The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-25
OWNERSHIP OF THE CENTRAL Norfolk and Southern Is
 Purchaser. THoRNE CONFIRMS THE SALE May Mean Great Development of
 South. Gossips Believe that Either southern Railway or Standard oil Company Is Backing the Big En-
 terprise.

Richmond. Va, Oct 24-(special)-- According to information obtained from high authority. the Central of Georgia Railroad has been sold to the Norfolk and southern.
 Oakieigh Thorne. one of the owners of the former property. admitted in New York. that it had been sold. but declined to give the names of the pur- chasers.
 Marsden !. Perry, part owner with Thorns. is chairman of the board of directors of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company. which controls practically all of the network of rail- road lines in eastern North Carolina, of which Norfolk is the znain port of entry.
 Railroad men consulted here did not seem to be able t6 comprehend the re- port at first. or to explain the req son why the Norfolk and Southern should acquire possession of a system with which it had no connecting link
 From Raleigh, N. C., to which point tho road has just been opened, there are projected roads to Augusta, Ga. and Charleston. s. C.. the ownership of which have been somewhat In dispute. The general idea. however. is that the
  of the road from the capital of North Carnltua to Augusta. there to con- meet with the tracks of the Central of Georgia
 In this event the parent road would touch Norfolk and Savannah on the ocean, extending to Chattanooga Bir- mingham and Montgomery and reach- ing Atlanta Macon and practically the entire business heart of the great State of Georgia.
 More Rolling stock.
 At a meeting of the stockholders of the Norfolk and Southern. at Norfolk Wednesday, the action of the directors in voting an Issue of bonds amounting to $25,000,000 for the purchase of rol- iing stock and other equipment was
 Frank s. Cannon, the president. is an old Southern Railway man, who stood high in railway circles.
 There are two opinions. especially in North Carolina. as to the real own ership of the company, one being that the Southern Railway Is backing it and the other that the Standard oil Com pany holds the controlling interest While it had to speculate on these points the public has never thoroughly satisfied itself as to the true status of affairs. Starting with handful of short lines the Norfolk and Southern has gradually extended its territory, having acquired the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad. from Goldsboro to Moorehead and the sea for . term of nfnety-nine years. Efforts made re- gently to annul the lease failed. There was a great deal of interest in the de- velopment and expansion policy of the company. as shrewd railroad men did not clearly understand why 1t should invest so heavily and Issue bonded ob- ligations if it was to confine it's ter- ritory to the eastern part of Carolina. In which there were no extraordinary large shipping centers.
 With a link to Augusta and connec- tion there with the Central of Geor- gia, and it's 1000 miles of track the reorganized concern would be one of the strongest in the South. behind which there would be unlimited finan- Is hacking.
 The feeling in Georgia was that Ed- ward 1T. Hartman was after the Gen. tral, thing, which has been bitterly opposed by the local newspapers.