The San Francisco call., 1904-03-23
RAILROAD
PLANS ARE
DISCLOSED
Northern Securities
Company to Be
Dissolved.
Capital Stock to Be Re-
duCed and Shares
Distributed.
RummS Cause STR On the Market
and Union PscifeS Have
Sensational Sale.

NEW YORK, March 22.-Following
a day Of great excitement in the stock
market and numerous conferences
among the leading financial interests,
the new plan OF the Northerr. Securi-
rles company was made puosic mis-
evening in a circular letter to North
ern Securities stockholders. signed by
President Hiu- The letter says in part:
The stock OF the Northern Securi-
ties Company was issued solely for the
shares Of the Northern Pacific and
Great Northern Railway companies
End other properties purchased by it.
The cOmpanys acquisition Of North
ern Pacific and Great Northern shares
was made in the full belief that such
purchases were in no wise obnoxious
10 any law Of the United States-an
opinion which mas received the ap-
prOval Of four Justices of the Supreme
Court Of the United States, namely,
Chief Justice Fuller and Associate JUS
tices Edward White, Rufus W. Peck
ham 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 ma ajOrity OF the court, disregarding
as irrelevant any beneficial increase of
commerce, was Of the opinion that as
q matter of law your company's hold
ings Of the stock of the two railway
companies in itself constituted a re-
Etraint of interstate commerce. pro-
hibited by the so-caIled Sherman act
OF 1890. Accordingly. the railway COM
panies have been forbidden 10 permit
your company TO vote or collect divi-
dends on the shares held by you.
CAPITAL STOCK REDUCED.
Therefore your directors at a meet
ing held this day have, under the ad-
vice Of counsel, decided that in order
70 fully and promptly comply with the
decree IN this suit it is necessary to
reduce the capital stock of the COM
pany and TO distribute TO its sharehold-
ers the shares of stock of said rail-
way companies now held by you.
ITO this end they have adopted reso-
lutions recommending to the stock
holders:
'F1rst-That the capital stock Of this
company be reduced from 3.s54.OO
shares. now outstanding. to $3.50. be-
ing q reduction of SO per cent.
'Second-That said ss per cent of
the present outstanding shares be
called in for surrender and canceIla-
tion
'Third-That against each share Of
the stock Of this company to be sur
rendered there viii be delivered S39 p
stock Of the Northern Pacific Railway
Company, $50 IL stock of the Great
Northern Railway Company, and pro-
-..r+fr-a+o -v,or,v4e ft7araof 20, o,oa-
fraction OF q 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 2ls 1904, at il o'clock a. m, at
the office Of the company in Hoboken.
For the purpose Of this meeting the
stock transfer books viii be closed
April is.
The assets Of the company remain
ing in its treasury after the foregoing
distribution is made viii consist of
stocks and other property in no way
involved in the suit producing income
-conservatively valued at an amount in
excess Of 1854, 900. to which ii is pro-
posed TO reduce the stock of the COM
pany.
The new plan was formally adopted
at meeting of the directors which he
gan IN the morning and lasted until
well into the afternoon. There were
present at this meeting President Hill.
George F. Baker, William p CIouzb.
Edward H. Hartman, d. Willis James.
Daniel S. Lamont. John S. Kennedy.
George ". Perkins, n. Terhune and