The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-23
NEW HAVEN ROAD PREPARES
 TO FIGHT FEDERAL ACTION
 ALTHOUGH HOPING FOR PEACE
President Company, Long Staement
 Directors, Att General
 to Segregation Agreement and Hopes for Compromise.

Q6c1S1Qn.
 Since that time a comrnittee of the directors has conferred with the attorney, general and has explained to him that. the company cannot modify the agreement made with him by making the sale of the Boston & Maine shares subject to the terms i'm posed by the legislature of Ma ssachu- setts. The committee pointed cut that the amount involved is very large that in the Judgment of the directors the condition would seriously sdepre-- 5ciate the value of the stock and that 1t practical lly prevents the sale of these shares except at a great sacri- flee and hampers very seriously all efforts to reorganize the Boston & Maine railroad.
 '' The committee called attention also to the fact that the right which the leg1slature seeks to acquire by the recent act is very different from the power reserved in tle acts incorporat- ing the Boston Holding company, since these gave Massachusetts the power not to buy the Boston 6 Maine shares but only the shares, bonds, notes ana orher evidences of indebt- edneSs issued by the Boston Holding company and this upon condition that it took them all and at the same time relieved the New EIaHen com pa-ny fron all it's obligations as guar antor of those securities The New raven company haS guaranteed the prdnc1paa and dividends on 272 93e shares of preferred stock issued by the holding company of which 28, GOO, worth at par $3, 5000 are odtstand- ing in the hands of the public These shares are all secured by a. lien on the Boston fl Maine shares and the proposed act gives the right to take this security without assumings the New Haven conpany's liabilities as guarantor.
 '' The committee assured the attor- ney general or the cornpany's desire to carry out the compromlse agree ment of. March 21at in all respects but that they could not consents to sacrifice so important and valuable an asset as the Boston & Maine stock, worth in their Judgment more than it's present market value would indi- cate and sorely needed to help pay the present debts Of the company They suggested methods of reaching the result which both parties desire, and in doing. so did all that was in their power to secure a settlement without violating an obligation rec ognized by. the attorney general him self in the original menorandum sof settlement agreed to on January 10th, from which the following words are quoted:
 q. :. The department Of justice, recog- ndzes the obligation sipcumbent. on dd- rectorS to conserve as far as cdrcunn- stances permit the value of it's stock holders property and to protect these stockholders from the Consequences of past acts, and so far as 1t properly may will eudeavor to aid the direc- tors in dschArging these obligatfons'' .s ~ The attorney general has decided that it is his duty to bring his suit flor a dissolution of the system and there is now no existing agreement between him and the represent tatives of the company, but the directors hope that a way will be found after the suit is brought through negotias- tions and action of the court to carry out the compromise agreement and thus achieve a result which all par ties earnestly desire' $