Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1904-08-04
TO SELL STATES HOLDINGS
In Chesapeake And Ohio Canal
Decision of Board of
Public Works.

The Board of Public Works met here
at noon today and definitely de.
eided 60 offer for sale the holdings of
the State of Maryland in the Chesa.
peake and Ohio Canal Company.
There was full meeting of the body.
consisting of Governor Warfield, Treas
urer Nandiver and Comptroller Atkin-
son. The latter two officials were AZ.
pointed a committee to gather data
connected with the States interest and
90 report at the next meeting Of the
board, which will take place on Sep
tember lst, and at that time an adver-
tiSement of the sale will be prepared.
1t is now generally known that no
evidence of the states holdings i'm the
form of certificates of stock aud it
will be the laborious task of the two
officials TO eull from various sources
such evidence of the states interests
as exists. The most available source
of this information will be records in
the office of the treasurer and comp
troller, covering reports of those ofii-
cials during the period of the exist
ence of the canal The minutes of
meetings of the Board of Public Works
will also be called into use The min
utes of the board show that the state
mas always placed the amount of It's
holdings at something over s., 600, 900
aud that its representatives has voted
that sum without question at all meet
lngs of stockholders of the company.
The last reference in the minutes Of
the board to that matter was at
meeting held on January Is, 1902,
when Governor John Walter Smith
was directed TO vote that amount OF
stock an 20 cast them for the present
board of directors, of which Mr.. Frank
A. Furst. of Baltimore city, is the
president. The committee may also
seek information from the records of
the Circuit Court for Washington
county, in which the proceedings by
which Mr.. Hugh l.. Bond was appoint
ed receiver of the Canal COMPANY
were undertaken. A large amount of
documentary evidence referring Co the
affairs of the company were filed there
ut that time. Statements made at the
meeting of the Board of Public Works
backed by the records in the matter
show that the total indebtedness of
the Canal Company reaches the enor-
nous sum of over $50, 900, 600.
This was begun in 1927, when the
state made it's first bond subscription
for the canal, taking $3.50, 900 worth.
Subscriptions to stock and loans on
mortgages followed until with accrued
interest the indebtedness was brought
up TO the figure mentioned. The
states holdings represent almost ex-
actly five-sevenths Of the whole, the
remainder being owned by the Federal
Government The original subscrip-
tions being held to the extent of
2, 900. 600 by the District of Columbia,
the State of Virginia and the city Of
Alexandria. All of these were ac-
quired by the Federal Government.
The amount that the state can realize
by the sale of its interests is, Of
course, entirely problematical. 1t is
evident that its only value lies in the
use to which it may be put as the bed
Of a railway and that the natural pur-
chasers of the property would be the
Wabash system or the Baltimore ~
Ohio Railroad Company, the former
to facilitate their much desired wish
to reach tidewater at Baltimore, and
the latter to impede their progress IL
possible. Ii is this element that in
jects particular interest in the pro-
posed sale OF the states interest at
this time.