The Portland daily press., 1898-02-02
PRESIDENT FUTILE ON STAND
Tells How About Boston g. Names Plan of
Buying Stock.

Boston, January I.-Ihe COMMITTEES
on railroads gave a continued hearing
this morning on the petition and bill o.
the Boston and Maine railroad for athori
ty to purchase the shares Of stock OF any
railroad corporation whose line Is operateo
by it or leased to it, or of which IL owns
a majority of the stock.
President Tuttle of the Boston and
Maine was on the stand, and was ques'
toned at soma length by Counsel Durant,
who wanted to know why the road did
not issue bonds instead of stock to make
I'D the difference between the market
price of its stock sold at auction, and the
price to be paid for the stock OF It's leased
| lines.
MIR. futile said that would make
fixed charge on the road. The plan con-
templated in the bill was to get rid OF
these fixed charges. 1t was also cheaper
to issue stock than bonds in the present
prices, A share of stock took what was
earned If nothing was earned nothing
was Iaid on the shares. The interest," on
made money or not. A share was per-
petual thing. A bond was short term
affair. If the Boston and Maine could
take I'D the unexpired bonds out and IS
sue common stock it would be saving
of money for 1t.
g He stated that all the shares contem-
plated to be taken up under this bill
amounted to 442, 727, and they could be
taken I'D at cost under this bill of 1854,
523. S63. II the stock could be closed out
at the present market prices the 442, 727
shares of the leased lines could be reduced
to So, 7SS shares of the Boston and NJ aine
issued in exchange. In other words the
total number of shares would be reduced
by nearly 10000.
Mr.. Durant wanted to know II Mr..
Tuttle considered the lease of the Con-
neotiout river road q wise thing.
Mr.. Tuttle said he cor sidered it the
wisest thing the road ever done. The
New Haven wanted it to drain that
region into New York city. It would
have been better for the state to pay SO,
900, 600 than to have this traffic diverted
from Boston.
Mr.. Durant inquired if Mr.. Tuttle
thought the terms OF the lease were salts
factory, stating that it amounted to prac
tically IL per cent.
Mr.. Tuttle said that when the Connec.
ticut river road was leased it was ready
to declare ten per cent dividend, and
that WAS what was guaranteed. The
property warranted the rental. The road
owned in stocks of other roads about 81,
0UU OUU, WnlCn became GQe properly VI Gue
Boston and Maine when the lease was
made.
Mr.. Durant asked If he thought the
scrip dividend Of over million dollars
was proper.
| Mr.. futile thought it was warranted
because it was necessary. He was with
the New Haven road at that time, but
had said that the property Of the Con-
necticut river road was worth twice what
the Boston and Maine paid for it.
| Mr. Alden Speare, vice president OF the
Merchants association, explained how
the Boston and Maine system, by its con.
nection with the Canadian Pacific, the
Grand Trunk and the Ogdensburg lines
to the West, is able to keep Boston as a
competitor to New York, Baltimore and
the gulf ports in foreign commerce. II
this system were destroyed, and the con-
nections with those great trunk lines SO
made that the business could be diverted
to New York, there would be no longer
be any objeoJ in the other trunk ilinef
sending to Boston any portion of the
European business, because the Fitch.
burg. the Boston and Albany aud the
New Haven roads are not the natural ter
minals of the other trunk lines. New
England would then become merely q
local portion of the country, and the in
terests of Boston would be very seriously
injured. He had come to the conclusion
that..there was no possible stock water
ing In the bill.