“We understand,” declared the directors, “that a majority of the names thus far proposed by the parties soliciting proxies to be cast for directors and president of this company are gentlemen who are well known to be the owners of a majority of the stock of the Georgia Company, which owns railroads whose business and interests are at all points of our system in competition with and antagonistic to the business and interests of this Company; any diversion of traffic, or exercise of influence favorable to the Georgia Company at the numerous competitive points would work incalculable injury to your prosperity.... If on the other hand the preponderance of the Georgia Company’s interest in this Company should result in a sale to and purchase by your Company of the Georgia Company stock owned by these gentlemen, it would necessitate the issue of many millions of your common stock, or some kind of obligation taking precedence of that stock, the effect of which upon the value of your property you are fully competent to judge.”[339] The general election of the Terminal was held on May 31, and Mr. Inman was elected president for the remainder of the unexpired term.[340] The Rice party was apparently overwhelmingly defeated. In reality its activity and the presence of its friends in the councils of the victors resulted in the successful sale of the Georgia Company securities. In October, 1888, little over five months after the directors’ circular of April 6, the Richmond Terminal took over the Georgia Company stock at $35 a share and allowed its owners to withdraw successfully from their speculation. Subsequently it also took the Georgia Company bonds from the bankers who had purchased them.[341] This left Inman, Hollins, and the rest a profit of $60 a share on their original investment. It meant for the Richmond Terminal a direct annual loss which there was very little prospect of making good. To provide for the $4,000,000 in bonds and the 120,000 shares of stock acquired, this latter issued approximately $8,200,000 of 5 per cent collateral bonds bearing an annual interest charge of $410,000. Now both the stock and the $4,000,000 of bonds were a lien on 40,000 shares of Central of Georgia stock and depended altogether upon the dividends declared on these by the Central Company. The Central never paid over 8 per cent, or a total of $320,000 on 40,000 shares. The difference between this and $410,000, or $90,000, constituted a direct loss which the Terminal pledged itself to meet each year. If the victory of the friends of the company in May is to be considered a genuine one, one wonders what price the owners of the Georgia Company would have charged had the election gone the other way.