East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-11-21
CUTTING JUICY
RAILROAD MELON
ONE OF JUICEST EVER
CUT BY AMERICAN ROAD
Dividend of More Than Eleven Dol
lars share WIN BE Paid TO Norh-
eTn Pacific Stockholders Today
None of This Dividend Was De-
rived from Transportation - All
Came From Mines and Lands

New York, Nov 2l.-Northern Pa
cific stockholders OF record at tn,
close OF business today will share il
one of the julciest melons ever cut
by an American railroad company
This is a dividend of $ll.26 a share
to be paid TO them by the North
western Improvement company, a
subsidiary concern through which the
Hill road carries on operations in coal
mines. irrigation works and invest
ments in bonds. The aggregate
amount of the distribution will be
S17,45S,OOO.
The Northwestern Improvement
compahy's capital stock is only ST.
$4,000. so that the dividend is equiv
alent to 62s per cent on the capital OF
the corporation. 1t is stated that this
dividend is paid from a surplus ac-
quired through a series of years. and
that none of it was derived from the
transportation business
Until the dividend announcement
the profits and the eXent OF the oper-
ations Of the Northwestern Improve
ment company were unknown to all
but a few of the 10000 stockholders
of the Northern Pacific railway.
In explanation OF the accumulation !
of this large surplus by a company |
which is creature of the Northern |
Pacific railway, though legally sep
arate corporation, it was said by a |
director of the Northern Pacific that |
the improvement company, which |
was incorporated in 1897 soon after
the reorganization Of the Northern
Pacific. has carried on land and other
operations on a large scale and had 4
profited by the enormous increase in
values in the northwest during the 4
last 10 years. The company owns
large coal mines in Montana and
Washington, operated along the line
of the Northern Pacific. II is also in
terested in irrigation and other land
investments. A number of years ago
il took over the lands of the St. Paul
and Duluth railroad and it has at in
tervals purchased from the Northern
Pacific itself large tracts of the roads
land grant lands,
Samples OF High Finance.
In reference to the latter transac-
tions it was said tha when the
Northern Pacific needed to sell land
for which there was not a ready out
side market at the time the North
western Improvement company had
frequently purchased such lands, thus
supplying funds, to the railway. 1t
was admitted, however, that all the
capital OF the improvement company
had been supplied by the railway. The
Northern Pacific owns not only all the
32,775,OO0 stock of the improvement
company. but also OF its $7,OOO,000 OF
first mortgage bonds. These are the I
only securities of the improvement ,
company outstanding. Il
The 317,45S.OOO distribution rep &
resents the full amount a director of !
the railway said, of the surplus of the t
company barring enough T
working capital TO carry on the busi-
ness of the company. The distribu-
ton, however, leaves intact the coal
mines which the improvement COM q
pany is operating. and also further a
large tracts OF land.
The Northwestern Improvement 9
company is differed by officials of
the Northern Pacific railway, but the :
boards Of the two companies are not .
identical, not all OF the railway diree- ,
tors being members OF the improve ,
ment company board. Howard Ell .
lott and James n. Hill, respectively
president and vice president Of the /,
Northern Pacific railway, hold SINH :
lar positions in the improvement COM {
pany :