[639] Curiously enough the sale did not extinguish the old Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Some 25,000 or more shares did not assent to the reorganization plan and are still outstanding. They assert that it is because of them that the old organization is kept up.
[640] From 1898 to 1907 inclusive. This does not include advances to subsidiary companies, which have aggregated nearly $20,000,000.
[641] The average train load in 1907 was 406.77 tons; that in 1898 was 264.59 tons.
[642] Chron. 83:1524, 1906; Ibid. 84:103, 1907. The new issue is to go in part for improvements previously made out of income. The directors have adopted the questionable policy of charging all such expenditures to capital account.
[643] For this and for an account of the Northern Securities episode see B. H. Meyer, A History of the Northern Securities Case, Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, July, 1906.
[644] Annual Report, 1901.
[645] The dividends declared by the Northern Pacific Railway have been:
| 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common stock | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5½ | 7 | 6¾ | 7 | 7 | 5¼[A] | ||
| Preferred stock | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
[A] Including August.
[646] Poor’s Manual, 1878. The name was first the Rock Island & La Salle Railroad Company, and was changed to the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad Company in February, 1851.