New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-19


Charles FairchNd and Alexa nder Mcneil have Is
sued a statement: to stockholders OF the wheeling
and Lake Erie Railway giving the results OF an IN
curry Into the condition Of the AFFAIRS OF the COM
pany Referring to the company's balance sheet or
July (, 1856, the statement says:
..What does the item Railway and Equipment,
soo 9,S III is in fact represent? II might mean ana
perhaps should mean, that the actual value OF the
railway and equipment amounted TO this large sum.
Let us compare It for a moment with the hrs'
statement and with the readily at'ainable f@cts as
to length OF road and amount OF equipment.
."rbc road has been extended since 1888 by two
tnnortant constructions, VIZ. (a) the Wheeling EH-
tension so called. from Bowerston to Martin
Ferry, on the Ohio River. aboIt forty-hVe m"eS III
length; and (b) The S.eubonville and bcuaire eh
tensions so called about fourteen miles IN iens'h.
running I'D and down the Ohio RIVER mort" ""',
south OF Martins Ferry Thus the total length OF
road has been increased from H6l2 miles IN 1000 ~
oE miles m 1885, In all about sixty miles.
cat ssOOo peT Internationally most hoerai
es.imate-this increase Of mileage would cost LOW
V0 We may add thar these extensions ihc'uoe
nothing In the nature Of expensive terminals III
addition some fifty miles Of sidngs have oeen con-
structed which can clrcey have cost over si'o"VV'
According to the best information at TINS time a'
our command the total increase OF equipment uoe'
not exceed In val,e S2.jO0OCo.
Thus the total increase in railway ana equip
man. in ten wears would seem not TO exceed Aso'-
GOO I'm value making liberal estimates thereior.
During the same period the bonded indeotedhesS
NJ tho road increased a. 10000, and there have been
,ssued 80 900 OG OF common stock and about N0ooo]
of preferred stock
..These facts seemed to us TO require further IN
vestigation particularly IN view of the unexpected
appoirtment of receivers Of the railway company
Oh January Is. 1897
Referring to the balance sheet OF November ~
1895 nrenared by the receivers. the statement says
There appear here car trusts OF S69ooo q "hose
ex,stence had not been made known by the carrier
raport There appears too, as a new isem'
eoat,np deb. of 81 lOI IS, a. OF neither car trusts
nor actual floating debt is there MINT III the a"'
nual repor; Of June 1880
Tbs wheeling extension was built under contract
hv the Public Works Construction Company
ey-Jorsey corporation. organized apparently loi
tba nrrnose The statement of Messrs Fairchiio
and Mcneil says:
II seems safe to say that the total value OF even
ching supplied by that construction company u u
~. In anv event exceed S.IOO0O. ana that tns
mho,e could readily have been obtained lor .t LA
wIoie II navment the Public Works Constructor
sum. III IN preceiyed directly from the railway com
nanv Of the common stock OF tne rauwa! eU in,
pa,iy "a 50o COO and of the Wheeling extehsi0.
Ponds Il 500 600 as appears by the entries OH '"'
ooohS ,hs rnling rates for these securities aoou
-. .tmA /, would appear that there misht IeaaiIS
hnva been realized therefor by tne CoIIPa"? up
Ward Of s. 1000 in cash the question: u t"e'e