The Connecticut labor news., 1922-01-20
Road and Its Bankers" Confer on Refunding Plan While for Some Weeks Yankee Finan- ciers Have Been Seek ing Control of Prefer red Securities to Dust Stock JObbers.

New England business, manu- featuring and financial interests are going 10 save the "NeW Ha- ven Road from further ravages by Wall street and other stock watering interests, if that be pos sible. They are doing it not only as a matter of pride but as one of necessity, realizing that upon the stability of the great New England carrier is their own saf- ety pending and that any further stock watering or s'mOnkeying" with the financial affairs of the company will only spell ruin for the road and ldshy of the iHduss tries that 1t serves. The only thing standing in their way is the so- called European Loan" which is now distributed pretty gener- ously about France and because of the condition of that country is especially hard to pick up. This loan originally amounted to some twenty-seven millions dollars but only about one-half is now held abroad. All the other outstand- ing bonds have been, it is said, safely corralled and if the French bonds can be gotten, then the New Englanders will assume the whole lot and try to put the road back to where 1t once was and Origi- nally intended to be-a New Eng land owned, controlled and oper- ated railroad.
 The daily papers of the past week contained articles about conferences be- tween the railroad and fits bankers" rela- tive to meeting the maturity of the Euro pean loan which comes on April 1. Ac- cording to these reports no dehnate plans were made but two suggestions were brought forth. One was a refunding of the loan by new issues of bonds to be sold to the public and the second possi- ble extension of the loan with further aid from the government in meeting the interest and other charges. Of course the usual buncOmbe of 1t all depending on the Interstate Commerce Commission and revision of rates and wages was handed out and then a little more added to the effect that the hope of selling the new issues to the public now was not lover hopeful"
 That not lover hopeful" was a mouth full in the ordinary news columns but could have been swallowed easily by the public at large had it read the following paragraph from the financial column of one of the leading New York financial papers: "The refunding issues of bonds +4 ha E,1r0neor 1oar uy11l he easily subscribed, many of the industrial and financial interests in New England states already having given assurance that they are ready to take part in the sub- Scription"
 For some weeks it has been known ir1 Connecticut financial circles that a group of New Englanders were buying up the New Haven road bonds held in the Unit ed States and had secured control of practically all of them and that all that was needed was to get hold of the French loan That loan was made in 1907 amid much eclat, the papers being filled witt accounts of the ceremony attending the signing, sending and final delivery of the bonds to France and it's citizens. In 1916 part of this loan was brought back to the United States when France, needing the money for the war, sold her bonds The rest some 9l4,OOO,oOO IS SCdttCIC GU LII louSl France and for weeks efforts have beer on to get this together and bring ii back also. Just how far this has pro- gressed only those on the inside know.
 The plan of the New England mer surely calls for an issue of bonds to re fund those they are to take in. Their plan however, as being worked out, calls for an issue that will be down to rock bottom and assure those who under write it that they and the New Haver road will be taken care of SO far as these preferred securities are concerned.