The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-03-21
ANTI RAILROAD PLOT

(F'rom the New Haven Timee-Leader)
The plot to destroy New England
railroad values seems to be succeed
ing. I
In the old days in countries beyond
the sea they killed men by the slow
torture of letting water, drop by drop,
fall on the victims head until he
died of nervous exhaustion.
New England enemies of the New
Haven railroad system have adopted
the process of slow torture to try and
destroy market values and throttle
finances.
The slump in B. and M. and New
Haven stock values tells its own story.
1t is obvious that the continual agita-
ton of the future of the property Is
having its logical effect. The crit
icisms of, and the attacks on the man
agement of the New Haven have Nm
doubted1y created a feeling of uncer-
tatnty as to the future of dividends on
the Boston and Maine as well as on
the New Haven stock and the small
investor has for months been with
drawing his funds from an enterprise
that seems to meet with nothing but
hostility from political sources.
1t is clear as anything can be that
the declines in the prices for New Ha-
ven and Boston and Maine stocks ana
| the continual questioning of their aDiI-
| ity to continue current dividend pay
| ments are calculated to make it hard
| er and harder to raise the funds nee
| essary for the Improvement of the
| properties, and the additional facifi-
ties needed to provide for a growth IN
the trade of New England
Beyond a doubt there is a gigantic
| conspiracy to Dear the stock of these
New ENGLAND railroad properties.
How much longer public sentiment
| will in any measure support this car
/ nival of destruction time will deter
| mine.
/ It seems absolutely illogical to talk
| and work for a greater New England,
to provide for a larger foreign trade
! and to fight for freight rates that will
add to the volume of New England
manufacturers and, at the same time.
| try to cripple the credit of the COM
panies that must provide the increas-
ed Transportation facilities needed to
II alloy of the growth in commerce for
which so many committees and COM
Il rnerciaI bodies are talking and work
ing The situation has never been
paraIleled. Yet it has been and is
the situation.
!. It is situation which is vitality
important to all who live in New
England.
There is no attempt in any quarter
to advocate that the railways be Civ
en- license to do they please, but
there is a demand that the railways
a
; ed to provide better and larger trans
: portation facilities under up-to-date
state regulation
A railway cannot be built, or re
built, in a day and when the New Ha-
: ven management took hold of the Bos
, ton and Maine it needed rebuilding
= and re-equipping to a large extent. Thu
: work has been going on, many million
7 have been spent and many more ap
! propriated. The price of the stool
has now declined to a point which
makes it seem certain that, aside from
t the New Haven, possibly the stock
: holders will not take the new stool
Y offered at par.
:, The attacks on the management o
;, the company and on many of the di
}, rectors are certainly not calculated
r to make banking interests connect
: ed with the company over-p1eased a
S the prospect of being called upon t.
). do the necessary financing.
t It is time the pirate game was stop
d ped and the people can stop it whel
| they assert the weight of their disap
| provaI of that game as they surel
| will when they fully realize that tn
I destruction of legitimate railroad en-
o terprises means the destruction of NeN
England.