The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-10-23

New Haven, Oct. 23-Just before
the conclusion of the annual meeting
,of the stockholders Of the New York,
New Haven and Hartford railroad at
Harmonic hall yesterday afternoon
President Howard Elliott told the
stockh o1ders in spirit of frankness
that they must make up their minds
to get along with a four per cent.
dividend for q few years and that
then the road would begin to go back
to where it belonged. He said ne
thought it better to tell them. now
just what he thought would happen.
The meeting was not SO lively ses-
sion as that held in the Yellow
building last August when the stock
holders authorized the directors to Is
sue $67,oOo,0O0 in debentures but
while there was not SO much of the
pyrotechnics there was just as much
of interest and the things done and
the announcements made were OF far
greater public interest.
& The board of directors as submit
ted to the stockholders was elected
but it was noticeable that many of
the directors who were more or less
intimately connected with the Me1len
regime received from 10000 to $4,000
votes less than others. The directors
who fell short that number of votes
were William Rockefeller, 10000
Charles F. BROKER, $4,000: A Heaton
Robertson and Frederick E. Brewster,
~, 900: Henry K. Mc1arg. 12,000;, 7.
Dewitt Cuyler. 11,00e; Samuel Reas
II, 600; J. p. Morgan. 5000; John T.
Pratt. 10000; James L. Richards,
~, 600 and Ga1en l.. Stone 1000.
Arthur T. Had1ey was two short of
"a unanimous vote. President Howard
Elliott and Hustis alone of all the di-
rectors received unanimous vote
The Opposition broke all presidents as
to size.
One of the features Of the meet
ing was the fact that the stockholders
did not approve of the acts Of the
board of directors and the executive
committee since the last annual meet
ing. This matter of the approval Of
the actions Of the directors and execu-
tive committee was tied up with the
approval of the annual financial state
r1ent in the call but after the direct
ors had been attacked by two or three
speakers it was proposed to divide the
question so that the meeting could
first vote upon the financial statement
and then upon the acts Of the direc-
tors. Director T. Dewitt Cuyler of
Philadelphia then declared that the
directors were not at all interested in
the matter of approval of their acts
which must stand as the record
showed them and his motion that that
part Of the combined question be
statement was then approved by a.
vote of 1859, 900 shares to 1913.
Morgan B. Buckley cast the latter.
In answer to q, question by Watson
Davis of Stonington, President Elliott
declared that former President MelIen
was not receiving a cent from the
road for his services. Later in the
meeting he explained that when the
arrangement was made whereby Mr..
Me1len was to give his advisory ser
vices to the road some monetary COM
pensation was suggested but that on
Monday last Mr.. Me1len had written
that he would accept no money from
the road for whatever services he
had to give.
Morgan G. Buckley announced
that he intended to appeal from the
decision of the public service com
mission of Massachusetts, In granting
the road permission to Issue the $751;
O0O, 900 in debentures, and he attack
led the roads financial policy, the
stockholders protective committee
and the Boston committee, which, he
said, had been made up for the sole
purpose of corraling stock for the di-
rectors.
Clarence H. Venner, whose reputa-
ton as corporation batter had pre-
coded him, was one of the figures of
the meeting. He became a stockhoId-
er on September 8. He has figured
in the Pujo congressional money trust
investigation and in other probes. He
started trouble early in the meeting
by demanding all the minutes of the
meetings of the board Of directors
and the executive committee. Presi-
dent Elliott told him 1t would take
two or three days to read them, but
that he was perfectly willing to an
swer any specific question upon the