The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-05-30

and unloading the securities on the
pl bile. We wish to make it to the in
tereSt of the investor to put his money
into the honest development of the
railroads, and therefore we wish to
discriminate against the man who
while enriching himself, lays upon the
future owners and patrons of the road
and above all upon the honest men
whose duty it may become to operate
the road burden of additional debt
without adding correspondence to its
a tual worth. Much is said about the
inability of railroad presidents to agree
among themselves as to what policy
should be advocated and what plans
followed in the effort to work out the
problems which now present them
selves In so far as the law is concern
ed, all l ask of them Is d willingness to
comply fully with its spirit, and a
readiness to move along the lines in
Dictated by those who are charged with
administering it. Our policy is built
upon experience, and our primary pur-
pose is to insure the future against
the mistakes and delinquencies of the
past.
Initiation of Stock.
There has been much wild talk as
to the extent of the oyercapitalization
of our railroads The census reports
on the commercial value of the rail-
roads of the country, together with the
reports made to the interstate COM
Gil nv rai dc
their cost of construction, tend to
show that as a whole the railroad
property of the country is worth as
much as the securities representing it,
and that in the concensus of opinion of
investors the total value OF the stocks
and bonds is greater than their face
value. notwithstanding the water"
that has been injected in particular
places. The huge value of terminals,
the immense expenditures in recent
years in double tracking, improving
grades, roadbeds and structures, have
brought the total investments to a
point where the opinion that the real
value is greater than the face value is
probably true. No general statement
such as this can be accepted as having
more than a general value; there are
many exceptions; but the evidence
seems ample that the great mass of
our railroad securities rest upon safe
any degree TO command complete pub
lie confidence, it is because isolated in
of unconscionable stock-wat err
ing and kindred offenses arouse suspi-
cion which naturally extends to all
other corporate securities so long as
similar practices are possible and the
tendency TO resort to them is unre-
strained by law. While there have
been many instances of gross and fla
grant stock initiation, and while of
course. there remain cases of overcapi-
talization, yet when the statistics of
he weaker roads are combined with
hose of the stronger roads, and con-
in the aggregate, in my judg-
nent they will not be found to impair
he healthy financial standing and POI
,ition of the railroads as whole: and
while those railway owners and man
ayers who have enriched themselves |
~ loading their properties with Sc
.urities representing little or no real
Talue deserve our strongest condem- |
lation, on the other hand our hearty |
is due those owners and |
nanagers-representi believe. the /
arge majority-who have year after /
ear worked faithfully, patiently. and I
honestly in building up our great sys-
en- OF railways. which have knitted to-
,ether in close commercial and social /
Intercourse widely removed sections of /
he country and stand second only 20 /
he great business OF agriculture itself /