Arizona republican., 1900-12-26
ROMANCE OF FINANCE
Story Of Purchase of Penn-
 syIVania Coal Go.
A Result of the Sale of the Aband- oned Delaware and Hudson Canal Property Considered Worthless.

| New York, Dec. 25-That a property which was sold as worthless barely two
 years ago, netting it's owners but a l trifie, should be the means of bringing about a transaction last week involv- f ing distribution of $27, ,OOO, coo to share
 holders, is indeed remarkable.
 Such is the story of the purchase of
 the ePnnsylvania Coal company, and such is the direct result of the sal1 of the abandoned canal of the Delaware
 and Hudson company. The entire , transaction is a romance in the history of financial undertakings.
 In addition to the distinctly practi- cal and romantic features, there is an element of sentiment in the passage of
 control of the Pennsylvania Coal Com pany and the final abandonment of the
 line of the old canal as a transporta-
 t:on route. The coar company was founded by conservative business men . of old New York in 1S4S, and conscrv- atism was its foundation stone. The canal was the oldest private tranSpor- tation route in the state.
 HISTORY OF THE OLD CANAL. This canal was opened seventy-two years ago for the express purpose of
 bringing anthraoita, then known as
 ''s,,Oao coaT' to tidewater, and it was | a powerful factor, not only in building up the anthracite region, but in adding to the prestige of New York City. It,
 too was backed by prominent men of
 old New York, and for years carried the output of the coal company to .fdewater. That hese two old cOmpan- i-s, chartered years ago, one for min ing and the other for carrying coal to tiiewater, should in the end be the ! means of working a revolution in the anthracite industry of this day and for ! the future time is, indeed, strange. It
 was made possible by the great wealth ! and commanding position of the one , and the natural advantages as a trans portation route of the other. At the
 same time it is indeed remarkable that the acquisition Of property deemed of no further utility, an abandoned ca ral withal. should be the means of bringing about a transaction involving s3O coo, 900.
 It is, of course admitted that in buy ing the stock of the Pennsylvania Coal OOHlDIHN I-le DuGCl1SeES dctlullet all , exceedingly valuabIa property, worth every penny paid for it. Despite the value, however, no one will admit that any syndicate would have expended $27, ,6G0, 600 for the company. after per mitting it to divide $1OOOO,O 900 among its shareholders, had it net acquired 1 ''worthless' canal. obtaining thereby the right to build the Delaware Valley and in +.oI the anthracite roads. What the Della
 ware and Hudson company thought worthless and anticipated the Pennsyl- vania company transmitted into gold,
 When the canal property, which had cost upward of $10,O00 900, was Viptu- ally marked off to profit and loss, the , action was applauded in Wall street 1 Of what use was canal, and a decrep- it canal at that, with a weed-grown towpath operated by anticipated mules and broken-GOwn nags?
 Wall street similarly applauded last week when it was announced that the harmony of interest and ''commun- ity of ownership" had been initiated in the anthracite coal region. No one ! stopped to cast up the accounts or to iaquestion the price paid to change the : control of the Pennsylvania Coal Com pany from it's original owners to the anthracite roads. All that vast eX- penditure, however, was made neces- sary because of the purchase for a song of an old waterway at which persons -iad sneered. ELIMINATING THE INDEPEN-
 DENTS. It is not to be denied that vast inn 1ttanbaS to ha deal. If the property acquired was worth $26, 100000, how much more inn pou;ant it is 10 ssttle for all time the anthracite coal situation, and to elim- mate the independent operator. The independents held out against the set tlement of the recent coal strike when all the anthracite coal roads agreed to | mark up wages 10 per cent. in order to l were continually quarreling about eX- olbitant rates, protesting against tech | nical rebates of freight charges to the | mine compani S owned by the railroads | seeking to establish one general sales | agent, and reViving again and again, | their dearest project, an independent | road to tidewater.
 VAST INTERESTS AT STAKE.
 Vast iterasts were at stake. Consid- !
 
 50,0O0,O0O tons annually, involving vast | traffic expenses, and that. an average | price to the ultimate consumer of $3.50 | a ton, the turning over runs up to $780, O0O,000 annually, and enc cannot realize the immensity of the interests involved | Had the Delaware Valley and Kingston road been constructed, all the vast rail- road capitalization of upwards of $500,- GOO, GOO would have been more or less at the mercy of the Pennsylvania Coal company and its independent coal road The rcadbed was already made for it along an easy grade, With a short haul to tidewater. Whether these acquis itions are a menace to consumers of coal remains to be seen. Through community of interest, great economics can be effected, and profits from min ing and transportation can be main tained at a minimum of expense. If -IO in oh +ol