The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1904-01-29
HEIR TO MERGER.
Nall Street Believes the Erie Road WIZ
Succeed the Northern Secur-
flies Company.

Nav York. Jan. 26.-The directors OF
rho Erie Railroad company declared d,
,1iv;dand of 9 per cent. on the nrSl pre-
sar,ed stock of the company yester-
.1a,, making 4 per cent. for the nscal
Year. BY this action the great system
ma ssed automatically out OF the hands
pf 7 pierpont Morgan, Louis F1tzger-
aid and Sir Charles Iehnah.. ~ ~
iny trustees, in whose hands IL mao
hasn since the reorganization was COM
nletad August 20, 1895. Under the
tarus of that organization all or the
stock of all classes must now be issued
bv j. p. Morgan & Co. to the stock
holders in exchange for the voting trust
CERTIFICATES which they have held since
. December /, 1888.
Wall street believes that great deyel-
on,nants are in store for the road.
hdanv neople believe it is to become the
c,cressor of the Northern Securities
ouDan IL the United States supreme
cnIlrt compels its dissolution and the
distribution of the stock or Great
Northern, Northern Pacific and Bur
ltngton, which it owns.
What Lawyers Think
Eminent lawyers, 1t is said, have told
| Mr.. Morgan that the legai ob1ectlons 10
the Northern SECURITIES COMPANY I'll
not be successfully made against the
TTrie. whose entire system has been
h,,ilt M by the absorption OF compet-
inc and c~ontributory lines, which has
been unouestioned. They have pointed
ant to MIR. Morgan and Mr.. Hill that the
absorption by it of the western roads
: would have a legal precedent IN the
absorption of the Lake shore and Inc
Michigan Central by the New York
Central. in accomplishing which the
! New York Central exchanged it's w
21a per cent. bonds for the securities
/ of the other roads,, which We're de-
nositsd in its treasury as collateral. IL
is said on very good authority that just
such IL scheme is nov being worked out
in the office of j. f. Morgan d Co,
contingent upon the decision of the
tinted states supreme court next
month, which, it is said, Mr.. Morgan
eypects to be unfaVorable.
In connection With these reports, 1t is
significant tina several months ago MI.
Hartman, who is now ut peace with
MIR. MorEan, was elected a director or
the Erie, in which he has acquired a
very large interest. 1t is also sig
nifcant that Kuhn, Loeb & Co. have
also bought heavily of the stock. This
places the control of the road in the
hands of ]. Pierpont Morgan, James j.
Hill. E. III. Hartman and Jacob Schiff,
the men who controlled Northern Pa
cifc. Great Northern and Burlington
before the great fight which precipi-
tated the Northern Pacific panic. 1t is
plain that the redistribution of the Sc
curities of Northern Pacific in obedi-
ence to the mandate Of the supreme
court would return the securities into
the hands of these four men who con-
troll the Erie railroad.
Probable Plan of Absorption.
1t is believed that the absorption Of
the roads by the Erie would be accom-
plished by an issue of collateral trust
bonds OF the exact amount Of the hold
ings of the Northern Securities COM
pany in Northern Pacific and Great
Northern, both roads controlling Bur-
lington. The Northern Securities COM
pany holds practically all the stock of
the Northern Pacific railway company
and over $50, 900, 900 of the stock Of the
Great Northern railway. 1t is said that
this plan can be carried out without re-
curing one OLA in cash.
j. p. Morgan & Co. would say yester-
day only that the Erie voting trust
would be dissolved as the result of the
action of the directors yesterday.