The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-24
PROF. FARNAM'S LETTER
Criticises sENew Haven Man
agement In Many Ways
WAS WRITTEN TO
HON. M. G. BULKELEY
That Boston protective Com
mittee" Is Denounced.

4Cc1SOH ItIStI L take the liberty OF aQ-
dressing you. For the sake of brew
fty and clarity, I will express my con-
victions. These offer with due diff
f1dence embodying the conclusions
to which I have been forced by my
study of the facts But nv mind is
entirely open to additional evidence
and if any is presented which shows
me to be mistaken, I will cheerfully
acknowledge my error.
l. The management of the railroad
has for several years past been of
such a character as not only to call
forth great deal Of criticism on the
part of the public, but as to turn
handsome surplus into a deficit, which
is stated in the recent report of the
president to amount to about s., 00o-
900 for the past year The scathing
criticisms of the Interstate CONNIE cree
Commission are doubtless familiar,
and need not be referred to. Such a
record in period of commercial pros
perity can, it seems to me, be only
partially explained by some of the rea-
sons such as the exactions of the trade
unions, the limitations of the law, etc,
which we have heard.
2. As much of the public criticism
seemed to converge on Mr.. IeIlen, he
resigned the presidency of the railroad
in July, and his successor was ap-
pointed. Excepting for this appoint
ment, the directors have done little
to indicate change of policy. When
any. business is conducted at a loss
or with diminishing profits it is the
part of prudence to be economical. Yet
Immediately following Mr.. MelleI's
resignation we were told that the road
proposed to issue $67 ,000, goo of deben-
lures, and to pay commission of
about $780, 900 to a group of bankers
for underwriting it. Soon afterward
it was stated not only that the work
formerly done by Mr.. MelIen as presi-
dent of the entire system was to be
divided among three men, each on a
large salary, but that Mr.. Mellen him
self was to receive for five years a
salary of $50, 900 a year and bonus
of $40, 600 in order to "place at the dis
posaI of the president and directors
such Information as he has acquired
from his long connection with the road
property, and give advice from time
to time a s requested Though many
stories have been published by repu-
table papers, indicating that the direc-
tors and not Mr.. Mellen were respon-
sib1e for some of the things CRITICS.
ed, they have, as far as I have OBJ
served, not taken the trouble to deny
them, and have left the stockholders
to infer that they are true Some of
the things referred to may. be ,juSti-
fed. But when they all seem to point
to a lavish expenditure of money the
stockholder feels that he is at least
entitled to explanation.
8. The so-ca11ed shareholders com
mittee which seemed a promising or
ganization in the beginning, is now
considered by many people to be mere
ly a device for indirectly securing
proxies for the directors. This is in
Dictated by the fact that the commit
tee expect their expenses to be paid
out of the treasury of the railroad,
and our directors are not likely to
vote money, even stockholders money,
for what they do not want.
Moreover, the Old Colony Trust Co.
which was the moving spirit in form
ing the committee is interested in the
underwriting syndicate, and has upon
its board of directors several mem
bers of the committee. It is clear,
therefore, that while the Boston COM
mittee may give some much needed
advice to the directors it can hardly
be said to be in a position to render
to the stockholders disinterested ser
vice.
a. The new president has made a
most favorable impression upon the
stockholders and upon the general
public, but I believe that we can act
wisely in the future only by remem-
bering the lessons of the past, and
those whose memories extend back
over ten years will recall that when
Mr. Mellen came to the presidency of
the road, he gave utterance to views
as broadminded and as enlightened as
those which we have recently. heard
from Mr. Elliott. At one time, he
even spoke of coming before the Leg
fs1ature with clean ha1ds. If, in
spite of these declarations, a man of
such unquestioned ability and such
strong personality was forced into a
position where he himself declared
1--WE simply had to pay by the nose
to settle with everybody and every
thing and it came pretty near set
thing me-: if as the interstate COM
merce commission stated, $4,000, 900 of
our money vanished into thin air in
connection with the Westchester en-
terprise, does not this show that, how
ever able president we may nave,
the directors are, after all, the ones
who are responsible and that we can
not better show our appreciation of
Mr. Elliott than by giving him the
right kind of support
5. Everything points, therefore, to
the importance of the stockholders
meeting which occurs on the ~22d.
While have reason to believe that
the management as a whole does not
enjoy the confidence of the stockhold-
ers, 1 do not think it reasonable to
suppose that every one of the direct
ors is equally responsible. The inter
state commerce commission and some
of the periodicals have published the
names of the directors in extenso, ap-
parently with a view of holding them
up to the public gaze, as if they were
in pillory. I see no practical advan-
tage to the stockholders in the pillory-
An ounce of discrimination is worth
a pound of denunciation. What we
need to know is who among these oil
reetors can be counted upon to look
out for our interests, and who can
not. If we are to vote inte1ligently.
we ought to know what interests a di-
rector has which may conflict with his
duties to the road. We ought to know
how large his holdings are, and wheth-
er he has been selling out his stock
or standing by the. road. We ought
to know something of his personal
Characters tics, especially of his cour-
age and his integrity. In board
welding such immense power over tho
whole of New England, we should not
be content with the kind of honesty