COMMERCE AND FINANCE, AMERICAN, IN 1881. 



131 



for railroad securities, which began early in the 

 year and supported an unprecedented expan- 

 sion of the total volume of values. Severe 

 snow blockades, a large falling off of the corn 

 and wheat traffic compared with 1880, and 

 freshets in the early spring, coupled with the 

 critical condition of the money market, caused 

 fluctuations in the first quarter of the year. 

 When it was found that the railroads were 

 taking in more money than the year before, 

 that passenger traffic and miscellaneous freight 

 showed a remarkable increase, the confidence 

 in the future became general. For the first 

 three months the gross earnings upon a mileage 

 15 per cent greater were over 9 per cent in 

 excess of those of the same part of 1880. In 

 April the receipts of wheat and corn began to 

 exceed those of the previous year, and the rail- 

 roads reported 25 per cent greater earnings 

 than in the April of 1880. 



Between the 1st of January and the 1st of 

 September the total amount of stocks and 

 bonds for the construction of new lines or 

 branches of railroad or of telegraphs amounted 

 to $390,312,200. The cash payments under- 

 taken by the subscribers, extending through 



the year and through a good part of 1882 in 

 the cases of some of the heavier loans, amount 

 in all to $234,683,000. Besides these issues 

 placed upon the market there were others, 

 amounting to at least 15 per cent in addition, 

 which were subscribed privately by large com- 

 panies for the construction of tributary lines. 

 For improvements, purchase of other roads, 

 and on consolidations, $243,684,200 of stocks 

 and bonds were issued, calling for an estimated 

 amount of $155,194,200 in cash. The aggre- 

 gate cash requirements of the new issues for 

 the first eight months of the year were thus 

 $389,877,200, covering the remainder of the 

 season and a portion of the next. There were 

 issued in addition, in the form of stock divi- 

 dends or otherwise, $26,933,700 of stocks and 

 bonds which called for no cash payments. 

 The grand total of the financial adventures in 

 extending and improving the means of inter- 

 communication taken up in the market during 

 the first eight months of the year amounted to 

 $389,877,200 in engagements for cash pay- 

 ments, and $660,930,100 in certificates of in- 

 debtedness and ownership given therefor, di- 

 vided as follows : 



Of the subscriptions for the construction of 

 new roads, the mortgage bonds were sold at or 

 near par. and called for full value in cash. The 

 income bonds and stock were added as a bo- 

 nus, except $13,500,000 cash subscriptions for 

 stock. The amount of cash capital provided 

 for new lines and extensions is therefore $234,- 

 683,000. For the increase of stocks and bonds 

 issued on consolidation, some $155,194,200, 

 as recited above, are payable. The third class 

 represents improvements made out of surplus 

 earnings or a higher capitalization for politic 

 reasons, and asks for no cash contributions. 

 Some of the largest of the new issues of stocks 

 and bonds for railroad and telegraph construc- 

 tion were as follows: $16,000,000 of mortgage 

 bonds and an equal amount of stock issued by 

 the New York, Chicago and St. Louis com- 

 pany, and taken by a syndicate for the con- 

 struction of road between Buffalo and Chicago ; 

 $20,000,000 of Northern Pacific bonds for ex- 

 tensions which will bring the mileage of the 

 road up to 2,600 miles; $12,200,000 of bonds 

 and half that amount of stock of the Oregon 

 Short Line, a spur of the Union Pacific to run 

 into the State of Oregon, length 600 miles; 

 $15,000,000 of bonds and stock to an equal 

 amount of the New York, West Shore, and 

 Buffalo road, which will join the projected line 

 up the west bank of the Hudson; $5,000,000 of 

 mortgage bonds, $5,000,000 of income bonds, 



and $6,250,000 of stock for the new division of 

 the Richmond, Alleghany and Ohio consoli- 

 dated railroads ; $6,000,000 of bonds and the 

 same amount of stock of the new Georgia Pa- 

 cific line from Atlanta to the Mississippi River ; 

 $3,000,000 of bonds and $6,000,000 of stock to 

 extend the Denver and Rio Grande narrow- 

 gauge line ; $6,000,000 of bonds and $3,000,- 

 000 of stock to complete the Denver and Rio 

 Grande system ; $5,000,000 of bonds, accom- 

 panied by stock of the same amount, of the 

 Texas and Pacific Railroad building from Fort 

 Worth to El Paso; $3,000,000 of bonds, and 

 the same amount of stock for the New Or- 

 leans Pacific, a combination of the above from 

 Shreveport to New Orleans; about $6,250,000 

 of bonds and $12,500,000 of stock to carry on 

 the construction of the Southern Pacific ; $7,- 

 500,000 of bonds and stock to the same amount 

 to construct the Mexican National Railway, for 

 which the Palmer-Sullivan concession was 

 granted; $5,715,000 of mortgage bonds, $1,139,- 

 200 of income bonds, and $-4,572,000 of stock 

 of the Mexican Central, for which a Boston 

 syndicate secured concessions ; $10,000,000 of 

 mortgage bonds and $7,000,000 of income 

 bonds of the Atlantic and Pacific line to be 

 built from Albuquerque to the Pacific coast, 

 about 600 miles; $5,000,000 of stock, with 

 bonds of the same amount given as a bonus, to 

 construct new lines of the Mutual Union Tele- 



