The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-12-05
EXPERTS WORK ON NEW HAVEN
 ROADS BOOKS
COMMERCE COM MISSION MEN PROBE MELLEN'S
 FINANCIAL WAYS.
Special Attention to Be Given New England Navigation Go, a Use
 full Subsidiary.

full Subsidiary.
 New Haven, Dec 5-It is reported that nine expert examiners of the United States governments interstate commerce commission are hard at work in the big yellow brick buildings which house the general offices of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company in this city. on an investigation of the financial methods by which Charles s. MeIIen, the presi
 dent of the road has built up his traf- fic monopoly in New England These experts hope to make their report by the first of February, when, if they succeed, the public will learn. what for the last five years MeIlen has manag- ed to keep @ secret,
 The investigation Of the. Union Pa cific, ins, 1907, by, the interstate com merce commission, provided the basis the Hartman roads, which was decid- ed in favor of the government by the Supreme court last Monday
 In the New Haven investigation particular attention will be given to the New England Navigation Com paIy, 8 concern which has never made a report to any official State body in New England or at Washington, and which, because of it's immunity, until now, against investigation, has been useful to Mellen subsidiary lIIOuSh WEIGH ne cOuId tIdnS9cC I1lSthJ deals, on the books of which he could hide the records of other concerns, and to which he could transfer losses on unprofitable side issues.
 This investigation Just begun in New Haven seems to complete the chain of inquiries into the traffic monopoly of New England It has to do, all most entirely, with finances, and is en- tirely independent of the federal in- quiry in New York into the New Ha- ven-Grand Trunk matter. Of the Mass achusetts campaign against the New Haven Boston & Maine merger, Of the illegal rate proceedings in New Han
 shire, and of the impending legislative action in Rhode Island
 Inquiry Necessary
 Federal activity in New Haven was made necessary by the success of the New Haven road for the last five years in killing in each Legislature a bill requiring all subsidiary companies of railroad corporations to file annual reports with the railroad commission. New Haven subsidiaries, other than the New England Navigation Com are the Millbrook Company, the City and County Contract Company and that curious concern known as the Billiard Company, a Connecticut cor Billiard, to whom the Boston & Maine stock was transferred for the. New Haven in 1907, because, at that time, ven road to hold the shares in it's own name
 At the Boston state house the New England Navigation company is called Mellen,s laundry, because so many are washed through it. This company does own and operate certain steamship lines, but that is by no means the limit of it's activities. It was this company. and not the New Haven direct, which first purchased the Boston and Maine stock, back in 1907 Apparently, :t now holds the Rut- land stock. In 1910 the Massac chu- setts va1idation commission secured a glimpse of it's interior finances and found that it held many things in ad- dition to steamboats.
 One of these things was Charles $. Mellen's personal note for $25, Ooo It's other holdings at that time were New Haven railroad shares valued at s. 941, ,397; Hartford and New York Trans portation company shares and notes valued at $3,719.s54; Merchants and Transportation compa ny's shares and debentures valued at $5, 75O, GOO: Billiard company gold notes valued at s14, ,250.00o. and the Housa- notes valued at S3.965.543 That was all that the validation commission | could learn then. Since them no com 1 mission has succeeded in getting any | whatever.
 What They'll Inquire Into.
 Some of the facts which the | present investiga ton is based are: l
 That the New Haven paid over ss6 l l ton & North Adams Street Railway | company which had never earned a dollar, and which later went into in solvency.
 That the New Haven paid over $149 a share for the Berkshire Street Rafl- way company, which has never paid more than 2 per cen nt-
 That the New Haven paid s329 a share for the stock of the Hartford Street Railway, company. which had not paid more than per cent in any of the five years preceding the sale
 That the New Haven paid $2S7 for the Watered stock of the Rhode Isl and trolley properties, which up to that time had paid no dividends what aver and that, since then the service and equipment have been allowed to deteriorate that dividends might be out.
 That the Connecticut Railway & l Lighting company, practically all Wa ter was leased by the. New Haven at such a stiff rental that it has paid 1 per cent on it's capital stock of fic- titiouts value.
 That these several purchases have been made by the New Haven through l pond issues In other words. this rail- road corpora ton, under the Meflen re- rirne has assumed heavy fixed charges 1 on many millions of funded debt in order to secure possession of other l concerns of. doubtful earning capacity. |
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