: from 1883 To 1890. inclusive per
cent; in ls3l ~ per cent; in is9: and lsh5
per cent, in 1891 IA per cent: in lS.p and 1896
per cent The expectation Is that the quarterly
| dividend of per cent or $4,000. due in Febru-
airy, will be passed. as earnings have been poor
fff .,(
trolley lines. which the management Of the road
has been trying TO devise means 10 meet.
1t is presumed for one thing that the Pratt
syndicate Will furnish the money to construct the
bridge across the East River over Blackwells
Island. which will provide an entrance by rail 70
! NewYork City and doubtless take business
from the trolley lines. II is doubtful if any at
tempt will be made 10 carry out Mr. Corbin's
/ scheme for steamship line from Fort Pond
| Bay. al the extreme eastcrly end of Long Island
| to Milford Haven. Ireland Instead. increased
efforts will probably be made to build UP the To-
cal traffic. The control of the Long Island Rail-
road carries with it control Of various summer
resorts reached by the Long Island road, in
/ cluding Manhattan Beach.
Control OF the Long Island Railroad ac-
qured in December 1850. by the Long Island
Company. which was organized by Mr.. Corbin
for that purpose. In July 1Ss1. the stock was
/ increased from S3.2GO 700 to lOOOO GNO and IN
1889 to S12ON.ON.
The Corbin estate owns besides the Fifth-ave.
house a half interest in the Corbin Building at
| Broadway and John-st and extensive cOun-
| try place al Newport y. r.. where Mr. Corbin
horn. and where ne killed by his horses
! running away in June. 1896. II also owns con =
| siderable real estate In the West, and. with
| George Fl. Edgell. is Interested in the Corhin
Banking Company. an unincorporated concern
dealing largely in Western farm mortgages
Mr. Pratt at his home. No 241
| Clintcn-ave. Brooklyn. last night. 1T is true -
said he. that have purchased the stock but
II was only as a representative OF a syndicate
The report that I purchased IL Individually is
erroneous. cannot give out the names Of the
other members Of the syndicate tonight. but
you can say that il is a very strong one. and
think its management will be OF bereht to the
road
When asked concerning the amount named
! 81 .iN.Mn Mr. Pratt said
Those figures approximately correct. II
will fall a little short Of that but not much"