Comeback

Staunchly the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co. strode toward financial stability during 1925. Stockholders during: the week applauded their officers for showing the relatively large working capital of $19,306,729 left over from the year's operations.

Everyone recalls the hullabaloo raised during the War about the road's finances. Stock for years had been held throughout New England. Many widows, many orphans found it their sole heritage. By 1914 the system lay as a net over the New England states. It controlled or had goodly interests in many transportation lines--steam and electric roads, steamship companies. But that year the Federal and the Massachusetts Governments insisted on dissolution proceedings, ordered certain stock holdings placed in trusteeship. At the same time the financial knots that lashed together the control had become vastly complicated. Too many electric lines had been bought. In 1917 the $45,000,000 of notes from the N. Y., N. H. & H. fell due. Stock quotations fell into the 20's. Bankers stopped the seemingly inevitable debacle by issuing collateral trust notes for one year. But inherently the railroad was a strong one, with excellent equipment. Errors of expansion for the most part caused the trouble. President Howard Elliott worked valiantly for a comeback. Later Edward J. Pearson took his place. Now President Pearson can point to this progress:

......................CURRENT ASSETS....CURRENT LIABILITIES....WORKING CAPITAL Dec. 31, 1921.........$31,519,276.......$30,232,039............$1,287,238 Dec. 31, 1922..........26,761,108........22,301,420.............4,459,688 Dec. 31, 1923..........26,462,224........18,792,739.............7,669,485 Dec. 31, 1924..........29,599,204........16,651,290............12,947,914 Dec. 31, 1925..........34,578,343........15,271,614............19,306,729