| Annual Report of the Mississippi &
Tennessee RR |
| as of October 1, 1865, |
| President's Report |
| |
| Office Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad
Company |
| Memphis, November 8, 1865 |
| |
| The last annual report made
to the stockholders of this company was at Grenada, Mississippi, in
November, 1862. Since that period, on account of the distraction
incident to civil war, there has been no meeting of the stockholders,
and hence no election of officers. This report, in consequence, will
embrace the general outlines of the history of the railroad and its
operations up to the 1st of October last, the end of the last
corporate year. The details may be seen in the two reports of our
general superintendent, A. S. Livermore, now submitted, one embracing
two years from the 1st of October, 1862, and the other embracing this
last corporate year. |
| Our road was completed on the
4th of July, 1861. Ever since its completion our country has been
desolated by one of the grandest civil wars recorded in the annals of
history. The road has been partially operated in the midst of that
civil war, though a belt of country that divided the hostile armies --
exposed to irruptions and raids from each army, and with the streams
of commerce dried up or diverted from their accustomed channels. Under
such circumstances, could we expect to present a very flattering
account of its history? or could we expect to save a great deal out of
the general shipwreck that was visited upon nearly every individual
and corporation of the south? |
|
However much, though, our road may have suffered from the
disasters of the civil war, its condition is by no means desperate,
and perhaps will be found better than the great majority of the
railroads of the south. By forbearance of creditors, (and surely we
may expect forbearance, if such is their interest,) and by future good
management, the road will survive its misfortunes, and in a few years
will be a handsome and productive property in the hands of the
stockholders.
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| ***** |
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The superintendent's report made the 1st October, 1864,
which will be submitted to you, shows that the gross receipts of the
road for the two preceding corporate years amounted to $240,945.27,
and the operative expenses $100,414.51, leaving as net earnings for
the two years $140,531.76. The receipts from all sources for the year
ending the 1st of October, 1862, were $218,887.53. The operative
expenses for same year were $116,203.92, leaving net earnings of
$102,683.62.
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By these tables you will see that the net earnings of the
road, subject to deduction of the salaries of the president, treasurer
and bookkeeper, since October 1, 1861 the date of our last printed
report, amounted to $305,173.99. Of this amount the company lost of
confederate and State of Mississippi circulation on hand the
|
| Sixth of May last |
$12,300.00 |
| Confederate 4 per cent. bonds |
72,820.00 |
| Confederate transportation and freight account |
42,400.00 |
| Confederate mail service |
12,029.07 |
|
Aggregating |
139,549.07 |
|
|
The balance, after paying the salaries of the head
officers of the company, amounting to $17,200, was appropriated to the
payment of the interest on funded debt of the company, and other
debts. All payments of salaries of officers and debts of the company
were paid off in this currency at par, although greatly depreciated.
If collections could have been made of the paymasters of the
confederate government, the large balances due from it could have been
applied to the extinguishment of debts and improvement of the road.
Our treasurer made energetic efforts to accomplish this purpose, and
perhaps effected as much in collecting from reluctant speculating
paymasters, in proportion to the debts incurred, as any other southern
railroad.
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The reason why the 4 per cent. bonds belonging to the
company were not sold, and their proceeds applied to the payment of
its debts, was, because the company, under a revenue law of the
confederate government, was liable for an amount of taxes equal to the
amount of 4 per cent. bonds on hand, and in case the war had
continued, and the country remained in possession of the military
forces of the confederacy, these taxes would have had to be paid, and
they were reserved for that purpose.
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The report of the general superintendent will show in
detail the damage done the road by military forces. On the line of the
road we had thirteen Howe truss bridges, aggregating in length 2,844
feet -- of these all were destroyed except three of the smallest; two
beam truss bridges, both destroyed; eighty-four different pieces of
trestles, whose aggregate lengths are equal to 13,330 feet, or two and
one-half miles -- nearly all destroyed or rotten. These bridges and
trestles we have nearly replaced with new work. I think, in the course
of the next six or eight weeks, we shall have all the work done,
including the Howe truss bridges across Tallahatchie and Yalobusha
rivers.
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On the first of May last we only operated thirty miles of
road; *****
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As to rolling stock, on the 1st of October, 1861, we had
six locomotives, nine passenger cars, two mail and two baggage and
express cars, thirty-seven box cars, and sixty-eight platform cars.
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Of this original stock we have saved five locomotives,
six passenger and one baggage car, and about twenty box and platform
cars. Under the circumstances we may be deemed fortunate in saving as
much as we have, and it was done by the energy and care of the
officers and employees of the company. In the early period of the war
our rolling stock was virtually under the control of confederate
quartermasters, post commanders, and provost marshals for several
months, and, short as the period of their control was, they nearly
consummated its destruction. They would order off our cars to distant
points on other roads, from whence they would seldom or never return.
At times we would not have a single freight car left on the road, and
although we sent agents repeatedly over the country to collect and
bring back our cars, they met with little success. The wrecks of our
freight cars are scattered over nearly every State in the south and
are irretrievably lost to the company. Those that remain, including
passenger cars, will require a great deal of work and expense to put
them again in good running order.
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*****
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In the year terminating the 1st October, 1861, in which
year the entire road was operated only three months, the gross
receipts were $215,187.25. The net receipts of the same year were
$116,289.43.
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*****
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We estimate that about one-half the change bills,
$115,150.95, issued by the company, have gone out of existence. *****
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At the date of our last published report, 1st October,
1861, our funded debt consisted of the following items:
|
| First mortgage bonds (7 per cent.) |
$400,000 |
| Income bonds (10 per cent.) |
147,000 |
| Loan of State of Tennessee (6 per cent.) |
95,000 |
| Loan of State of Mississippi (8 per cent.) |
200,000 |
|
Aggregating |
842,000 |
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*****
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At that date, 1st October, 1861, the floating
indebtedness of the company amounted to $625,242.97. The floating
indebtedness at this date, exclusive of reconstruction and equipment
debts recently incurred, amounts to $655,575, being and increase of
only $30,000 during the four years of war. One-half of this debt
consists of change notes issued by the company and accumulated
interest on the funded debt. This interest we regularly paid in the
then currency of the country when applied for, but on account of its
constant depreciation in value, bondholders at last declined applying
for payment of their due interest.
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The company had $200,000 of its first mortgage bonds
deposited with the State of Mississippi as collateral security for a
loan of that amount by the State. $105,000 of this debt fell due in
June, 1863; the balance of the debt became payable a few months
afterwards, and has been discharged by sale of a portion of the bonds
deposited.
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F. M. White
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President
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