The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-01-28

amount to enable them to pay five per
cent interest on this value, and then
declare a two per cent. DIVIDEND on nui-S
dreds of thousands of dollars OF STOCK, q
which they themselves CONFESS was az
soiutely given away.
The NEXT plea is that a city. In taxing
it (meanins the railroad), or In charging
for the use of Its streets. should recos-
nize that a State. and sometimes also
county. pia ces upon it the burden OF taxi
ton Is it possible that the astute az
tor1leys and the able railway promoters
who conceived and penned these sentl-
ments did not know that every citizen
of Richmond. rich or poor. contributes to
the support of the city or of the county,
and always to the support of the State
Is it a popularity of this or any cther
corporation that they have city, county
and State taxes to pay? Is there any
class of citizens in any city OF virginia
not precisely the same burdens to bear
RETURN FOR MONEY
The next statement is the assertion
that it is only fair that the holders of
bonds and stock of such companies should
receive some return for the money which
they have invested in the enterprise-a
sentence partly true. but faulty. because
1t demands remuneration for all the
stockholders and ali the bondhoders,
when every ordinarily intelligent man
familiar with present railway methods
knows that the bonds are largely held
ir the hands of the creators Of the cor
poratioil, and have not been sold, but
have been distributed to those who claim
that they are the owners. and that the
stock has been only partly sold, while a
large proportion of it has been Sratui-
tousfy distributed TO lawyers. promo
tiers. hcelers and all SORTS Of humble and
exalted helpers in the main purpose of
rt,c ,I,, l, yf,.,
stock been given away in blocks, GER
tatnly as large as $3.50. but that stock
gratuitously distributed has been sold for
IS. much $40 per share cash, and pos
sibly in some cases for more.
Now follows in this remarkable paper
a distinctly business statement. consist
Ing of only a few items ana a few fig
ures The first statement is for the year
1885, and the gross earnings, less the
opera ting expenses for that year, leave
q. balance of 81. 1885. From this balance
they have deducted as fixed charges one
item of interest $37,7S0.50, and after this
is deducted there is left what they are
pleased to call d surplus OF s333, 1855
It will be observed that this statement
makes no mention whatever of the pay
ment of any taxes or charges to the city.
The next move in this statement is to
say that this surplus must provide for
an average paving bill of $500, and
depreciation account of five per cent. on
100000 amounting to $4,000, making a
total to be provided for of $4,000, which,
deducted from the last balance above
given, leaves sl0203.36. The next item is
the amount required under the mortgage
to he placed annually to the credit of the
sinking fund. beginning July, 1900. which
amounts annually to s6.125. Deducting
this amount, we have left the Ditiablc
sum of s4.07S.36 as the possible earnings
OF the Richmond Traction Company for a
year. Think of it, people of Richmond.
\ corporation with a bonded Indebtedness
of $50o,np0 and a stock issue of s1,ooo,00o
earning annually the pitiable sum of
$4,01S.36!
REDUCED THE PILE.
But the company has done itself n gross
Injustice in reducing its pile for that
year to such a small amount as l Will
now proceed in a few words to demon
strate.
When they have reduced their results for
the year to S3333, 703. Sc, they might have con-
scentiously and safely stopped, because
the paving which they deduct is what
they call an average paving bill, and not
the paving Till for the year 1852 which
the receipts represent. They need not
have proceeded to take off the five per
cent deprecia ton, amounting to $4,000,
because they had not, up to the date of
this statement. set aside anything Tor
depreciation. They need not have taken
the trouble to deduct the s6,l23 in the
form OF sinking fund. because the state
ment is for 1889, and the sinking fund
item of SG,1o5 is a thing which they pro
posed to begin to take off in after years.
In short, they have given the actual re-
ceipts and the net results after deduct
ing the operating expenses of the bust
ness year. and they have done the re-
ceipts of that year the gross injustice OF
deducting an average paving bill, depre-
citation accounts which they had never
opened, and a sinking fund which at the
date OF this statement, was entirely IN
the future.
desire to stop at this point long
enough to say that on the night when
this statement was presented Isdeclared
that the depreciation account had never
been opened: that the Sinking Fund ac-
count had never been opened. and l said:
"If there is q person present connected
with this road who will now arise and say
that these two accounts have been open
ed, J. pause for an answer Not one
word of contradiction of my statement
was uttered by any one present connected
with the road, and it was universally
conceded by the committee and the per-
sons present that the road had consented
that those accounts We're purely theoretl-
cal further stated, in the presence of
Mr.. Bemss and his attorney and the
entire Street Committee and the audience
present that if the Sinking Fund account
had been actually raised, and if the s25,-
900 and $4,000 had been actually placed to
the credit of those two accounts woEid be
and remain practically, to all intents and
purposes, an asset until they had been
actually spent for the purposes designated
by the names of the accounts. But the
truth is that the accounts had never been
raised and had never had one dollar
placed to their credit.
AS TO DAMAGES.
The paper further states that in arriv-
ing at the final statement of surplus of
only si07S they had not considered or
provided for The possibly awful results
which might follow from damage suits
or extraordinary contingencies The an
swer made on this point was that every
wcll-informcd business man. especially
those connected with railways large
manufactures and other places where
there is danger of serious accidents
40,