The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-12-08
AUDITOR MAKES DENIAL
SAYS THE MONTPELIER & WELLS
RIVER ROAD PRESIDENT is
NOT PAID $4,000.

Salaries and Expenses Of General
Officers. Including the Presidents
Only $5,514.75 n Year, He Says
For Twelve Years Road Paid No
Dividends, He Declares.
The general auditor of the Mont
pelier and Wells River railroad, f. s.
Anable of Boston, in a letter printed
in the Boston Globe yesterday says
that statements made in the Vermont
House of Representatives that the
president Of the railroad company
receives a salary of $4,000 a year
and that the company has a surplus
of 100000, are ridiculous. In his
letter the auditor says:
"In the first place, the statement
that Daniel r. Sortwell, president
of the company, was a Harvard 1911
man and left college to accept the
presidency of this road is incorrect,
he having been graduated from Har-
ward in the class OF 1907 and having
been since he left college in the m
ploy of Estabrook & Co., bankers,
until the death of his father last
March, when he assumed the care of
his fathers estate as administrator
and succeeded his father as presi-
dent of the Montpelier & Wells River
railroad.
"The statement that this road pays
it's president a salary of $4,000 a
year is ridiculous, and the legislator
making such statement should have
known that it was untrue, as the
annual report made to the public SER
vice commission of Vermont for the
zeal ending June 30, 1909, on hle IN
the office of the commission at Mont
pelier, and from which the figures
relative to surplus were evidently
taken, shows that the total amount
charged during that year for salaries
and expenses of general officers Tin
which the presidents salary is re-
quired to be included) aggregated
only $5,514.75.
"As to the further statement made
that this railroad pays 100000 a year
in dividends, it actually paid no divi-
dends for a period of IL years from
1890 to 1902, and in that period ac-
%cumulated a surplus from which divi-
dends of 5 per cent, or $4,000 per
year, were paid during the years
1908 to 1908 inclusive, but during the
years 1909 and 1910 dividends of
only 2h per cent, or 100000 per
year were paid and the net in
come of the company for the
year ending June 30, 1909, was only
SIS, 3O9.27, or $690.73 less than the
21b per cent. dividend paid.
The balance sheet of june 30, 1909,
as shown in the report to the pub
lie service commission, does show a
balance of assets in excess of liabili-
ties of $216 1886, but does not show
undivided earnings, as stated, OF
$4,000, or any other amount; and
this same balance sheet shows that
OF this surplus of $216,9S5, Sl69,362
is represented by the excess of cash
of road and equipment over it's cap
ital stock of $S00,0 900, and that a fur
ther amount of S49,474 is represent
ed by stock of materials and sup
plies on hand, the current available
assets and current liabilities at
June so. 1909, being respectively
$31,S23 and $~2S,337.13, showing a net
balance of current assets over liza
bilities of ~$2,9S5.S7.
"The Sortwell estate, which does
not own the road, as stated, but
does own a large majority of the
stock of the company, would be very
happy if the statements made as to
the road being the richest in the
world inproportion to it's size and
having a large available surplus We're
true, but the facts do not bear cat
any such statement, as is clearly
shown above.
Regarding the allegations made
that the passenger tariff is high, we
have only to say that we consider
the rate a fair one and will en-
deavor to prove this contention If
officially called on to do So"