The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-27
The L. & ST. l.. Improvement.


President ingalls,. of the Big Four, re-
turned on Saturday from attendance at a
meeting of the directorate Of the Big Four
at New York, this conference being fore
runner of the annual stockholders meeting
to be held at Cincinnati Oct 81. This meet
ing gave the Big -Four directors chance to
meet William X. Vanderbilt and other d.
rectors and exchange views as to improving
the Big Four, especially its terminal facli-
ties at Indianapolis and st. Louis. AT the
latter place an abnoraml traffic during the
worlds fair is anticipated, and 1t is neces-
sary TO improve the terminal. President In
gals stated to the directors that work was
progressing favorably on the cutoff from
Hillsboro to East st. Louis, and that the
double tracking of the whole line into st.
Louis is being pushed rapidly to completion.
This cutoff gives the Big Four direct four
track route into ST. Louis and cuts of
twelve miles, besides avoiding numerous
curves and improving the grade. These i'm
provements will be completed early in 1904,
and when completed the Big Four will pos
sess the finest terminal facilities, President
Ingalls, says, in st. Louis. and will be in a
position to handle with profit the increased
traffic during the worlds fair. Trackage
rights of this cutoff have been leased to the
st. Louis & San Francisco from it's connec-
ton with the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, at
Shelbyville, to East st. Louis. President
ingalls, stated to the directors that at pres
ent the Big Four is doing the finest freight
business and passenger traffic in it's entire
history, and he expects large acceSsions to
its freight and passenger business from now
until the end of the worlds fair. The Big
Four is now in the market for extra equip
ment, and will continue to buy freight cars
for some time Many extra improvements
have been made on the Big Four system
during the past year, and further important
Improvements at Indianapolis. Terre Haute
and Cincinnati have been planned
President General Manager
Schaff were in the city yesterday several
hours looking over terminals. In conversa-
ton Mr.. Ingalls, said he feared the unreal
sOnable demands of the labor unions would
bring about general stagnation in business.
Railway managers are already abandoning
many contemplated improvements not al
ready under contract until the labor troubles
become better adjusted. So far as the Big
Four is concerned ii will complete the extern
sive improvements in progress on the st.
Louis division and the work on the hill be-
tween Sunman and Lawrenceburg Junction,
and will undertake little further improve
ments until conditions are more promising.
Owners of Railway Securities.
Mr.. Slason Thompson, head of one of
the bureaus of the General Managers AS
ISOLATION at Chicago, recently addressed a
letter to the railway companies. asking the
question, Are there a million owners of
railway securities in the United States?"
''Thirty-nine of the leading railway COM
panies of the country responded" said Mr..
Thompson yesterday. They represent
1O7,640 miles out of the 2O2,4n of single
track mileage in the United States. They
gave the total number of stockholders on
their books as 191 ,3S7 This is pretty nearly
equal to two stockholders to every mile of
railway. The ratio on the Illinois Central,
as given by Mr.. Stuyvesant Fish, is little
over to l. On some of the roads the
ratio rises to to /. and in two cases as
high as to l. In one case the ratio
swung as far as l to the other way. APP
plying to as the ratio, Appropriated in
the total, would give 400, 900 stockholders. in
round numbers, for the 100000 miles of rail-
way in the United States as owning Sc, 024-
POI ,295 of capital stock as reported June 30
1902. Assuming that the SCI. 109. 9S1, $50 fund
ed debt is as widely distributed among
bondholders, and the railway ownership
would appears to be held in something like
100000 hands. But, large as these figures
are, and approaching the total of railway
employees Q,1S9,3l5) as they do. they by no
means represent the total of those inter-
given are for registered stock, and, as the
controller of one of the largest systems
wrote. 1t is very probable that the num-
Der of actual stockholders is twice as great
as the number of registered stockholders.
Then there is the holding of railway stock
by insurance companies, savings banks and
trust companies, extending their ownership
among thousands. And what Is true of
these institutions as to stocks is also true
as to railway bonds-only more so. In one
way or another the people of the United
States own the railways of the United
States, and something like 1000 600 persons
through wages, interest and dividends di-
vide two-thirds of their gross earnings of
81, 726, 3S0, 267 Q901-O among them, and the
other third goes for fuel, taxes, supplies
and equipment"