The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-08
RAILROADS.
TALK ABOUT
THE SOO'S FUTURE
DIRECTOR OF ROAD EXPRESSES
4 GREAT FAITH THEREIN.
He Says the Stock Will Soon Be Re-
garded as an 'Investment Stock
What the Road Has Accomplished
This Year as Compared With the
Year Before.
New York Sun Special Service.


New York, Feb. Recommending on
the six months report Of 500 line,
director of that company says:
I'VE have maintained the high level
of earnings reached last year, and we
consider that satisfactory. 1t used to
be said that the earnings of this road
in good times would be phenomenal,
but that any falling off in business
would hit 500 line worse than any
other road in the northwest. If that
was ever so the road has Outgrown it.
Comparing our statement with the
few figures put out every now and
again by Northern Pacific and Great
Northern, it will be seen that our in
crease in gross is per cent, Great
Northerns 1 per cent, and Northern
Pacific's per cent. The Milwaukee
is a little bit better with 4 per cent.
It is apparent that the northwestern
roads, with the exception of Burling-
ton, which is getting the benefit of the
Northern Securities combination, have
not been very much favored by for
tune during the past six months
I'm net there has been no attemptfat
economy on 500 line. The road has
ing to our advices, and we think it
we'll.
Hill is operating Great Northern
to-day cheaper than he ever did before
except in the worst kind of a business
depression. You know he was the first
man in the United States to see the
trouble coming and he got ready for 1t.
1t was twelve months before the pc
ginning of the slump that he made
himself unpopular by talking blue.
Since that celebrated remark about
the crest of the BOOM nobody has
had any respect for his judgment.
Nevertheless if Jim Hill had never be-
fore proved himself a prophet that re-
mark alone should have given him
reputation. Not single word OF 1t
but has come true. So now, thru the
past six months, he has been operating
his railroad for about SO per cent OF
gross, or less. One Of his operating
men told me few days ago that Jim
Hill is counting every lump OF coal
and every pint of oil that is used on
the line this year. 80
Nov our road is different. We
are ready enough for a slump, and
cheaper than any other road in the
United States, but we figure that 1t
wouldn't pay us just now to get too
economical. For one thing, II we did,
every critic would say we were lavish
| in dividends and stingy In repairs
We are just as lavish in maintaining
and improving that road as we are in
ting just as good service as the stock
| holders You have heard that we
lately bought 10000 tons of rails for
new line. We are not retrenching
| Given few good seasons we shall see
| the 500 line grown one-third in mile
| age and rs per cent in earnings
Other things being equal we expect
1.-the 500 line to earn In gross about
: $15,00D. 900 a year when it is finished
Don't think that this is a bull tiI
on stocks. I don't suppose what we
will earn in 1908 has anything to dc
I with the prices of our stocks in 1904
and anyway don't think care much
where the stocks go. So long as the
stockholders at large are contentet
and consider themselves we'll treated
as they are-that's about all the in
crest we take in the stocks.
IT consider that the maintenance O.
! our earnings at as high figure as las
year indicates pretty we'll that thu
road is on a permanent basis Of bust
ness. Last year there was a boom ii
the Canadian northwest. This yea
there isn't-as you will see from G. p
r. land sales-but we keep up on
| business just the same. That indi
Gates, in a general way, that the earn
ings Of last year are to be kept up fair
ly we'll, with merely natural Jfluctua
tell me that even 500 preferred is no
regarded as an investment stock
Maybe they are right in not looking a
it that way. 1t pays nearly 6 per cen
on its price and that is too high a re