You will remember that I said the Budget amounted to $16,000,000 on January 1, 1907. That was just before this wave of anti-railroad legislation referred to had fully developed; but when we saw what was happening, when we read the bills that were being passed daily, and the others that were under consideration, we became very much concerned. It seemed clear to us that even if business continued good--and remember this was ten months before the panic of November--that our earnings would probably be considerably reduced by the reduction of freight and passenger rates in various states, and our expenses were certain to be much increased by some of the legislation and also by the advance in wages, and it was necessary to consider where the money was coming from to pay the large bills that would come due in connection with the Budget program. After considering the matter very carefully early in January, we decided, first, not to authorize anything further in the way of improvements unless actually necessary; and, second, to stop as many things already authorized as it was possible to get along without. Among the things so put off or deferred were the building of a new engine house and necessary shop buildings at Clyde; the construction of a new line about 55 miles in length from Herrin to the Ohio River; double track between Galesburg and Bushnell; new passenger depots at Monmouth and several other places; work on new terminals at Lincoln, etc. Of course, it may not have seemed to you at the time that we were stopping, because we still had so many things under way, and you cannot prudently stop large undertakings all at once--for instance, we could not stop work on the new yard at Galesburg when it was half done, and you will recall that it required more than two years to complete the plan, but we did slow up as much as possible; that is to say, we tried to finish up such things as were authorized before January 1, 1907, and which were still considered necessary, but we did not start any new things. The effect of this is best shown by the size of the Budget on January 1, 1908--it was then a little over $8,000,000.00, or about one-half what is was twelve months before. In the meantime the November panic of 1907 had come upon us, and it seemed not only best, but necessary, to continue the policy decided upon in January of that year, and on the 1st of January, 1909, the Budget, as it then stood, and as it now stands, amounts to a little less than $1,000,000.00; and this brings us up to the present time.