The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-11-28
WILL THEY COMBINE ?
Views of Financier Who Is Inter
ested in 7 hese Roads.
THE sEABoARD AND SOUTHERN'S TIGHT
The Baltimore Sun Thinks the ReaIz .ti,n O
the amlIgamatioa is in The Remote Future.
The Roads Not Yet Ready for
This Pniect.

his PnIect.
The air is full of important rail
road rumors.
The first was that the Philadelphia
had bought the Southern. That was
denied by President Spencer.
Now the rumor is that the Seaboard
Air Line, the Southern and Atlantic
Coast Line-the three big lines in
North Carolina-are to be owned by
the same interests. Here is the story
as published in the Baltimore Sun:
"a report that created stir on Sat
urday among some of the inside inter
ests in railroad properties was that the
mutually of ownership" feature which
has lately come into prominence in rail
road management would soon appear in
the relations of the Southern Railway,
Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air
Line.
"The scurrying around of several men
prominent in some of these properties
indicated that the plausibility of the
story has made a deep impression. De-
mails did not dispose of the report.
"A financier close to some of the in
terests in these properties, in discuss
ing the report said:
There is a disposition just now to
credit almost anything that savors of a
deal, and with the public appetite ready
to take in such reports there is always
some one clever enough to start o
plausible story So far this report about
a mutually of interests in the Southern
railroad situation is largely guess work.
But there is some ground for expecting
that this may eventually be the settle
ment of the Southern situation. 1t is a
we'll known fact that the Atlantic Coast
Line and Southern Railway have been
working tremendously for several years.
up to the time of the change of owner
ship the Seaboard system was a thorn in
the side of these two roads. The rate
war of three years ago was an attempt
10 force the Seaboard into an agreement,
but the latter made things so warm that
1t was able to settle practically on its
own terms. Now the Seaboard is a much
more formidable rival. If it was not the
pressure which has been brought TO bear
by opposing New York financial interests
would have prevented the contamination
of it's scheme of consolidation Our local
financiers remember the week before
Christmas of 1899, when such determ-
med effort was made to crush the Will
liams syndicate. an incident of which in
Guided closing the doors of a New York
trust company that was supposed to be
heavily interested in the Seaboard syndi-
cate The stocks of some of our local
trust companies who had interests in the
same syndicate were also subjected to a
bear attack. Things looked ugly, but the
clouds cleared away and the Seaboard
consolidation became an accomplished
fact
THE Seaboard property must now be
reckoned with in any plan looking toward
handling the Southern business, and the
method applied to the trunk territory by
the New York Central Pennsylvania Bal
timore and Ohio deal is a logical, if a
far off plan. This makes the talk of a
mutually of ownership plausible
BOOM IN "SOUTHERN'S" STOCK.
Yesterdays Baltimore Sun had this
special from New York that is inter
esting in connection with the above
interview:
New York, Nov. 26.-Southern Railway
shares were the features on the Stock
Exchange today.
All sorts of rumors as to the property
we're revived and put into circulation. Az
gressive and heavy buying of the issues
surprised the Street On enormous trad
ing the common stock ran up to Is, much
the highest price at which, it ever sold.
The preferred also established record
at 66as. The buying was credited to
banking interests identified with the
property.
Impending developments in Southern
railway affairs furnish good grounds for a
bull movement. Dividends at the rate OF
4 per cent. on the preferred stock are eX-
pected, and sooner or later the company
will make use of the right given by the
Virginia legislature to reduce the amount
of common stock outstanding by one-half.
Besides. it is likely that announcement
will shortly be made of a settlement of
quarrels and the establishment of a new
traffic alliance between the Southern rail-
way and the Seaboard Air Line. The lat
ter may be disclosed in the current week.
President Williams of the Seaboard is
to be in New York tomorrow. and may
confer with MI. Ryan on wednesday Inc
cessation Of slurs upon the Seaboard
bonds and stocks which have been used
during the RYAN Williams controversy
should mean much to the Seaboard syn
dictate.
The Sun has long editorial ON the
trend toward railroad consolidation,
closing with an expression. with RET
erence To the coming together OF the
Southern. Seaboard and Atlantic Coast
Line, that Its realization is perhaps
in the remote future.