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Show WESTERN PACIFIC SALE ON JUNE 8THl; SAN FRANCISCO, May 27. United States District JiuIko : Mam ice T. DooliiiK fixed $18,000,000 as the up.se t price Tor the ' Hale of the Western Pacific railway today in the foreclosure suit brought by the Equitable Trust company of New York. In fixinj? the niinimum price at $18,000,000 the court said that its judgment ; was based on the only concrete facts before it as to the present ; earning capacity of the road, which is now about $1,000,000 an- ; mially above taxes, maintenance and operating expenses. ; The decree of sale signed today by Judge Dooling calls for the ; public auctioning of the Western Pacific railway at the main sta- ; tion in Oakland, Oil., June 8th. United States Commissioner : Francis Krull was appointed secial master to conduct the sale. ! The successful bidder will be required to give bond of $1,000,000 ', cash, or $2,000,000 in securities. The decision of Judge Dooling brings to an end protracted con- i test between the various interests concerned with the future of ' the Western Pacific railway. The majority bondholders repre- ! scntcd by the Equitable Trust company and tiie reorganization committee asked thai the sale price of the road be fixed at not ' more than $15,000000. The minority bondholders, represented by " the. Union Savings and Trust bank of Sail Francisco, asked that the price be fixed at $10,000,000. In his decision Judge Dooling said: "If this sum ($18,000,000) were to be loaned solely on the properties of the railroad as they now exist I should have fixed the sale price at considerably more. Hut this money is furnished to go into the. road, thus increasing the value of the securities, so that the new bondholders will have as security the present value of the road plus the value put into it by the use of tho borrowed $18,000,000. Fixing of a sale price favorable to the majority bondholders means that the reorganization of the road and the construction of feeders, without which tho road has been unable to earn sufficient income to pay interest on its $t0,000,000 of first mortgage bonds, will be undertaken as soon as possible. The opposition of the minority bondholders to the reorganization reorganiza-tion plan was based principally on the demand that the liability of the Denver and Rio Grande to the Western Pacific should be determined de-termined before an upset price was fixed. Tho Denver and Rio Grande guaranteed the interest on the Western Pacific first mortgage mort-gage bonds. After carrying this load for some time the Rio Grande declined to bear it any further. |
