New-York tribune., 1903-04-18
W4S FOR WHOLE LINE.
Vreeland Denies Half Nile of Track
Cost $500 900.

NOot 'JCOOJOSS-
H H vreeland. president of the Metropolitan
Street Railway Company. issued a statement
last evening. intended to break the force of the
report which had been made by Eugene A
PhiIbin regarding discrepancies alleged 70 have
been found in the company's reports to its stock
holders and to the State Railroad COmmis-
sioners He gave copies of his statement 10 re-
porters who saw him his home. No. 239 West
Seventy-second-st.. and also talked in general
way about the company's affairs His statement
is follows:
Pending the hearing before Magistrate Barlow
expert, Mr.. Teeie l had not intended 20 say any
thIng further concerning the reports OF Ihe NeCr
politan Street Railway Company ana the chAIse
that they did not disclose the true state OF !ls
aIal[f am Dut tns conduct OF M; FlI II ~ TsDart
and the effort TO frighten our stockholders Dy lne
irnpeI me say to the. public. and especially 70
testimony and PhlID1nS report are DOIu "lChediS
There have been three stages Of this attack upon
our company. The first was consummated when
Keene and Taylor employed AInory. together with
report by which our surplus was converted into an
CouhIah'S however are now d!tosgtIlJ r. -
doned. Both of them have admitted that tney
e7 piaIneo IN court IGoay Iht ~ tIT .jIst rs
crediting with their assets He explained
that liabilities had ali been set forth TO him
by Amory. but that the corresponding assets had
not been shown at all so that he and his associate
expert had worked out their deficit by taking one
side of the account only.
anca 5 5eG0nq 6 DsqTf 9tdTnsy a oce Where Rmor
and Coleman Drayton filed these now abandoned
other matter ingeniOusly prepared by Amory, from
which by artful ignorant and nonsensical conpari-
other day he drew the Inference that our treasury
had been plundered. From these charges the Dis
any signcanGe and brought d inen 70 cur ,a aIIe T
asked If we had objection 10 his verifying our
him that our books Vers entirev az his disposition
for that purpose, and for period OF Iour. WeeZS ~
them l am confident that he viii report to the
District Attorney that all the charges are without
Now at the moment when the District Attorneys
third i phase Of ii the attack devaioPs and NJ phil
oln IN me guSe Sol Q. an atsO5S + TOT ~ Mai ha caIIs
his Investigations PhiIbins statement IS simply a
been inquiring together with such elaborations as
Philbin and Amory have concocted wtnn NJ me % 5dII
bin has explained that he went into THIS attaeA &
Ward would be fame and fortune"
What his client Braker. went into IL for may pc
assumed from the fact that he was not STOCK 5oz-
Of the market on the day wnen b MI his Ienf wa
a stockholder of record. and that ne had UNDER
advising that client whether he would better sell or
retain his Metropolitan holdings. The sincerity Of
iI W cs M sity ~ me he vas FURNISHING and ofrerfng
10 furnish his material to the newspapers, and
actually published his s4[caiieG report Il +F s s75s
of Braker as a stockholder asking Tor an expiana-
The stockholders of the Metropolitan Street Rail
way who have seen their property devSop IIo.n It
the united and harmoniOusly operated system OF
ence Of the people OF New-York. may accept with
out reserve my assurance that their company mas
an abundant surplus; that there has been no misap-
nc conceaIment Of its liabilities no higher sxPense %
fed and thai the progress Of the trial before Mag
the differences suggested in AnOrys testimony and
Philbin's statement is justified by the facts.
Mr. vreeland also gave TO the reporters copies
OF the following letter he had received from
Stephen Little. an expert accountant. who has
been going over the books Of the company,
working in connection with Mr.. Teele, the ac-
countant employed by the District Attorney;
have read the ai S0GaGd coiton of y6r co wnn
pa1y which accompanied Mr. Braker's letter OF
ApriI Il 1898 and find that they cover practically
The same ground as Mr.. Amory's testimony before
Justice Barlow at the hearing on Wednesday. az
extent a repetition OF the matters submitted for
me Investigation Of which, your request de-
voted several weeks am, therefore. in position
have examined. that they are absolutely IN
The CHARGES which have not exau1nined Sunn are Of
such character thaf tney Sar. OeHeVe' De d
Speaking in general conversation about some
and Mr. Philbin. Mr. Vreeland said that they
had been puzzled. apparently. by being unable
TO distinguish between the Metropolitan railway
system. embracing several leased lines. and the
Metropolitan company. Each leased company,
he said made it's reports TO the Railroad
commissioners and had it's own officers and
directors. although its operations were controlled
bv the Metropolitan company The Metropoh-
tan had leased the lines Of these companies and
-, 0Eo ring he mo
and trnprovfng the facilities OF these lines 1t
was wrong. he said. 10 charge against the Metro
politan the debts Of the leased companies VIII
ont giving to the Metropolitan credit for the
yaIue of the franchises and assets OF the COM
panies. .,+.,.,
Regarding a charge that .he Metropontdh
cornpanv had spent $4,000 for relaying nan
mile Of track OF one Of the leased companies VI
yreeIand said the charge. while apparently
r,,5a against only a small part OF the line was
really against the entire line, and included the
cost Of fftv-fve cars running on SIX miles OF
trarI< car barns and power house
TEs f4ct that the Metropolitan company had
4He =, ibo fCr engineering when IL
Changing the motive power on seVeril .5t Llnes Nas
NOT rernarka bic. Mr. Nreetand said. colslueIl's
-, - I.,ginaaring embraced all the work
~ tbe rov-aT houses well as on the con-
etr,fcrion work on all the lines
s.>raI-s for instance. one OF our lesser Anes.
Id1S' t|-.sIand We have leased lines. say.
III the Fourth and Eighth ave. hnes Now. We
nav an annual fixed rental loF tnese ilies- lEsy
-. tbeir own boards OF directors. and you VIII
e. ~ tba reports Of the State Railroad com
- :fa.,.re - their individual reports as 70 theT
assets ard their debts Take the Eish{h-ave,, e,
- ~ have leased that fer a uufnhFT pl
m. fxed rental. We have nothing % DO
80 ~ arancing OF the road, 10 certain ex-
- n has it's own board. its stockholders are
- .betr dividends by this board OF directors
- ,,-bf1a We may be. say. minority stock
holder In the road We simply from the financial
standpoint. get the dlvicends mat are uus t -,
tt sr,e as any other stockhoder But 81 the
&C tIrDe We pay the rental of the road ac-
- fo our lease. and. in addition 20 this, as