The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-17
TEXT OF RAILROADS ANSWER TO MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE
SHARES OF BOSTON & MAINE SOLD TO PERSONS
 THOUGHT TO BE FRIENDLY
sons to Exercise All the Functions of Ownership Complex System of Inter Related Corporations Elk Dained

 1 terest in the securities of The Webster l and Dudley and Worcester and Web- 1 ster Street Railway Companies above l referred to. This association is com ! posed of trustees who hold for the ben-
 eft of preferred and shareholders. l The obligations of The New England
 Investment and Security Company and
 the Springfield Railway Companies to l the preferred shareholders were guar
 anteed by The Consolidated Railway l Company, which reserved the right to | acquire at 1O5 and interest the shares l thus guaranteed, and suits are now | pending in the case of the New Eng | land Investment and Security Com pany to enforce this guarantee as a present obligation of The New York, l New Haven and Hartford Railroad l Company. The Consolidated Railway Company had the right to acquire com l mon shares of New England Invest | ment and Security Company. This right was finally hot exercised and has l been definitely and absolutely surren- dered. The New England Navigation Company, corporation chartered by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, whose capital stock is held by this Company, acquired by pur- chase the common shares actually is- sued by the New England Investment and Security Company. The New Company also has an indebtedness which is now held by The New Eng land Navigation Company.
 All of the shares of the New Eng land Investment and Security Com
 pany held by The New England Navi-
 gation Company have been sold to in- dividua1s for cash at the same price
 which said maid for them With the exception of it's interest in securities of the Worcester and Web
 ster and Dudley Street Railway Com panies and the interest of the Rhode
 Island Company in earnings and in- debtedness of Interstate Consolidated Railway Company above referred to, The New York, New Haven and Hart ford Railroad Company has not now any interest direct or indirect, in any of the bonds, stock or indebtedness of any street railway company organized under the laws of Massachusetts, or in any corporation or association holding bonds, stock or indebtedness of any such street railway company.
 By the terms of the decree of the Supreme Judicial Court of May 8. 1908, the Company was given until July 1, 1909, to dispose of the interests in Mas sachusetts street railway securities which were adjudged to be illegally u6lu Uy IL. HIS COtIlpTtI1y, dS dUONG set forth, has already largely complied with that decree, and in so far as con- cerns the residue of said street railway stocks and bonds above mentioned, will comply with that decree, as originally made or hereafter modified, without any agreement or understanding be- tween this Company and purchasers as to the disposition or control of Se- curities sold.
 The New England Navigation Com pany acquired under the laws of Con- necticut 8 large amount of stock of the Boston and Maine Railroad. On June 30 1908, all Boston and Maine shares thus acquired were sold to John l.. Bill Hard of Meriden, Conn. This Com pany is able to state without impro- priety that on account of the purchase price more than $11, ,00000 has been paid in cash into said company's treasury. Neither The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Com pany nor any other corporation whose capital stock is directly or indirectly held by it, nor any association in which it is directly or indirectly interested, has any agreement or understanding with MT. Billiard, or with holders of any of the interests or securities referred to in your order concerning the present control of such interests and securities or concerning the ultimate disposition thereof.
 How much is meant by the the word Understanding as used in said or der, may be a matter of doubt, and in order to avoid all question as to the frankness of this reply, this Com pany states that the interests and se- curities sold as aforesaid were sold to individuals whose dispositio ion towards this Company was believed to be friendly, but that nothing was said or done by anyone in connection with said sales affecting the present control or the ultimate disposition of the interests or securities sold, or which could in any way limit the legal or equitable rights of the purchasers.
 The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company begs leave to add a few words concerning a wid- CT aspect of the legal controversies re- ferrred to in your order.
 The railroads owned by The New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail- road Company are situated in the States of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts. Much the largest part of this railroad prop erty is situated in the State of Con- necticut and only a relatively small portion Of it is situated in the State of Massachusetts.
 Hartford Railroad Company was orig lnally corporation chartered only by the State of Connecticut under the name of the New York and New Ha- ven Railroad Company.
 This Connecticut corporation was au- thorized by the State of New York to construct maintain and operate rail- road in that State.
 Into this Connecticut corporation was merged, in 1872, the Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company, which was a corporation chartered by the State of Connecticut and also a corporation chartered by the State of Massachu- sets, about six miles of it's railroad being situated in Massachusetts and the remainder being situated in Con- necticut.
 By an act of it's Legislature passed in 1872, Massachusetts consented to this merger of it's corporation in a | Connecticut corporation and at the l same time granted to the corporation into which the former Massachusetts | was merged the franchise l to be corporation of Massachusetts as we'll as a corporation of Connecticut. | This consent so given by Massachu- setts in 1872 to a merger of it's corpO- l ration in a. Connecticut corporation | was granted with full knowledge that l the consent to such a, merger given by l the State of Connecticut by a. law pass l ed in the previous year was upon con- dition that the New York, New Haven |
 ID . -.l, al.