The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-21

| winch permits the puDlc 10 attend It's
annual meetings. 1t inaugurated the
plan now followed by many of sending
passes to stockholders, to induce them
| to attend.
''Since the company commenced CIV
ing passes to stockholders said an
Illinois Central official yesterday, "sev-
eral persons living in Mississippi and
Louisiana have each purchased one
| share of stock. As a result they get
every fall a free ticket to Chicago and
return, worth from $40 to $50, and also
a dividend of Sc on their stock-a pretty
nice return for an investment of about
| $3.50. Quite a number of small mer-
| chants in the south are among our
stockholders. While they come here on
a pass to attend the annual meeting
| they take advantage of the opportunity
| to buy a stock of goods in Chicago, and
| the company of course gets the trans
portation of the freight
To greet the men, women and chill
dren who own the big trunk line were
present Stuyvesant Fish of New York,
president of the company; j. G. yelling,
first vice president; ]. T. Harahan, sec
ond vice president; A. G. Hackstaff,
third vice president and the following
directors; Cornelius Vanderbilt, Col
John Jacob Aston, Walther Cutten of
August Belmont & Co, New York;
a. Peabody of New York, John w.
Auchinc1oss of New York and William
M GrinnelI of New York.
President Fish Opens the Meeting.
While the necks of the plain-ciothed
stockholders were craned to catch
glimpse of their famous millionaire CO.
owners bearing the magic names of
Vanderbilt and Aston, President Fish
called the meeting to order exactly as
neighboring factory whistles footed the
hour of IL. Third Vice President Hack
staff, acting as secretary of the meet
ing, read the official call and hurried
through the minutes of last years
stockholders meeting. Then President
Fish announced that II, lis shares were
represented in person and 6I2,lSl by
proxy He added that he himself held
proxies for $4,000 shares.
Directors Are Reelected.
To fill the expired terms of the direc-
tors Charles A. Peabody, John G. Well
ing and William M. Grinnell, the same
men were placed in nomination, and
their unanimous election by reclamation
followed. Then President Fish told the
meeting that luncheon would be served
to the shareholders in the station res
tauFant and while they were contem-
plating that prospect he read them the
following statement intended to show
the unique and widespread ownership of
the road:
THE total capital is $95, 400, 900 in 95,-
400 shares of 800 each.
For the first time in ten years we
have to record a decrease in the num-
Der of shares held in America. The
to 3,119 shares, and there are now own
ed in this country 736.S57 shares. being
77.54 per cent of the total.
Ownership Is Widespread.
'In the twelve states in which the
company runs its trains there are
owned by ASIA proprietors 13S,207
shares.
"A clear majority of the entire cap
ital stock-to-wit, ffty-two and forty
nine hundredths (52.49) per cent
thereof, 49S,961 shares are owned
by persons, firms and corporations, no
one of whom holds so much as 500
shares.
Eighteen and six-tenths GS.6) per
cent of the entire capital stock, or
176,S3S shares, are owned by 1906
persons, firms and corporations, no
one of whom owns SO much as 100 |
shares"
The monotony of yeas was not
broken by a single dissenting mo-
during the twenty minutes the en- |
tire session occupied and everybody /
beamed with contentment when the
fifty-fourth annual report of earnings
was passed around and President Fish |
said: Il guess that's all
Directors Start on Trip.
At l o'clock the directors special
drawingroom cars, pulled out for the
annual trip of inspection of the road |
twenty-four-hou stop will be made !
at St. Louis, when the train will con- |
tinue the journey to New Orleans.
Figures in Annual Report.
Among interesting figures in the an
nual report are the following: Total |
mileage in operation, 1914; gross re-
ceipts from traffic, $40, 1880; ex-
pense of operation, $32,793, 251.S1; !
taxes, $1.942, 43O.S6; net income from /
traffic, $12,O95, 453.73: ninety-eighth |
seini-annual cash dividend, paid |
March 1, 1904, s2,S51.20o; ninety |
ninth seni-annual cash dividend, paid |
Sept. 1, 1904. S2.s51.20O
Cornelius Vanderbilt Talks.
Enjoying Chicago's lake breezes,
which came in through the dining j
room windows of R. T. Crane, jr..'s :
apartments in the Raymond, PA Lin |
coin park boulevard, Cornelius Van
derbilt, who is here to attend the /
Illinois CentraIs annual stockholders
pow-wow, downed Chicago break
fast at 9 o'clock this morning and |
told reporter how glad he was to |
be in town again.
It's year since was in Chicago /
last, said the tall Van Dyke-bearded |