The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-11

! properties VIII not permit any minority
| STOCK interests to interfere, if such stock
! holder we're SO disposed which is not
probable, as his pecuniary interest viii
influence him otherwise. He will fully
protected in any event
| The success of the enterprise viii re-
| suit in great benefit to the investor in Sc
| cuIities, the consumers. and the working
men or employees. Little if any new cash
| viii be required. aud, therefore, the pres
ent financial condition will not be dis
| turbed. This statement is made solely on
M own re- possibility"
Certain yellow newspapers and indi-
| viduals have called this a ''veiled threat
against the minority stockholders Of the
! various concerns involved. One New YORK
I paper spread the talk of this threat" all
| over its first page on Saturday. 1t is
possible, of course that Mir. Morgan and
| his allies have the idea Of forcing the
minority stockholders to sell out to the
| syndicate whether they wish to or not
and at the syndicate price. This is the IN
! depreciation of the "yellOws.' But much
more probable inference from the word
| ing of this statement is that there is TO be
! in reality no actual consolidation of the
various companies into one 'billion-dol-
| lar concern, but rather simply com
| munity of interests plan. Such plan
| would mean the purchase by each com
pany of stock in the other companies, or
the purchase by Mr.. Morgan and his
! friends of the majority stock in all the
| concerns. It would not necessitate the
merging of the various companies. And
| such a plan il would seem should be eff
| fectual in the accomplishment of all that
Mr. Morgan is supposed to have in mind
The passing OF control of the Mexican
| Central Railroad into the hands of
pf fol headed i
! Pierpont Morgan marks the beginning Of
| a new railroad era for Mexico. Despite
/ the close business relations that exist be-
| tween the United States and the sister
| Republic. the same old-fashioned meth
| oGs in use among the railroads OF TINS
country thirty years ago are still applied
! to the management of the great railroad
systems of the Republic of Mexico. The
modern school of railroad economics, of
whose faculty James J. Hill is the dean,
has up to this time had no students
among the railway officials across the Rio
| Grande The theory O.. the ton mile
| cost is an unfamiliar to them as the
| nebular hypothesis. Light rails, old
| fashioned equipment and low tonnage with
inevitable high operating percentages
have. up to the present time, been char
acteristic OF all the Mexican roads. And
| yet the development of the country has
been so marvellous that Notwithstanding
their adherence to old modes and theories
| Mexican railroads are showing an aston
| ishing increase in gross earnings. In
| 1883 the gross earnings of the Mexican
Central Railroad were only $685. $50; in
| 1900 they we're 81 SOC, coo. The earnings
per mile operated in 1885 were $2,S5S; last
year they we're s7,6ss. AS an example of
| the increase in the exports at the ports
where the greatest of Mexican railway
systems has its terminal in 1888 the value
of the exports from Tampico was 1858, $50.
In 1889 their value was $40, 7l5,602. At
Ell Paso the total value of exports in 1885
was 50. S39,O5T; in 1899 the totale value
was 81, 35O931
Tho MEXICAN Northern Railway Com
pa1y has declared a quarterly dividend OF
pr cent and an extra dividend Of Ia per
cent. payable March 2.
The income account of the Southern Pa
cific system shows as follows for the year
ended June 30 last:
1900. 1899. Changes.
Miles oper'd. 7,545 7,l74 .......
Gross earn SOS l2s 40 So s49,2lI Inc. sl0,2Is929
and taxes. 4scs2 $50 81, 422 258 Inc 5,66o,2Oo
Net ct -S25, Oi5.6si 500, So Inc. s4.els,7 29
Fixed charges. 200, ~,
Balance. .I7s l32 Ss,6i5Gg6 Inc. 1852 1876
Misc chgs... 925 OLE EIGHTH Dec. 1,242,7
Surplus. s7,258,4eo s4,477,s75 Inc. s2.775,al5
Betterments,
Balance. 81 .2sG,7sO sI,sOoci4 Inc. s2,gso,oa5
i, sls.1oo 1906 Inc. le5.o2l
Final surplus 8,eIs,e9O S1747,56s Inc. S2,I71O62
The Financial Chronicle computes the
gross earnings of sixty-seven roads for the
third week of January at 80, i34,12 an in
crease of 1920, 9lS, or s-27 per cent; sixty
seven roads for the fourth week of jan
uary report sl3, 592 $50, increase Of 81 ,2iS,-
9SS or 1912 per cent; eighty-seyen roads
for month of January report SiS, $40 $685.
an increase OF So, $50, 299, or SIT per cent.
In view Of the report that the directors
of the Wabash Railroad would meet short
" and declare a dividend on the dozen
ture bonds the following official statement
has been made: THE Wabash debenture
mortgage provides that the directors
shall meet during December and June TO de-
termine whether earnings are sufficient to
nav interest on the ;. & B. debentures.
A payment on the latter will therefore not
be made Immediately" The activity in
! the Wabash debentures and in the stock
securities of the company is to be attri-
| buted 10 an entirely different cause. There
| can be little doubt now that either the
Morgan interest or the Gould Rockefeller
! interest is acquiring control of this prop
| erty with a view to harmony And the
| debenturc bonds, having the voting
privilege, and being at the same time the
| first security of the company, after the
mortgage bonds, entitled to distribution
| OF profits, are, OF course. considered the
most desirable purchase by this interest.
| However. the preferred and the common
stocks are also both in demand, and it
seems entirely probable that they viii
| both advance further apace.
BALTIMORE PRICE CURRENT.
| Wholesale Provision and Grain Mar
I<et Quotations in Full.
| BALTIMORE, Feb. 9.-FollOwing are to-
days quotations in the local wholesale
! provision and grain markets.
4 Il