Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-03-23
Capital Stock Reduced and Rail.
way Shares to be Distributed
To Stockholders
SHEME FORMALLY ADOPTED.
Hill and Hartman Are Highly Pleased
While Morgan Has Nothing
To Say.

New York, March 22-Following q
day OF great excitement In the stock
market and numerous conferences
among the leading financial interests.
the new plan OF the Northern Securities
company was made public this evening
In a circular letter to Northern Securl-
ties stockholders signed by President
Hill. The letter says, In part,
The stock OF the Northern Securl-
ties company was issued solely for the
shares Of the Northern Pacific and
Great Northern Railway companies and
other properties purchased by It.
THE company's acquisition OF North
ern Pacific and Great Northern shares
was made in the full belief that such
purchases were IN no wise obnoxious
to any law OF the United states--an
opinion which has received the approx
al Of four justices Of the supreme court
Of the United States. namely, Chief
Justice Fuller and Associate Justices
Edward White, Rufus w, Peckham and
Oliver Wendell Holmes In the suit
brought by the United States against
the right Of the company to hold and
vote the shares.
However, the majority OF the court
disregarding as irrelevant any ben.
eficlal Increase OF commerce. was OF the
opinion that as a matter OF law your
company's holdings OF the stocks Of the
two railway companies In itself consti-
tuted q restraint Of interstate COM
meree prohibited by the o-called Sher-
man act of 1890 Accordingly, the rail-
way companies have been forbidden TO
permit your company TO vote or collect
dividends on the shares held by you.
Therefore, your directors, at meet
Ing held this day, have, under the adj
vice Of counsel, decided that In order
TO fully and promptly comply with the
decree In this suit. II Ia necessary TO
reduce the capital stock OF the COM
pany and to distribute to It's sharehod-
ers the shares OF stock OF said railway
companies now held by you.
ITO this end they have adopted reso-
lutions recommending to the stockhold-
ers.
'First-That the capital stock of
this company be reduced from 1884 900
shares, now outstanding, to 1880 be-
Ing reduction OF 80 per cent.
'Second-That said 90 per cent Of
the present outstanding shares be
called In for surrender and cancella-
ton.
"Thlrd-That against each share OF
the stock Of this company so to be sur
rendered, there will be delivered $780, ~
stock Of the Northern Pacific Railway
company s3Ol7 stock of the Great
Northern Railway company, and pro-
portionate amounts thereof for each
fraction Of share OF stock
"As required by the laws Of the state
OF New Jersey, under which the COM
pany was created, a special meeting Of
the shareholders has been called for
April q, 1904 at II o'clock a, M, at
the Office OF the company in Hoboken,
"For the purpose OF this meeting the
stock transfer books will be closed on
April 49,
THE assets OF the company remain
Ing In It's treasury after the foregoing
distribution Is made will consist OF
stocks and other property In no way in
volved In the suit producing income
and c0nseryatively valued at an
amount In excess OF t395i,0O0, to which
II is proposed to reduce the stock Of
the company"
The new plan was formally adopted
at O meeting OF the directors which be-
gan In the morning and lasted until
well into the afternoon. There were
present at this meeting President Hill,
H. 0h
Edward II. Hartman, ID. Willis James,
Daniel s. Lamont, John s, Kennedy,
George v Perkins, N. Terhune and one
or more other directors,
After the close OF the market long
conference was held Mt the offices OF j.
T.. Morgan & Co. Those who attended
included Mr. Morgan, Mr.. Hartman,
Mr.. HILL Mr., Lamont, Mr.. Perkins, ].
Il. Morgan, Jr., Francis Linde Stetson
of counsel to ]. y. Morgan a Co.. and
ex-Judge Bum OF Minnesota Mr.. Hilrs
personal legal adviser
Messrs. Hill and Hartman, left the
Morgan banking house arm In arm and
apparently In the best OF spirits. Both
declined 10 make any statement beyond
saying that n perfect understanding
had been reached all around, Mr.. Hill
denied that there had been any differ
ences respecting the dissolution plan.
MIR, Morgan and his partnrs had no
comment to make. but Mr.. Morgan
seemed pleased with the days events.
At the banking house OF Kuhn, Loeb
e Co., the chief financial hackers OF
the Hartman system Of railroads, no
statement OF any sort was forthcoming
A report that the firm had as the Har-