The evening times., 1898-09-19
THE NEWS AT BALTIMORE.
A Report as to Where the Purchas
ers Got the stock.

Baltimore, Sept. 19.-The news that Phil
ip ID. Armour. Marshall Field, Norman b.
Ream and James ]. Hin have made deal
for acquiring extensive interests in the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad forms the
foremost topic in Baltimores financial
/ circles.
Such deal, it is recognized, would be
| a big advantage for the B. & o. and also
! for the city of Baltimore. The first ef-
! feet of it, il is believed, will be closer
! traffic arrangements with the Great
Northern Steamship Company, operating
! from Buffalo to Duluth on the Great
I Lakes. The Baltimore and Ohio now con-
meets with this line at Fairport, Ohio.
James j. Hill is the head of the Great
4 Northern Railway, operating about 4,5G0
! miles of railroad from St. Paul, Mimi, to
! Seattle. Wash. This road controls the
J Great Northern Steamship Company, and
4 with its management identified through
/ Mr.. Hill and his associates with the Bal
4 timore and Ohio an impetus will follow
1 to the volume of business exchanged at
Fairport.
! The next reasonable deduction from the
/ deal by which Mr. Hill and associates
! become financially interested in the Balti-
more and Ohio, is that, being heavily con-
cerned in the great commercial interests
/ of the West, they recognize the necessity
OF having voice in the direction of one
/ of the trunk lines. They form a power
full combination, and the business they
could divert to the Baltimore and Ohio
would be OF great extent. James ]. Hill,
who is regarded as the greatest railroad
/ handler of wheat in the world; Marshall
/ Field, the greatest dry goods merchant
/ of the West; Philip ID. Armour, the larg-
! est freight payer in the world and Nor
man B. Ream. executor of the estate of
! George NJ. Pullman, the largest sleeping
car property in the world, make a for
midable combination.
There is a gap between the Baltimore
/ and Ohio and the Great Northern Rail-
way that would have TO be filled before
. the plan for a new transcontinental rail
! route would be complete 1t extends
from Chicago to Minneapolis. Traffic ar
I rangements either with the Wisconsin
/ Central or the Chicago Great Wes.srn
! could fill the gap and enable the realiza-
tion of the ambition of Mr.. Hill for a
new line between the Pacific and Allan
/ tic Oceans.
Should such a consummation be real
| lied IL would mean much to the export
I trade of Baltimore. More grain elevat-
ors, more dock room and more steam
/ ship lines would then be essential The
J fact that products can be loaded from
! the cars on ocean ships from the docks
here is a factor in economy in handling
that would stop in Baltimore much bus
/ iness which now goes to New York.
= AS TO the purchase of securities in the
/ Baltimore and Ohio 1t is regarded that
most If not all which Mr.. Hill and his
associates have purchased was bought
/ from the reorganization syndicate. This
4 syndicate has been buyer of the COM
mon stock OF the company for some
time and is believed to have acquired a
| considerable amount.
| A list of the securities which the syn
/ dicate contracted TO buy in order to in
! sure the carrying out the plans of reor-
ganiZation aggregates S37, ,900. 900. This in
! cludes 1900. 600 of 1-2 per cent prior
lien bonds; sl2 45O. 600 of first mortgage 4
/ per cent bonds and SIG, $50, 900 of prefer
/ red stock
The syndicate agreed to take these -
curities. and from the proceeds of their
/ sale comes the money needed for cash
/ requirements. These cash requirements
include floating de5t. unpaid interest.
! providing for car trusts, receivers GER
| tificates and other outstanding obliga-
| tions, improvements, new equipment and
1 working capital
1t was not expected that the reorgani-
cation syndicate would keep all of these
securities, and a deal TO sell part of
/ them TO a combination, which could add
( ordinary investors, is undoubtedly mas
/ ter stroke. In consideration of the pur-
| chase, the Hill combination receives the
. assurance that the property is TO be put
| into fine condition for business and is
4 also to receive representation on the
board of directors and the executive COM
mittee.
Under the reorganization agreement a
| part of the contract is that a voting
| trust will have control of the property
/ for five years. The members of this
/ trust, with the financial interests in New
York they represent, are:
William Solomon of Speyer & Co.
J. Kennedy Tod of. ]. Kennedy Tod 6
Company.
camille Trust Company.
Charles II. Coster of ]. P. Morgan &
| Co.
In this connection, it may be noted that
| ]. Kennedy Tod is director of the Great
| Northern Railway, and his banking house
| is a representative Of that company. This
adds strength to the statement that clos.
er traffic relations will eventually en-
! sue between the Baltimore and Ohio and
the Great Northern.
| a Baltimorean who watches Baltimore
| and Ohio affairs closely said today that
| there does not seem to be any tangible
reason for the talk that there will be
| changes in the heads of the Baltimore
| and Ohio system 1t is still the prograS
TO elect Receiver John K. Cowen presi-
dent and Receiver Oscar G. Murray vice
| president. The policy of the two receiv-
| ers in the physical rehabilitation of the
property has won for them the confidence
of the fnanciers interested Faith in the
ability of such a policy to succeed is one
of the features which, ii is said, has at
/ tracted the strong Western alliance
1t has been the aim of the receivers to
put the railroad in condition for carrying
a heavy volume of business at a mini
mum cost. Much has been done blu,
there is still a vast deal of work, fo,
which money is provided under the reor-
ganization.
The purpose, as announced early In
July, of making the Baltimore and Obi,
the low-grade route from Chicago to tn,
seaboard and of putting it on a par with
the Lake Shore and Erie will be carried
out. This means the taking out of curve.
and the cutting down of grades. From
Chicago to Pittsburg there will be OBJ
tanned an eighteen-foot grade, except OF
one hill between Newcastle Junction am
Pittsburg, where helper will have t.
be used on trains for three miles. From
Pittsburg TO the foot of the Alleghan,
mountains the grade runs from twelve t.
fifteen feet. These mountains are crossed
| by two lifts" one of four miles, with {
52-foot grade, and the other of sever
miles, with a similar grade. To Balti
more from the top of the Alleghanies al
engine can practically haul all the car.
that will hold together in a train.
Not only will the grades be looked aft
er. but the equipment is to be equal tc
the demands. In the last two years the