The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-06-01
VOTING MILLIONS.
chauncey NJ. Depew's Views on
Money Power Changed.


bilt soon after MIR. Depew reached Europe
on his annual outing. Mir. Vanderbilt's
health has improved materially, and the
president of the New York Central and
Hudson River railroad now thinks that
he is entitled to IL long rest from his la.
bors. Mr. De2ew will sail for Europe on
Wednesday. Depew, Jr., better known
from the cradle upas "Buster,n will be,
as usual, his fathers companion. stBus-
ter; has taken SO many trips abroad with
Mr.. Depew that he hegins to feel as
though that the year had not been prop
erly rounded out unless he has dined with
the nobility of the old world. Mr.. Depew
is now in the best of health, and he looks
forward to his journey with the same
feeling as that with which school boy
in the country contemplates the coming
Saturdays in June and the ripping trout
stream.
The president of the New York Central
last Wednesday polled the vote of 1000
stockholders in favor OF the Central's re
funding scheme. In regard to that and
other subjects OF interest Mr.. Depew said
this morning:
."Yes, polled in one vote the wishes of
$4,000 stockholders. Their holdings
amounted to over $70,000,0O0. To be
exact, the sum total Of tue stock repre-
sented S71 no. 600 in value This, 1 be-
lieve, is the largest single vote ever cast
of dividend paying stock. There may
have been larger votes polled, but of
worthless stock. The stock represented
in my vote the other day is at par and
consequently that vote stood for S71 no.
600 OF actual value. look upon the
Affirmative action of the 12,0c0 stockhold-
,ers who, through me, cast their votes for
the refunding plan, as IL grand expression
Of confidence in the Central railroad and
its unique and uneQualed management.
And it is u matter for congratulation
that out of II GOO votes, not one was cast
in the negative In the proposition.
81 have been in politics and before the
public the greater part Of my life, as we'll
as connected with large corporations.
have found rs a rule that in political.
religious, social and business associa-
lions have been with. there is fixed per-
centage of Que in l,000-who are born in
the objective case, and are congenital
kickers Such people will argue with ST.
Peter on entering the pearly gates and
apply to see the balance sheet on the
golden streets.
In the Lake Shore vote the week before
the meeting of the Central stockholders
i'll Albany there was not the same oppor-
tunity to cast so large vote, but in the
percentage the showing was as good, as
it WAS SAT 900, 600 out. of $4,000, 900.
That vote was cast by Mr.. William h
Vanderbilt. and was equally unanimous
and was as uqually emphatic an express
sion Of confidence in the management of
the trust reposed in 1.-THE company by the
stockholders.
Senator Roscoe Conkling once said
that there was nothing worse than ST.
IL
his estate footed up $500, 900, and have
always wondered what he would have
said about those who had only $4,000
once heard a very successful merchant
say of William ii. Vanderbilt in an en-
cited company Of men met to fight our
company in the oil days before the rela-
tions between the Central and the public
became reconciled and harmonious, that
any man who had 100000, 900 should be
taken hold of by some Authority and his
property divided, and the law failing in
such action, the people should take into
their own hands and hang him to lamp.
post as an enemy to society. That man
was the worth In available assets nearly
$40, O00, 900, but he drew the line at $780,
000, 900.
MY experience in capital and its uses
and abuses Is that the populist, socialist,
line for confiscation or seizure and dis tri-
button just above what he himself pos
sesses. The very significant silence of the
universal recognition of the impossibility
OF transacting the great business of our
civilization of the day except by the say
lngs OF the many being aggregated in a
corporation and that there has been no
hostile comment whatever from any
source against the exhibition of our H.
0OO, 600 of dollars of money in IL single
corporation is most encouraging and
shows n wonderful change in the senti-
mcnts and educati ton of the great mass of
the people. If this had been done twenty
years ago there would have been gene
raj discussion of it in the press, and on
the platform it would have been pictured
in lurid colors II dangers to the public,
to business, to employment to the State,
of the concentration of wealth. In the
evolution OF the competition and the in
vention my experience on the Central
railroad has been that the public has got
the freight charges for carrying their pro.
ducts reduced nne-half while the return
TO the stakeholder has gone down with
the declining rates of interest on money
to about one. half. This has been done
while the pay of the employees and the
rate of wages has advanced about }3 per
cent.
81 have not had vacation in two years
and am now feeling the effects of work
ing hard all day on business, part of the
night pleasing people in social, religious,
political gatherings and good
fellowship on all possible occasions, with
out either exercise or recreation. Now,
with the knowledge of the fact that the
affairs of our railroad and all of the other
institutions with which | am connected
are in good shape, in spite of the hard
times, l am going to take six weeks
outing for finn and ozone. shall go
abroad as the self appointed ambassador
of the good fellows in the United States