The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-10-01
Dinner TO PRESIDENT ELLIOTT
Extracts From Address By
Vice-President of Boston
Chamber of Commerce.
Comments Upon Retirement of
A Financial BOnaparte"
And the Bismarck of
New EngIand''-Why
Was, AS, Alleged,
S25O,OOO Paid
To Him?

and Acting President OF the Boston
Chamber of Commerce at the Dinner
of the Chamber to Howard Elliott,
President of the New Haven Rail
road, September 30.)
| In the domain of railroad trans
portation New England has witnessed
the end of an era. The financial 30
| naDarte of the western world has
PASSED into history. The Bismarck
of New England railroad un1fcation
| has retired to his estates Shall we
say: 1.-The king is dead ?'' If So
| then: long live the State! For the
State is all of us, and only as a
State can we WELD a power common
| sl1rate with that of syn Dictated capital
| or organized labor.
/ 1t is of good omen for future leg
| islation that a public inquiry
| just been held in this city by mem
| Der of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission surrounded by representa-
tives of the public service commits
/ sions of four states as assessors. 1t
| is an undertaking of high statesman
ship t'to bring about uniformity OF
| Hesitation and more concerted action
/ between the different New England
states or their railroad commissions
in the handling of, transportation
problems which are essentially New
| England problems This undertak-
| ing entrusted to the Directors by a
vote of the Chamber last April viii
| be steadfastIy promoted to the best
of their ability. 1t cannot be per
| ne+uaIlv established that the
New, Haven Railroad shall have
majority of its directors necessarily
citizens of Connecticut and yet shall
need the sanction of Massachusetts
commission for it's new issues of Sc
curities.
whenever the New England states
or most of them come to the same
way of thinking concerning the rail-
hot a h.
lie is effective in supervision in pro-
portion as it is more cooperative
financially and in other ways. It re-
q1ires no banking syndicate to under
write the public. debt of Massachu-
setts Massachusetts, does not find
it necessary to maintain it's credit by
a marriage contract with single
powerful firm of bankers, and then
pile up a vast amount of obligations
to be taken care of at one time, so
that only by the help of the mar
rage contract and the cooperation
of the most powerful banking houses
in the world can the day be saved.
We think the New England people
are going to insist on the open-door
policy of financing our great New
England public service corporations
"a policy of meeting the cost of per
manent Improvements by the fire.
quent issue of obligations of moder-
ate amounts, SO that the public may
be certain that competition in bid
ding for the securities has had free
play and the offering of bond issues
by our railroads be as simple as the
placing of town or county notes, and
as well safeguarded-
Many of the questions involved in
the management of our railroads are
of a complicated nature-dfmcut to-
explain, and difficult to understand,
but the officials Of the railroad should,
welcome as an opportunity the de-
sire on the part of the public to
learn the facts and understand the
problems, and should exercise great.
patience and perseverance in discuss
ing them fully and cand4dly with the
Commission and with the public. For
example: the public is interested to
| know the facts and the reasons as to.
| the reported payment by the New
Maine Central to the late President
of these companies, of sums said to
aggregate $3.50, 900, including re-
ported allowance to him by the New
Haven of $4,000 annually for the
next five years.
| The managers of the railroads are
quasi public, servants, and the public
wants to know, and has a right to
know, at the proper time, and in the
proper way. about their plans and
policies. If the mana cement of our
railroads admits this theory and acts
upon it, the public will rectprocate
by. treating the railroads fairly in1re-
turn. We shall not forget that even
! though engaged in a quasi public
business, the railroads of New Eng
land have been built almost entirely
! mot with public but with private
funds, nor that those who have put
money Into railroad investmen ts are
entitled just as much to the enjoy
ment of their property rights and to
a, fair return upon their outlay as
/ W. in
er legitimate business enterprise. E1v-
en- now, the public will do well to
maintain and. strengthen its assur-
lance of the fine condition and sp1en-
did earning power of the foremost
New England railroad property. A
| needless distrust in this respect mere
lily weakens the credit and increases
the fixed charges of the corporation.
That service rendered and rates
| charged have a proper correspon-
dence is another truisIn which we
must hold to even if it forces us to
admit the justice of partial or gen
eraI increase in rates. Steel cars
supplied on rush orders come high
and bring no immediate additional
revenue. That such renewals of
equipment Will hereafter be made in
part at least out of earnings, and
| that operating expenses will show an
adequate depreciation charge may be
confidently expected; but the public
rates. must do it's part. No increase
in rates can be made without affect
| ing some person or business, but the
temper of the public indicates that
necessary increases will be submit
| ted to If they conduce to greater safe
ty of operation and better manage
] Inent of the railroads business as
| such, quite apart from the supposed
advantages of consolidation or unfit
cation of mana cement from the
standpoint of high finance. The in
terests of stockholders, creditors,
shippers and passengers must be
/ weighed and harmonized, but if it be
| true that eighty-one per cent. of the
| outstanding New Haven stock is held
| and Seventy-ffVe per cent. of the
share holders live in New England,