Evening star., 1942-04-26
SaIaryCriiic Siirs
Meeting Of North
American Co.
Philadelphia Lawyer
HeckIed by Other
Stockholders
By the Associated Press.

NEW YORK. April 25.-The tenn
perature in the room where the
stockholders Of the North Ameri-
can Co. were holding their annual
meeting today shot right up 10 the
boiling point when Edward M
OBrien, a redheaded Philadelphia
lawyer, arose and demanded to
know:
Why some of the officials Of the
company. whose subsidiaries are
among the largest utility firms in
the country. couldn't take salary
cut and why they couldn't put more
Of their earnings into the companys s
stock.
Until that moment the meeting
had been very quiet, but when
OBrien's questions were greeted
with cries Of "Sit down, sit down, y
he waved both arms and, facing the
room, declared:
I'm wise to these meetings.
They're padded. Most Of the people
here are company men
That was too much for E. L. Shea,
company president, who immedi-
ately asked every one in the room
not on the company payroll to stand
up. Practically the entire room
arose.
Critic Is Questioned.
Then a chorus of stockholders
demanded that O'Brin disclose how
many shares of stock he had in the
company. He said he had 5000
shares. but this was the first meet
ing of the company's stockholders
he had ever attended.
OBrien said. among other things:
"I know the stockholders are TAX
ing a beating. Why can't some OF
the officials take a cut?"
But. when O'Brien subsided,
Frank B. Hilb who said he was a
commercial automobile body builder
now without the material to con-
tinue his work, said he thought the
company was doing things all right.
This opinion was echoed by sew
eral of the other stockholders.
Shea announced that during the
IL months ended March 81 the
company had earned sl95 a share
on its common stock, compared with
SITS a share for the same period
a year ago.
For the first quarter of this year,
he said. the system produced earn
ings equal tC 50 cents a share, COM
pared with 38 cents for the same
quarter of 194l
He said the earnings so reported
were on the basis of the l941 Fed
eral income tax law. He continued:
Future Uncertain.
Based on the results achieved by
our consolidated subsidiaries>for the
first quarter Of 1912, the amount of
Federal taxes on income computed
for the quarter at the 194l rates
could be increased by approximately
Is per cent without reducing their
net income below that for the first
quarter of 1941,
1T is unwiSe, however, to attempt
to predict what the results will be
over the remainder Of the year.
He warned. moreover, of re-
duction in the common dividend
following any decrease in the parent
concerns dividend income from its
subsidiaries.
u see no reason" he said. why
We should change the practice we
followed last year of paying out
substantially the equivalent Of our
cash income"
Referring to the Securities and
Exchange Commission order April 4
specifying that the North American
Cos utility investments be reduced
to the Union Electric Co. of Mis-
souri, as its single operating system,
Shea said:
We will make every effort to
formulate plans that meet with the
views Of the commission and at the
same time protect your interests as
stockholders "
-Four board members were re-
elected: Frank H. Schneider. James
F Fogartv. John G. Johansen ano
Harrison Williams.