The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-23

The New Haven ra1rOaOs anSWSESA President wilson's letter to Attorney General McReynolds, the attorney generals letter to the President and the governments decision to press the dissolution suit yesterday by saying that the road was willing and wished to proceed with the sale of the Bos- ton & Maine property under the terms of the original agreement and charged that MT. McReynolds had Imposed diff ferent conditions which Nthe directors could not -acQuiesces in. S A
 President Hustis, in an exhaustive statement, made public the position Of the road sin the negutiations with they government and nade-it clear that the directors would not recede from their position, even to avertsthe suit.
 He did, however. say that the direc- tors hope a way will be found after the suit is brought, throS1ga negotias- tions and action of the court @to carry out the compromise agreement and thus achieve a result which all parties earnestly desire.'' 1s Tf
 In hiS letter to the President, MT. McReynolds said that the condition to which the directors objected, name ly that the, Boston & Maine shares be sold and that on each share disposed of be printed a clause providing that the state of asssachusetts might buy the shares back at a price to be fixed by agreement, had existed since 19OS.l
 At the conference with the attor- ney-genera1 on Tuesday MT. Hustis. Arthur T. Hadley and T. Dewitt Guy Ter, representing the New Haven pointed out that this condition could not be met, as 1t would entail great loss both to their road and to the Bos-s ton G Maine ss,
 President Hustis now asserts, in q statement to the stockholders that MT. AfcReynolds is wrong and that this condition did not exist i'm 1909- He says that the New Haven is guarantorS of the Boston Holding company shares which are in turn secured by a lien on the Boston & Maine stock. The pany, he asserts, did not provide that the state could buy back Boston & Maine stock, but simply holding conn pany shares, bonds. notes and other evidences of indebtedness
 .sThe proposed act s(the latest Mas sachusetts enabling actJ gives the right to take this security, pamelys Boston & Maine stock, without as- sunainer the New Haven company,s lia- bilities as guarantor.' 's explains MT Hustis.
 MT. Hustis goes on to charge that MT. McReynolds in the original mem orandurn of settlement agreed to on Ian O. last, recognized the sobligaEion of the New Haven directors to con- serve the value of the stockholders pTODSTCY ana COnCstUIl36 tA1SsL LA4Aks " Ni%AAA not be done if the present conditlons of sale were accepted. 1 pPresident Hustis' staten ent follows: --- sss.fe directors of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Raiiroad com 1 pany desire to make their position en- tireay clear
 .SThey have never refused. but on the contrary have always been willing and anxious to carry out the agree nent with the attorney general made. ozfS March 21, 1914 approved by the stockholders on April 21. and ssanc- l tioned by the governor of Massachu- setts. That agreement was framed to i accomplish two objects, first the sale | of certain properties owned by the company which the attorney general demanded and second the sale to take place at such times and on such terms as Would insure a. return at a fair price. This last object in the judg- ment of the directors will be defeated 1 if the sale of the Boston & Maine stock is made subject to the condi- ton imposed by the legislature of | Massachusetts, and therefore they, have declined to accept it and have stated fully the reasons for their de-' 1 cision.
 They have not refused to carry out any agreement which they have made; but they have refused to change that i agreement as the change would entail on the company very large pecun- tiary loss and at the same time in crease enormously the difficulty of re- | organizing the Boston & Maine rail- 1 road.
 ssAs evidence of the good faith ofsthe directors a representative commitx tee consisting of President Hustis, MT. CuyIer and Dr. Had1ey, accompanied l by MT. MoorfeId Story, counsel in these proceedings, waited on the Att torney general on July 20. and offered I to carry through the settlement in all respects according to the agreement and further in order to meet the dfff5- culty which had. been created by the Massachusetts legislature the commit tee offered to place the control of the Boston Holding company in the hands of the trustees who had been selected by the attorney general and the gov7 ernor of Massa achusetts, with full DOW CT to absolutely control the Boston
 & Maine Railroad until either the Massachusetts legislature passed the necessary legislation >ore the rights of the parties interested were decided by the federal court in proceedings which the company offered to expedite in every way possible.
 ''In making this offer the committee
 Gid everything possible to avoid hostile proceedings without at the same time sa acridcfng the interests of their eshare- holders, and the directors only regret that an offer which seems to them eminent1y fair should not have been accepted. Yet. they cannot but feel a strong hope that a way may be found
 to accomplish the dissolution which
 the attorney-genera1 desires and which the company is willing to accept, on
 terms which do not inf1ict on the shareholders a serious loss.
 The following authorized statement
 will be issued to the stockholders. "-In view of the many exaggerated and false statements which are circu- lated it is proper that your directors
 should lay before you briefly the posi- ton of the company in it's relations with the government.
 'e You authorized your directors to