The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1903-07-15

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curing the San Antonio & Aran-
sas Pass to reduce It's capital stock
from 100000 to 100000, thus
lcancelling 100000 of its present
capital stock in the hands of the
Southern Pacific Company; also
requesting the Attorney General to
file suit to enjoin the Southern
Pacific Company from voting the
stock it holds in any parallel or
competing lines in Texas.
THE questions involved in this
case are of almost ten years stand
ing, and, so far as 1 am concerned,
l think the adjustment of the mat
ter, when it has been finally set
tied, is entirely creditable to the
Railroad Commission.
81 took the position that to for
felt the charter of the company and
put it in the hands of receiver.
from the standpoint of the public
benefits derived from that course,
would accomplish the cancellation
of the stock of the present compa-
ny, would make null and void the
floating debts against it, which is
no doubt made up to a consider
able extent, outside of large sum
due to the Southern Pacific Compa-
ny for interest paid on its bonds,
of claims of merchants and others
along its lines. A receivership
would necessarily cost the road a
large sum of money, and the public
would not have received correspond
ing benefit. With my view of the
matter, if the Commission could
compel the road to do what has
been required of it in the order is
sued July 3, which is in conformity
to the resolution offered by myself
on May Is, it is as much and more
accomplished, so far as the public
is concerned, than would have been
accomplished by forfeiture and
receivership.
81 could not call to mind the
public benefit derived from any Of
the railroad receiverships, of which
I had any knowledge, that had'ad
ministered the affairs of several
railroads in Texas in the pasfA
They have been the means Of freez,l
ing out the people who built the
roads, and from various causes.
could not hold on to them, result.
ing almost in every instance in the
roads going into the hands of some
strong corporation. This was the.
experience of the Arkansas Pass it.
self. But if the charter had been
forfeited and a receiver appointed
what would the public have gotten
out of it? The mortgage bonds,
which are excessive, could not have
been disturbed. 1t is well settled in
law that the mortgage against cor
porate property is not destroyed
when you destroy or take from it
the right to exist as a corporation.
The mortgage debt still exists. And
if it was desired by those able to do
so, the unsecured floating debt not
held by them could have been taken
care ofor wiped out and the forma-
ton of new company would have
been an easy matter and on the
payment of $1,000 per mile into the
treasury of the new company and
the receivership raised or discharg-
ed would have left the new compa-
ny, and the road, plus the cost of
receivership, which might have
been several hundred thousand dol
lars, practically where the old COM
pany now is under the require
ments made of it by the commits /
sion, and which they will have to
fulfill.
Another consideration was, that
the Arkansas Pass runs through a
sparsely settled country much OF
it, and a receivership would have
been more expensive by reason of
this fact and its dependence upon
other connecting roads, for bushes.
So far as l am concerned, / wanted
to see the Railroad Commission en-
force the law against these cor
porations and accomplish by its
own orders and DEGREES practically
all that could be done through the
courts. This has been or will be
done. Four million dollars of the
stock at present outstanding will
be Cancelled and $1,356,000 of its