SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY. The late Collis P. Huntington and his associates, who had built the Central Pa cific Railroad, the Pacific end of the first trans continental line, and the Southern Pacific Rail road lines in California, Arizona and New Mexico, and who had secured control of cer tain railways in Texas and Louisiana, extend ing from El Paso, Tex., to New Orleans, La., conceived the idea of forming the Southern Pacific Company in order to ensure perpetuity and harmony in the operation of the respec tive properties as parts of one through line. The Southern Pacific Company was created by a special act of the legislature of the State of Kentucky, approved 17 March 1884. Its charter, which was very broad, authorized it, among other things, to acquire, by purchase or other wise, stocks, bonds or securities of any com pany, corporation or association, to construct, acquire, own, lease, maintain or operate rail ways, steamship lines, telegraph or any public or private improvements; and to buy, hold, sell and deal in all kinds of public and private stocks, bonds and securities. This was the first security-holding company organized to carry on extensive work. The organization of the company took place in August 1884, and active operations began on 1 March 1885 when the lease known as the °Omnibus Lease," went into effect. Under this lease, which included the lines forming nearly all of the "Sunset Route" from San Francisco to New Orleans by rail and thence to New York by steamer, together with their lateral lines and branches, the South ern Pacific Company operated all the proper ties as one line, received all revenues and paid all expenses, including rents, taxes and in terest, and divided the remaining profits, if any, between the parties to the lease on cer tain agreed percentages. This lease was termi nated as to the lines in the State of Texas, in accordance with a statute of that State on 1 July 1889, and was terminated as to the re maining lines on 31 Dec. 1901. Since the termi nation of the Omnibus Lease the lines in Texas and Louisiana have been operated by their own organizations, but the Southern Pacific Com pany has continued to operate the Pacific sys tem lines (which include Central Pacific Rail way, Oregon and California Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Coast Rail way) under long-term leases. All of such lines, however, together with the ocean-steamship lines plying between New York, New Orleans, Galveston and Havana, have been dealt with as parts of the Southern Pacific "transportation system." Following its incorporation the Southern Pa cific Company proceeded to acquire the capital stocks of the companies owning the lines which formed its transportation system and on 31 Dec.
1917 owned all but $81,700 of the $349,082,400 of outstanding capital stocks of the companies mentioned in this article under Mileage and Service.
Mileage and The Southern Pa cific system operates in the States of Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Ore gon, Nevada and Utah. Its transportation sys tem, which extends from New York City, via New Orleans, La., and Galveston, Tex., to San Francisco, Cal., and Portland, 'Ore., with a line extending from San Francisco, Cal., to Ogden, Utah, was made up, as of 31 Dec. 1917, as follows: The service of the company includes routes as follows: (1) Sunset Route—between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Cal., E1, Paso, San Antonio and Houston, Tex., and New Orleans, La.; (2) Atlantic and Gulf Steamship between New Orleans and New York, Gal veston and New York and New Orleans and Havana, Cuba ; (3) San Joaquin Valley between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Cal.; (4) Coast Lin—between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Cal.; (5) Ogden Route—between San Francisco and Ogden, Utah; (6) Shasta Route—between San Francisco, Sacramento and Portland, Ore.
Operating and Other The fol lowing tabulation, showing the number of shareholders, the miles of road operated and the results of operation in 1917, the last year of operation before the property was taken over by the government under the Federal Con trol Act of 21 March 1918, compared with 1886, the first complete calendar year of op eration, gives an idea of the company's growth: Assets and The balance sheets of the Southern Pacific Company and its pro prietary companies, translated into ordinary conversational language, show the magnitude of the company's property interests and financial strength : On 31 Dec. 1917 the combined ob ligations (debts) of every description, of the company and its proprietary companies, con sisting of amounts owed to security holders, employees, tradesmen, connecting lines, tax collectors and others (not including $51,874, 598.08 of accrued depreciation on road, equip ment and miscellaneous physical property) amounted to $1.382,264,737.57. The companies held to meet such obligations assets (property) amounting to $1,685,075,159.29 as follows: (1) Book value of the investment to transporta tion property carried on the books of the com panies forming the Southern Pacific steam transportation system, consisting of 11.165 miles of first-main track, 561 miles of additional main track. 4,150 miles of yard track and sid ings, 25 ocean steamships, 5 river steamships, In 1917 after appropriating $978,097 for sinking funds and $16,369,854 for dividends there remained a balance of $31,781,466 which went to swell the surplus of the company.