The age-herald., 1900-04-18
'SEABOARD AIR
 LINE RAILWAY" The New System Has Been Suc- ceSsfuIly Formed. CHARTER HAS BEEN ISSUED Williams Says it is Probably the Broad est and Most Valuable Charter
 Ever Granted by State
 of Virginia
CHARTER HAS BEEN ISSUED

President John Sketon Williams of the Seaboard Air Line system today made the following announcement: Our plans Tor the formation of the new Seaboard Air Line system embracing between 2.50O and 3,000 miles of road have been successfully accomplished. The name of the new com pany is the 'Seaboard Air Line Railway and its charter, which was granted by the Virginia legislature, is probably the broad est strongest and most valuable ever granted in this state, not excepting the charters given to the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western railroad. un- der which their re-organizations were car ried through. The new Seaboard Air Line Railway controls 100 per cent. of the entire capital stock of eleven of the eighteen rail- way companies comprising the system, and it owns between 9S and 100 per cent. of the entire capital stock of four more railway companies, between 90 and g per cent of another and between 75 and S5 per cent. of the stock of the Seaboard and Roanoke railroad, road eighty miles in length, in which latter road T. F. Ryan of New York owns minority interest.
 The Connecting Link
 Tomorrow night we finish track laying on the new line from Richmond via Peters burg to Ridgeway, N. C., 103 miles, and Saturday night is to witness the comple- ton of the nnety-mile extension from Che raw, S. C., the present southern terminus of the Seaboard Air Line, to the junction with the Florida Central and Peninsular railroad south of Columbia, s. C., thus completing a new all-rail line from Rich mond, Va, to Tampa, Fla.
 Under our plan of consolidation the to- tai amount of bonds outstanding on the combined system will be about S19 900 per mile, with $7,eOo per mile of preferred stock and $10,00o per mile of common stock, rep resenting a lower capitalization than any system in the United States with equal mileage, the total amount of bonds and stock outstanding being about $36, 900 per mile of road owned, or about one-half of the capitalization per mile of road owned by the Seaboards principal competitor, the Southern railway
 ''The total amount of stock outstanding on the Seaboard Air Line system will be about s44,0 900, being very little more than the present aggregate capital stock of the eighteen roads at present comprising the system. which old stock will, of course, be retired.
 It has naturally required many millions of dollars to carry this great enterprise to successful contamination. Practically the entire amount of money involved has been furnished by the directors of the sys- tenn and by investors and capitalists in Virginia, Maryland and other southern states. Neither our syndicate nor any rail- road company in the entire system, allleQ corporation owes one uOlldr to any bank, bankers or trust company, in New York, Philadelphia Boston, the only obligations which we had with any north ern banking institution was with the Pro- duce Exchange Trust company of New York and few days ago we retired in ad- vance of their maturity every obligation held by the Produce Exchange Trust com pany against any interest connected either directly or indirectly with the Seaboard Air Line or its constituent companies
 Purchased Entire Interest
 "At the same time we purchased the en- tire interest to which the Produce EX- change Trust company had subscribed a year so ago in the Seaboard Air Line and the Florida Central syndicates, and these certificates have already been turned into the Continental Trust company of Bal tinore for conversion into the greater Sea- board Air Line syndicate.
 Our new securities have been issued on a conservative basis. The actual aggre- gate earnings of the several properties composing the new Seaboard system for the twelve months ending March l. 1900, exceed $9,450,0O0 Net earnings, after the payment of operating expenses and taxes, exceed g, ,66O, ,0OO and the fixed charges the system for the same period. including interest on all outstanding bonds and ren- tals, amount approximately to $1 .460, 900. leaving net surplus for the twelve months over and above interest charges of $1 200.- 000 Interest charges on the entire amount of new per cent. bonds which are to be issued under the plan of consolidation will amount to only about $700,000.
 Tt is thus seen that without making any allowance for the two three hun dred miles of new road which are to be opened for business in the next few days and without making allowance for the in creased earnings and reduced expenses which will naturally follow the linking to- gether into one compact system of the eighteen heretofore disjointed railroads comprising it that the earnings of the past twelve months enough to take care of the interest on all the new bonds to be is- sued. and yet have a margin of half q million dollars or sufficient to pay 3 per cent on the entire amount of new pre- ferred stock to be issued under the plan of consolidation.
 Roads to Florida
 '"The Seaboard Air Line railway is the only road operating its own lines from Richmond and Baltimore to Jacksonville and Tampa and it's route is materially shorter than any combination of other lines which can be formed. The saying in dis tance for example between Washington and Tampa by the Seaboard Air Line as compared with the route by the Southern railway and the Plant system is about one hundred miles. The directness of its lines and its excellent physical condition give it advantages over its competitors which are likely to be keenly demonstrated when the new connecting links are put into op- eration."
 Vice-Presient and General Manager St. John is especially happy today, and has nothing but congratulations for President Williams and his associates for the suc- cessful terminal tion of their financial ef- forts which have brought about the prac- tical consolidation of the lines now em- traced in the Greater Seaboard System. The filing and recording of the mortgage covering the various lines incorporated may be regarded as completing the matter and the Seaboard Air Line railway, Tor the many reasons enumerated in President Williams statement, will present to the public a railroad system that 1t will be impossible to duplicate in it's short mile age to all of the principal cities in the six southern states through which it will pass, while to the investor it can but prove most profitable in view of the fact that its capitalization in bonds and stock will be so much less than that of any other southern line. The people living on its line will rejoice over this successful con- summation of this consolidation which ba,- xxriSh a c if