Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-08-31
BIG BOND SHIPMENT,
Twenty nine Millions Of Securities to
Be Sent to France Under Guard,

! be oene 10 france Under Guard.
! 1t was possible this morning for the
! New Haven management to fix the
| date of departure for Paris of the con-
, fidcntial representative of that railroad
under whose charge is to be placed the
shipment OF the bonds aggregating $29.-
900, behind which stand to the credit
, and security of the New Haven Rail-
road for a loan recently made in
France. Mr.. Isaac Bromley, who is
the press agent of the New Haven road.
| is charged with this highly important
responsibility. He is to sail on the
9th of this month for Paris. and Will.
from one point of view this NAV be !;
pleasure excursion, yet he is to hayn
constantly under his vigil, until tn
bonds are delivered to the French
bankers, securities aggregating $40,
000,OC0 The transaction completed NAV
involve two months
1t may be that the loan made by tn.
Pennsylvania Railroad in France, in
| volving $50,O00.O0O required a larger
| shipment of the bonds at one tim.
than that which the French loan to the
| New Haven corporation compels. but
there is no record or public knowledge
of any single. shipment to Europe of
securities representing one transaction
| whose aggregate amount was any,
where near as great as this shipment
of $29,000,OO0 of bonds. When William
II. Vanderbilt was president of the
New York Central lie thought it ex-
pedient to place large holdings of New
York Central stock in England. Mr.
| fn1
Twenty Ipillions Of New York
i. Central stock were sold in London, and
one very large block of securities was
shipped at one time. A considerable
portion of these securities, however,
was sent abroad in various lots and at
various times. The payment of $25,-
OOO.0OO of god to perfect the Panama
| Canal purchase was chiefly accom-
plishcd through the utilization Of for
eign exchange, and that was also true
, of the payment of $20.000,0OO of gold
in accordance with the terms of the
treaty executed at Paris between the
representatives of the United States
and of Spain.
II Sometimes as much as S., O0O. 900 in
gold has been shipped by one steamer.
and the details of weighing, me asur-
ing, packing, and guarding this gold
furnish some of the most interesting of
the reports telling of Wall street
methods.
| A day or two ago there appeared a
, statement giving some statistics Of
these New Haven bonds for the
French loan. 1t was then stated that
: the weight of the bonds is ten and
hrcc-quarter tons, and, also, that the
amount Of ink used in printing the
bonds was tWcnty-ScVcn and n half
tons. There seemed to be such dis :
crenancy between the ton weight of
ink used in the bonds ana the present
weight of the bonds that it was
thought the figures were inaccurate.
Inquiry, however, confirmed their ac-
| curacy, SO that there must have been
an enormous evaporation.
The gross weight of ten and three
quarter tons does not include the
weight of the boxes in which the bonds
are to be placed, and which are to be
securely sealed AMI in this way as
) thoroughly protected almost as if the
bonds were real gold instead of the re-
preventative or equivalent of gold
| The boxes arc also to be as carefully
guarded upon the steamer and as thor
oughly vault"d and protected as if the
! bonds then contain were really gold
To engrave. print, and perfect an issue
Of bonds of this kind required long
continued, very elaborate. and thor
! ouGhiy ScrutiaiZcd work The con-
tract called for 100000 bonds the
denomination being 500 francs each, or
, approximately 500. These denomina-
10,
. the French bankers EXPECT that the
French public, the great middle class
| and even peasantry, who have so per.
fectly learned tho art Of saving, ulti-
, matcly 10 absorb all Of this issue Of
S29,O000OO. To perfect them required
the engraving Of Ia plates. and it was
necessary t. use i'll stapling the bonds
for binding eleven and one-half miles
Of wire. and i'll addition fifty-five and
nnc-half miles Of tape, used in binding
TN" bonds. If these bonds were placed
lcnGthwisc in continuous line they
lW"uld make an almost uninterrupted
path from New York to Boston or from
Philadelphia to Altoona.
Eut in order to complete the bonds,
to make them perfectly negotiable in
Struments, ana to meet all the eXac-
tons of the French law there were
nee dcd 5So0O0 signatures and in addi-
ton tho atiiXing of 4 seal to every bond
or 29o.o'p seals in all. Were the presi-
dent of the New Haven Railroad and
the secretary or treasurer compelled
personally I" sign these bonds it might
have been two years before they would
have beer ready for distribution. More
rapid personal signing would have in.
VOWED great loss Of time needed for
other duties and might have resulted
in permanent writer's cramp.
City's Lost Islands.
, St Louis has lost three islands