Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-03-03


ton. This is balanced by the fact that
the first figures included all the cars
and locomotives with which the road
was equipped.
The figures for 1910 are not available
in I'll, Railroad Commissioners report.
but have an abstract of them from
the report of the railroad itself. In
1909 the total funded Indebtedness was
So 900. out of this amount s2jI0G00
We're stock. the rest was bonds. Be
tween Jure 80. 1909, and June 20. 1910.
S+67 miles of road was built. Tie
amount of stock went up from $3.50
O0o TO s3,O04.200. In that year St67 miles
of road were built and an issue or
stock $4,000 per mile was issued against
it. If you will look mp the net earning
You will find that it is roughly true
tat since 1903 the indebtedness has in
creased twice as fast as the net earn
in@a.
What is the explanation of this in
creased cost? / say To You frankly here
the explanation is that the .Aroostook
Construction Company, composed
largely of influential stockholders OF
the H. & i. and it's largest holder of
stock, has maae contracts with the
tensions FOL u certain amount Of bonds
and stock per mile, and then proceed
ed. acting as ii construction company.
to Sub-let to contractors who have
built tile road for less than the bond
Issue per mile. and the construction
company has pocketed the $1,000 per
mile Of stock, and whatever difference
there was between the bond issue and
Of hp
sides.
This construction company was or
caniZed in 1891, With capital stock of
s5naJ0. do not know what il is worth
tudar. None can be bought. ! do not
know what dividends they pay They
do /. It have to report to anybody, They
hane all the rights Of railroad cor
poration. with none Of its responsible
iticS.
do know that at the present time
out of $1,000 2l1. of stock issues by
the q. & A., the Aroostook Construc-
ton Company holds s26.499 shares $"
that computing the value Of their
stock and what it is supposed to be
| the value of the Il. IL a. stock, the
| par yalue is 800. per share and IS now
| worth 500. per share.
| Ill UtiieF WOrUS tIlc SitudtiOH 10 tliiEs
| that certain stockholders of the +. x
| 4. acting as Il construction company
| have constructed mile after mile OF
| new road sold II. as Il construction
| company to themselves as n raiiroad
| company. made a large profit and the
| difference is paid by every man who
| ships anything over the road IN the
| shape of freight.
| Now | say that the objection which
| the people have TO the further con-
| tinuancc nf this extension is simply
| based on the well known fact that for
| the increased Indebtedness whether
| properly or improperly made, the
| railroad corporation must necessarily
! increase it's earning power. When
! complaint is made about freight
| charges and any shipper goes to
| Washington before the Interstate
| Commerce Commission. tha Commits
! sien will inquire what the railroad
| corporation paid for the extension,
and equipment. And it is pretty diff
| cult to soy tat While the railroad
| paid $4,000. per mile the cost was not
| over fifteen or sixteen thousand dol
| lars per mile. Til" railroad viii state
| they paid $4,000 and tha shippers
| lave got to pay the interest on Ill.
| That is tllle not only as Il matter of
| theory. but it is true in fact as con-
| cernins the l.. x ~, for with its in
| crease IN securities, this Watering OF
| bonds and stocks has come and is
| coming every year an increased bur
| den to the shippers OF the road.
In the first place it is fair to say
| that the freight rates on the road are
| larGt-tlIcy are high. l think it is
| fair to say they are higher than
| freight rates on any road near its
| size ON the Atlantic -seaboard. and
| these rates have always been defend
| Cd because it was Il country road. etc.
| ] want To read some of the freight
| rates: candy. Boston to Caribou.
rate IS =, per 100 lbs: Rangor TO Carl
| Ion. efc. Hardware, Boston to Carl
bop, soc. par 100 lbs. bangor to Carl
| bou Gic, Soap. from Portland tllrougl.
to Caribou, 49c. Iloulton TO Caribou.
SOC. Oleo.. Boston to Caribou Csc
Bangor to Caribou the same rate.
| Grain. i'll carload lots, Northern Maine
| jet. to Ft. Fairfield Junct., where
I there is competition, $70.59; to Ft
/ Fairfield fourteen miles further on
where there is competition. $50 50
| Sl5.0o less Oh Il carload.
| The rate On potato sacks from
lIoulton to New Limerick six miles
is He per 100: from Houlton to Mars
llill, twenty-five miles, 31c. per 100
The rate Oh the same commodity from
Chicago TO Boston is only 55c. per
100.
The rate on fertilizer, carload lots.
i irou Maple Grove to Fair,naunt, two
miles, $1,000. The rate Oh fertilizer
from Fort Fairfield to Caribou. IS
1 miles, $500
A shipment of straw was made in
less than Il carload lot from Ashland
to Eagle Lake less than 81 miles: the
rate of freight was 1880 per ton. Con
\ slderinE that straw is only worth five
or six dollars ton. this rate seems
| high. The freight On Il single sewing
:, machinc from New Jersey to Bangor
was 55r. The rate on the same ma
chine from Bangor to Caribou was
500
II The rate on tobacco from Detrcit.
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