RAILROADS: Last Rights

In Robert R. Young’s dream of railroad empire, the instrument of accession was Alleghany Corp., the holding company that owned large blocks of major roads: Missouri Pacific, Nickel Plate, his own New York Central. Before his suicide in January, Young sold most of his own stock in the Central, but as chairman of Alleghany Corp. he held options on 100,000 shares of Alleghany common which he had yet to exercise; he had been fighting to reorganize Alleghany for three years. Only two days after Young’s death, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Young’s planned revamping, and Alleghany common has risen almost 15%. Last week the Superior Court of Rhode Island agreed that Mrs. Anita O’Keeffe Young, widow and sole heir, could exercise (as executor) her husband’s options at $3.06¼ per share. Paper profit at its current value ($5.12 per share): $200,000 minus 25% capital gains.