The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-27
THAT B. & A. LEASE.
signers Of Circular
Discuss Electric
Competition.
FEAR OF THE VANDERBILTS.
Danger Of Their Controlling
the Fitch
burg.
FEAR OF THE VANDERBILTS.

Slgners of the circular announcing the
opposition of certain stockholders to the
proposed lease of the Boston & Albany
to the New York Central have been
asked to give reasons for their action
otherwise than as expressed in the cir
GUAR, and also to consider, in making
their replies, the questions of electric
railway competition and the possibility
that, in the event of the failure of the
plan to lease, the Central might acquire
the Fitchburg, and thus shut out the
Albany. These last replies constitute
the only novelty recently contributed
10 the discussion of this important sub
ject. Among the gentlemen who reply
to the questions are Hon. T. Jefferson
Coolidge, T. Jefferson Coolidge, Jr.,
George U. Crocker John Carr, presi-
dent of the First National Bank, Ed
ward A. Bangs, Harold j. Coolidge and
dudley A. Dorr. They speak with sub
stantlal unanimity, agreeing that the
central is as dependent upon the AL
bany as the Albany is upon the Cen
trail, and that if the Central had wanted
the F1tchburg it would have taken it
long ago. Says Mr.. Dorr: THE Boston
q Albany is at the end of valuable
connection of through lines. and the
only way the Vanderbilts have of max
ing their trunk line a success is by Sc
curing it," Electric competition seems
not to be feared, and it is the general
sentiment that with the increase of
population the railroads will get their
share of increased business. Some of the
gentlemen are quoted as follows:
John Carr: "As for the threat that,
by the purchase of the Fitchburg the
Central can at any time cut away the
Albany from its western connections
and make 1t by no means indispensable
to the Central, why, that is all foolish
ness and not to be considered for a
moment. If there is to be a fight, the
Albany will hold its own. AS for the ar
gument about electric railways and
long-distance telephones, there is but
little to be said. They will cut into rail-
way traffic but very little and will
amount to nothing. Both have been
growing, but their effect ON the railway
traffic has been shown to be very slight
for the Boston & Albany has been
making great gains in spite of the long
distance telephones and electric cars"
George u. Croker: "Those in favor
N
Central can injure the Boston & AL
bany by withdrawing business from 1t
seem to me TO be trying to maintain a
very foolish proposition. The New
York Central has given the Boston &
Albany such business, and only such
business, as 1t found to it's advantage to
give It, 1t has not been supporting the
Boston & Albany through charity, as
some persons appear to wish to believe"
Hon. T. Jefferson Coolidge admitted
that 1t is true that the Albany is de-
pendent on the Central for a large part
of its business. But, with regard to the
statement that, through the purchase
of the Fitchburg, the Central could at
any time cut the Albany away from it's
western connections, he doubted wheth-
er the Fitchburg could do the whole
business, remarking that that line had
as much as it could attend to now.
/. Jefferson Coolidge, Jr.: with re-
gard to the connection between the AL
bany and the New York Central it
should be borne in mind that the AL
bany controls business of large volume
to and from local points on it's line
which 1t now gives to the New York
Central, and this business would be
lost to the Central should the friendly
relations be broken. The whole matter
is one of give and take, and l cannot
conceive that the New York Central
should find it to it's interests to antag-
ontze the Albany and run the risk of
losing good portion of the New Eng
land traffic, while the Albany is ready
and willing to make a fair exchange Of
business. The Fitchburg will never
make so valuable a connection for the
New York Central as the Boston & AL
pany. Moreover, the Albany will never
rail- to have some connection with the
west at Albany. Some of the other
trunk lines would find a means of get
ting the business which would be wait
ing Tor them at Albany if the New
FORK central did not care to exchange
on reasonable terms"
A Boston and Albany director: 1.-THE
possible competition that Vanderbilt
ownership of the Fitchburg could IN
augurate is matter that has been
carefully considered by those who are
arrayed against the lease, with the re-
suit that the Boston and Albany is be-
l1eved to be property that could easily
pay eight per cent, Notwithstanding a
loss of it's entire through business,
which, at best, pays but a beggerly
profit. l believe the time Is coming
when all the steam railroads of the
country will be consolidated under
three or four great systems, meaning
greater economy in operation, a
strengthening of railroad securities in
general, and tending toward a still fur
Their reduction, not only in freight
charges, but in passenger tariffs as
we'll"
Aside from the foregoing statements
all the gentlemen interviewed renew, Of
course, the basic argument against the
approval of the lease, that an eight per
cent guarantee is not enough, and that
the deal should be effected on the basis
of 5000 q share.
Rumors of deals, in which the Bos-
ton and Maine Railroad Company fig
ures, are getting to be tiresome to the
officials of the road and they regard
them as being too absurd to deny
Positive denials, however, do not seem
to stop the gossip -monger, and the least
movement in the financial world, touch
ing the Boston and Maine, is conjured
into a deal by the prophets.
One of the officials in an interview
yesterday said emphatically "The
Boston and Maine Railroad Company
has no deals or combinations on hand
1t does not intend to consolidate with
any other company; no propositions of
that sort have been received, and none
are looked for. Boston and Maine stock
is high, for the reason that the affairs
of the company are In splendid condi-
ton. The lease of the Boston and AL
bany road to the New York Central is
purely business transaction, and will
have no effect on the Boston and
Maine The company is tending strictly
IN f.rufpoac and has M suohov,o-t -,