Show NEW ERA IN FINANCE ACCURACY AND PUBLICITY PROVES TO BE A POPULAR MOTTO prompt re response S bomse to bold move mova of Preal president cle nt va vail I 1 1 ac accuracy cu racy reduced western unions surplus publicity restored confidence and its stock went up are tho great financiers of the tha country beginning to see a new light time was until recently in fact when the men at the head of the big corporations po rations kept their business to themselves as far as the law would allow capable men at the head of the big concerns long realized the weakness of their position but what was waa needed obviously as in all great reforms was an unmistakable occasion and rid a courageous man the occasion 11 arose in the purchase of the western union telegraph company by the american telephone and telegraph company and the man appeared in theodore N vail president of the purchasing corporation it was last december when public announcement was made mad e that the gould holdings of western union had been taken over by the telephone company on account of the high esteem in which the management of the telephone company Is so generally held great things were predicted as a result of the absorption of western i union dy by the press of the country the deal was most favorably corn com dented on it being widely pointed out that under the tha direction of such men inen as theodore N vail and ills his associates so socia tes tho the telegraph company was bound soon to work itself into A position where it could offer the public far more effi efficient clent service than it had ever before been able to offer but a very few months had elapsed when it became apparent to the new management that a modern and up to date appraisal of the companas comp anys assets sets would make possible a far reater greater degree of effi efficiency clency of operation here they said to themselves weve bought control of this property and we know its immensely valuable but we dont know just how valuable these appraisals of real estate and securities owned were made a long time ago if wo we have a complete inventory made of every thing weve got we can announce the facts to the public start a new set of books and begin our responsibility to stockholders right there how inventory was taken the most expert accountants and appraisers to be had were put at the task their labors lasted over ever eight months their report and its publication by the company marks an epoch och in in finance inanc e it began by recommending an adjustment of the difference between the appraised and book values by a charge of against surplus book values of oe securities held were reduced to market values bad and doubtful accounts were charged oft off an allowance of was made for depreciation another of for reserve and so on until the old surplus of 18 came down to it required courage the publication of this statement to stockholders saying in effect the tha property of your company has been reval aed t the he surplus nineteen mill I 1 ions as you have been led to believe but five millions but it was the truth and president vail did not flinch accuracy and ama publicity he declared was essential the stock holder has a right to know the shares of this company are scatter ed from one end of the union to the other this Is more than a private corporation it is a great national enterprise the public is entitled to the facts the report was ordered published forthwith financiers pf af the 01 old d school and speculators generally were aghast what would happen would the bottom drop out cut of western union when the shareholders really ed that their pro petry wa was s worth less than they had au sup P posed but the amazing thin tiling happened the stock went up tip and stayed up the public had respond ed to this remarkable display of 0 frankness and confidence to the new motto accuracy anti anil publicity the full significance of the action of the new board is stated concisely concise by Ilar harpers pers weekly in these words Is this policy of publicity and ol 01 openhanded open handed banded dealing with share hold ars and public the he forerunner of a similar movement on the part of oth er big corporations certainly it it to be hoped that it Is in the cree case of these big companies depend dependent eni upon public patronage patio nage and doing bil bus I 1 I 1 ness under public franchise c can a 13 there be any question of the right 01 ol the people to know that right Is being recognized it Is recognized now in this epochs act on the part of the telephone ane telegraph interests it la Is the daar adawi ot of a now new era in corporation finance |