Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1856-04-09

- ~ - n eplkAcckS IN VIVA my f&te -
$1,000 = pissssse sad Rssidant .of sthA Boz ]
naessn and Missouri River Railroad 0onpsny. 4
! Iregret the necessity Of any comments from
me ugon ttia sahjscr bnsjsstee y ssySe,f A.
snar;ds that he whole truth b place bsfore Tie
public. The history Of my connection With
that company Is brief have been ID earnest, a.
voted and working friend of tie road erer since
II has been projected. have freely expended
my time and money to advance the enterprise.
sought o. desired no position IN the company.
atthe annual election Of March 1883, was elected
! Director without my knowledge or solicitation.
At the first meeting Of the Board Of Directors
after that election, Mr.. Saunders Of Nj. Pleasant
was unanimously elected President He held
the position few weeks and resigned, when /
was elected President by the unanimous rote Of
the directors. When came into the Presiden-,
cy of the Company, its prospects we're not very
propitious. The debts we're near sixty thous-
and dollars There was no money in the treas.
ury; one hundred and twenty five thousand dol
lars Of the county bonds were pledged and IN
the hands of trustees to secure the debts du
from the company; the work on the road had
all been suspended; the Chief Engineer had re-
moved to Detroit; indeed, everything and erery
Departments we're in a complete state Of suspen-
sion and prostration. The private stockholders
were reluctant to pay their assessment on stocks,
and think am fully justified in saying that
public confidence was nearly destroyed in re-
gard to the prosecution Of the work until aid
should come from some other source.
What has followed is before the public. All
| that desire to say upon that subject is that /
entered upon the duties without experience,
without much encouragement from others, with
dependency all around me, gave the business
Of the company my earnest and undivided atten-
| ton. Iexamined every source, and encour.
aged every indication and movement that gave
hope of success. When thwarted / did not de-
spair, but continued my exertions. The Board
lieve that their action in everything pertaining
to the interest of the Company has been unani
4 NOUS, and, in every particular, harmonious. The
/ work has progressed; notone hope has been dis
appointed; all that was contracted for has beer
done; the debts of the company have beer
mostly paid; confidence has been restored to tht
stock subscribers, and they have paid or art
paying in their stock. Fight months have pro
duced all this change. l.'ss "a
Now desire to know why cannot retir,
from the Presidency and Dictatorship of tina
Company without being abused or denounced
do not require any reasons why the Count.
Judges of Des Moines and Henry counties, VIII
controlled a majority of the stock, and who ha,
the power and exercised it, by treaty mad
: by themselves in the election of Directors
should defeat me as Director. l know tn
cause. and have known it from the day of thei
election to Office.
The cause did not exist in the Office of Count
Judge, but was in the men before they wer
elected. The Office gave the po,cer-the me
would have desired the same result, even if the
had been powerless to exercise the desire. The
used the power, obtained by their Offices to pa
off an individual and personal debt. Do nc
s understand me as complaining Of, or condemnin
7 the morality of their conduct. 1t may be a
right in these latter days. tZt .r,..,ssgil
Butt do say that with the facts before then
all my official actions have been sanctioned an
approved by the old Board. That the work ha
progressed to the satisfaction of every one, an
elected six of the nine of the old board, maxim
, vacancies only for themselves and one frient
that some other motive than public duty, some
thing selfish and personal must have entered il
to the modest yearnings of these officials.
lam charged with owning but little stock. l bt
lieve there are not more than two or three person
in the Company who own more stock than do.
donot owe the company, but the company owe m,
when every cent Of my stock is paid why, thcI
are these small pecuniary matters paraded b
fore the the public? Tell the whole truth an
there is nothing in what you have said.
am, and ever have been satisfied with til
honest judgment Of my fellow citizens, whe
they have the truth before them. I have n
pretentions to superior merit or qualification
but claim to have acted from honest motive
2 and an earnest and sincere desire to advance til
great enterprise, which will make our city an
country great, and should be reared and sustain
by its united energies, am ~ 49,.
Very truly yours,
April Sd, 1856. , J.C. HALL