The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-18

ham yesterday.
 J. H. McAllister, commercial agent of the Norfolk and Western railway. with headquarters at Chattanooga, spent yes terday here.
 A. c. Cowles, general agent of the Norfolk and Western railway. with head quarters in Atlanta, spent yesterday in Birmingham.
 Ray Knight, commercial agent of the New Orleans and Northeastern railroad. was in the city yesterday.
 R. S. Fife, commercial agent of the Missouri. Kansas and Texas railway. with headquarters in Atlanta. is in the city.
 A Chicago special says:
 There is practically no ground for fur ther anxiety concerning the bulk of the corn crop in territory of the Rock Island system" said an officer of that compa- ny Fear of frost how Is entirely dis charged from the minds of those who have studied the situation carefully Since
 
 for corn and it has worked wonders in pushing the grain to maturity. If we can have a week or ten days more of 1t there will be fully as much corn along Rock Island lines as there was a year ago. Should there be any deficiency, however, 1t will be made up by the great quantity of old corn which has been held over by farmers who until recently feared great loss in the new crop So far as wheat is concerned the biggest crop wa have ever had along our lines Is now be- ing handled.
 Tonnage now moving as a volume Is in excess of a year ago and shows a tend- ency toward steady gain. The same con dition Is true of all other railroads in the southwest. It would not surprise us to see car shortage next winter that would rival last years conditions We expect it and l have not talked with a single rail- road official who does not"
 This is copied from the New York Com mercial:
 An error was made in the calculation of the rate of earnings of the Seaboard Air Line railway for the fiscal year which ended June 30, as published in these col- umns this morning. Because of stock of the company still held in the treasury, the outstanding stock should have been stated as Sl9, 100000 preferred and S29 00o,- 600 common, As the surplus earnings af- ter the payment of interest on bonds and equipment trust notes rentals, dividends on guaranteed stocks and other deduc- tions, were SS32, 4S0 1t is apparent that the road earned the full 1 per cent on the outstanding preferred stock. and about one-tenth of l per cent on the outstanding common stock.
 President John Skeiton Williams takes exception to the statement that the infor- nation afforded by his report Is meager. He states that all the information which stockholders might desire Is contained in the accompanying reports of the other general officers. which will be made pub He in the full pamphlet report, to be is- sued shortly.
 The Railroad World is authority for the following:
 President W. D. Stratton of the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Is authority for the statement that the company has plenty of money to put the line through and Is doing all 1t can to rush the con- struction work. Trackaying Is in pro- gress below Laurel at the rate of one mile day, and he declares that trains will be running into Newton in less than six months. Rights of way have been secured north of Newton, and forces will soon follow with outfits 1ar grading
 w. A. Hayden formerly chief engineer for the Illinois Central in that section, has been appointed chief engineer of the new road and will be in direct charge of the construction work. MT. Hayden says that within a few months the road will have a line through from Mobile to Mid dleton, Tenn. where connection is made with the Southern railway. This will give the roads two connections into Memphis, one over the Frisco from New Albany Miss, and the other over the Southern from Middleton. MT. Hayden further says that with favorable weath- CT conditions the line will be open from Mobile to Pontotoc by cold weather, and that meantime the narrow-gauge road from Pontotoc to Middleton, which was recently bought by the Mobile Jacksoni and Kansas City. will be changed to a broad gauge thus giving through line from Mobile to Middleton.
 The Macon and Birmingham railroad has issued an official circular announcing the appointment of J. A. Streyer as gen. eral freight and passenger agent of the company with headquarters at Macon, The appointment becomes effective Sep- tember 10. MT. Streyer was formerly general agent of the company at Macon, but this position has been abolished.
 A special from Indianapolis says: The Big Four Is preparing to put down twen- ty-three miles of second track on tho St. Louis division between Lena and Terre Haute Indiana. When this track Is laid 125 miles of the 263 miles in the St. Louis division will be double-tracked. It is the intention of the company to eventually have all the St. Louis division double-tracked.
 It is stated on good authority that the Woodlawn and Bessemer branch of the Southern railway will be opened on or about October 1.
 The steamer Kansas City of the Ocean Steamship Company sails Friday from Savannah on the first trip she has made this season. she having been in the dry docks for several months.
 F. B. Shelby, travelling passenger agent of the Queen and Crescent, with head quarters at Meridian, Is in Birmingham l.. E. Parsons, superintendent and