The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-01-09
Interstate Commerce Comission
The Financial Chronicle. New York City,
December.1 l&09l

THE Financial Chronicle. New York City,
Decent mber.1, 1907
In q decision rendered this week the Inter
state Commerce Commission has thrown off
all disguise and has revealed the animus
action. The trainers of the Interstate law
Intended that the Commission should act In
an Impartial manner, deciding cases be-
fore 1t strictly in accordance with their
merits. The Board has from the first acted
as II 1t we're the champion of the shippers.
and as If It's chief junction consisted in
harassing and embarrassing the rail-
roads and ruling against them when
occasion offered. But while the COmmis-
sion could not conceal the bias 1t felt ita
utterances at least have hitherto been couch
ed In judicial and unobIectionable language,
thus preserving a semblance OF impartiality.
This week, however, 1t has finally thrown
precaution to the Winds. The Southern
Railway Company had asked for relative
rates to Lynchburg, Danville. etc, which
In its petition the company claimed that
10 obey the decision of the Commission
would involve loss to 1t OF S4SS,0OO per
apnum, and that as no dividend had been
paid IN j., the eomPpany's Pp common stock @ OF
off that amount Of revenue per year would
be tantamount to depriving the owners oil
the stock Of their property without due pro-
cess OF law. The Commission makes an at
tempt to dispute the figures OF loss given,
and then goes on to say that the stock was
Issued as part of q reorganization scheme
under which the company came into exls.
tence, that 1t doeR not appear that ANYTHING 6
was ever paid upon such stock. and finally
(apparentIy to clinch a weak argument
that 1t does not rest 10 the whim OF a Reor-
ganiZation Com mittee in Wall Street TO Inn.
pose tax upon the whole Southern coun-
The allusion here to the "whim ofa reor.
ganizatlon Committee" In "Wall Street" ie
not only Irrelevant and In exceedingly bad
taste, violating every rule or oHcial proprlety,
but in the Inference which 1t seeks TO convey
la a gross Misrepresentation of the facts Of
the case. There was no occasion for Juggling
In the reorganization Committee at all. and
we can conceive OF no reason for 30 doing,
except a desire on the part OF some OF
the members to pose before the country
as foes of the railroad and financial interests.
The Reorganization Committee was not
on trial, and If the Com omission deemed the
capitalization OF the Southern Railway. ex
cessive and wanted TO maintain Its position
with reference to the rate question, de-
corous statement to that effect would have
answered every purpose and nave shoWn
that the Board still had some regard for Its
official position. Instead, the Commission
seeks to cast aspersions upon body Of men
who In reorganizing the old Richmond q
West Point Terminal Company and It's con.
stituent properties rendered as important q
publice service as was ever rendered under
similar circumstances by like body any.
where in the country. AS matter OF fact
the Reorganization Committee, instead OF
being pilloried should be held mp. to public
approval and praise. They accomplished 9
task which seemed wellnigh hopless-a
task which several previous committees
formed for the same purpose had been oblig
ed to abandon because of its onerous charac-
ter.
The imputation that this committee, which
carried to success an undertaking which
everyone else had abandoned, sought by the M
whole Southern country is absolutely with
out any foundation In truth. and has moth
ing whatever to sustain 1t. When these peo
pie took hold the properties constituting the
present Southern Railway system were q
physical as well as financial wreck. The
service was bad, and the costly way In which
1t was rendered forbade the possibility o.
cheapenlng the charge to the charge pub
lie. The reorganiZers provided the
means for rehabilitating the system, and
poured millions upon millions into It for it,
Improvement and development. Now al
last the territory served by the lines has 9
far from having imposed tax upon any
portion ofthe Southern country, we venture
the assertion that the South to-day, as the
result OF these efforts and expenditures, Is
being served better and cheaper than al
any previous period In its history.
The statement that there Is no evidence
that anything wes ever paid on the common
stock of the Southern Railway is OF the
same baseless character. The stock referred
the old companies. Everybody In the 1nan'
oial and railroad world knows that the terms
were not liberal. Indeed, the reorganization
was q peculiarly drastic one. Leaving oul
OF account what may have been originally
paid on the old shares, the reorganization
managers levied heavy assessment on these
old stocks, and also on some classes OF bonds
and the security holders had to pay these
assessments In order to get any represents
ton in the reorgauiZed company. The
Richmond Terminal shareholders had Il
pay $1,000 per share, and the East TENNESSEE
common stockholders had to pay S7.20 pei
share, and besides had their holdings reduced
40 per cent. So hard we're these terms consi
dered that many of the security owner
sacrificed their holdings rather than accep
them and the reorganization syndicate nat
| to step into the gap. II the Interstate Com
merce Commission does not know all this i
| Ia inexcusably ignorant on q most 1mporlan
subject, coming directly within its province
| And what benefits have the securityholder
| who came In under the reorganization
scheme received thus far They have hat
| no dividends upon their holdings Of common
stock, and to-day, 6% years after the reor
ganization, they find these shares quoted ir
| the market at the munif1cent figure of II
When, therefore, the managers OF the com
pany sought to protect these shareholder
against the action OF the Interstate Com mmerc
Com mission in threatening large reduction
| of the mpanys revenues, they were evi
IDENTIFY doing only their duty The Commission
In denying the request for rehearing nigh
at least have refrained from Injecting abus
into the refusal.