The independent., 1906-08-23

18th, there appeared in the Chicago
American and several otner Chicago
dailies, a full page ad, of a company
called "The Chicago & New York
Electric Air Line r. R. Co., which
greatly interested myself and mum
ber of my Nebraska friends. | decid
ed to make a personal investigation oil
the company and its plans. | accord
lngly went to Chicago and spent sey-
eral days looking up the men who had
formed this company. Their plan
knew, from previous investigation, to
be entirely feasible, consequently ii
was the men who were back of the
company I was interested in looking
up. We're they merely a band of pro-
moters, trying to swindle the public,
or were they experienced, practical
and reliable business men, who could
be trusted to carry out fairly and hon
estly that which they were undertake
ing? These were the questions |
wanted answered satisfactorily. |
found that the president of the COM
pany, Mr.. Miller, was one of the re-
sponsible business men of Aurora,
ILL.,, and an ex-railroad man of some
twenty years experience with the C.
B. & Q. r. R.; that the secretary and
treasurer of the company was Theron
M. Bates, one of the best known rail
road men in Illinois, and former gen
eral superintendent of the Chicago &
Alton r. r. That associated with
them as directors and officers of the
company were some of the most re-
sponsible business men of Illinois and
Indiana; that they had already sur.
yeyed and secured the right of way
across Ohio and Indiana to Chicago
and that work on the new road would
be started September /, 1906; that in.
stead of issuing bonds much in excess
of the cost of building the road, as is
usually done, the company had de
cided to make this peoples road, by
selling stock direct to the individual
citizen, on such terms as would en-
able the small investor to buy a few
shares (say five or more), and pay
for them one-tenth each month on the
18th of the month. Shares are of the
par value of S100 each and the first
ten thousand are to be sold at S25
each. Thus a. person paying $25 pei
month, would at the end of ten months
own ten shares of par value of one
thousand dollars. My deliberate
Judgment is that in thirty days from
the time work is begun the stock will
be selling above $50 per share and
that by the time the first 100 miles
of the road is in operation, from Chi
cago to Goshen, Ind. that every share
of stock issued will be at par, for the
reason, first, there is no preferred
stock, and second, every stock certifi
cate bears on it's face this clause:
''This certificate will be accepted In
payment for transportation to the
amount of the par value of the shares
of stock represented hereby, and al
current tariff rates, over any part OF
the road in operation" This provi
sion will prevent the stock selling al
less than par. 1t may, however, bt
above par, depending ON the earnings
of the road Judging from the success.
of the Chicago, Elgin e Aurora elec
trio road, built some five years agt
from Chicago to Aurora, there il
every reason to expect that this stocl
will be worth by the time this road i,
completed not less than 5000 pc,
share. While this may sound extrava
CANT, it is in reality a very conserv
ative estimate. 1t is a well-knowl
fact that there are no investment
today that pay like railroad stocks
In the New England states toda,
the visitor comes upon little hamlet
of prosperous, happy people, all en-
joying the necessaries and comfort