The San Francisco call., 1897-02-26

paid per cent and that it has averaged 4
and Al per cent?"
Il know nothing about the rate of in
terest paid by the company on note. A
note of the company is entirely different
from the issuance OF stock, and is secured
by the good name and credit of the COM
pany. If they borrow money at 2 per cent
don't blame them. But that cuts no
figure here. IF you make a sweeping re-
duction on all the shares l maintain that
it wiz reduce their selling value, and
know from my own observation that peo-
pie IN the East and Europe do not want
them. They want our bonds. Those
bonds are at par because they are secured
by all the property of the company. But
the shares are subject to the whim of
every new board that comes in"
You don't mean to say" said the
Mayor, "thatif the interest is reduced 10
per cent more money will have to be
raised from the ratepayers of the City?
II we in our judgment fixed the rate at
per cent on your stock that you would re-
quire to raise more money from the rate
payers?"
81 say that if the rates were reduced to
per cent then we would have to sell more
shares. 1 want 10 set him right" added
Mr.. Schussler, addressing the board apollo
getically, "because he is a young man.
Laughter. If q certain amount of money
is required for purposes of construction
or purchase, ETC., and we have to raise it
by selling stock we will get much less for
our shares at 5 per cent interest than at
per cent and we will have to sell great
many more shares at per cent than at
per cent in order to obtain given sum of
money"
Pelham w. Ames, the secretary of the
company, was then called to the stand to
give figures on the bonds and stocks of
the company. He stated that there were
SO, ,975, 600 in bonds outstanding, $5,000,000
bearing 4 per cent interest and the rest
per cent.
He stated that the company issued these
bonds to pay a floating Indebtedness on
which it paid So to per cent interest.
Mr.. Ames stated that the company held
stocks amounting to So, 200, 900 which could
be sold to cancel lnde oteIness, such as the
cost of constructing the new building on
Stockton and Geary streets.
Mayor Phelan- then went on to the
question of the expense account of the
company and asked the amount of COM
peasation received by the directors of the
company. Attorney kellogg for the cor
poration objected to the question on the
ground that 1t would be detrimental to the
discipline of the company.
Mayor Phelan said that he desired 10
find out whether the salaries paid were
greater than those paid to the officers of
other corporations OF the kind, so that it
might be judged whether or not the affairs
of the company were economically con-
Quoted.
Supervisor Smith moved that the sala-
ries account be accepted as being correct,
and that the company be not compelled
to make public such figures as would be
detrimental to its interests
Mayor Phelan objected to any drawing
back by the board from the position it had
taken in the matter. and asked that the
secretary be compelled to answer the
questions.
Attorney kellogg accused the Mayor OF
curiosity in the questions he asked, and
stated that the City was concerned only In
the question as to whether the works were
conducted economically in the aggregate.
1t made no difference, he said, how much
any one employe received. He respect
fully insisted that the questions be not
| pressed.
Engineer SchussIer produced figures to
show that the running expenses had been
reduced year by year from 1888 to the
present time, though the business OF the
company had largely been increased.
| Mayor PheIan stated that there was an
| apparent subterfuge in the statement of
the company regarding the salaries of its
officials inasmuch as the total of the
| remuneration of seventeen officials was
given as over $64, 900 per year, while six