The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-01-05
s.,a M. -. snr le.aoaslbllitr fnr this Or Ia

sch.dul.
beard from ynu or auy enc coming from you, ether
IN. opinion thss IL UNSAFE, the tefusai to be
rs.ponn,s, va, very strange that ysu should h.v-
placed /. in the kspds OF oil the conductors, with
ynur nsmed srtsched to r. aud that too. aftsr hay
ina revised and actually made enc or mere sorree-
tious.
MI Hunter requested you to assist me 10 preperins
it. II made your daty by res MUTTON Of the
Board that yeu wrote a note - follows
'Cof Fontaine, assure you with the most hina
and respectful feelings ask to be excused from pa.
tic In making he Schedule now being pre-.
pared for the Virginia Central Railroad MY mind
upon that subject needs some relief WISH II pos.
sible, to get my mind composed upon that saoleet
hope you will receive this apology for not doing 10 IN
the spirit write it i'm
considered this very remarkable letter for bu'
siness to write but thinking, myself that your
mind was certainly not in the tight state, sequi-
essed. far tbs rneIe labor OF preparation vas
eouesrnsd never Itnding that 1t should so into the
hands of the numerous conductors while you were
m permits ndent, without your examination ana sanS-
ton-aud 10 matter what you may ssy now you as
sumed responsibility for By giving II out to the CEN
dzctors with your name attached, and teins them
| to use it.
ON the same day received yours wrote you, in
su osance. that l would perform the labor but was
spirit of characterization and opposi-
ton might be produced by it, whether you intended
or not, "uBlsss you are very careful
On the 18th wiots you as follows The time ia
bles are ready except your name end Mr. Hunter
sser1s to doubt whether We ought to use your name
after you obscted 10 assisting 10 msklsg them our IL
seems proper that your position shouid De unoeF'
sood" and in reference to your threatened Tes'shs-
ton ADDED - If YOU do do not intend to continue
"a ,uperintendert + will thank yeu inform me
without delay received no reply TO this which
considered as withdrawing oil the little complain
which | myself well other members CT the
Boa d. had ia. much psios to remove; and me next
morning, the 18TH called at your othce hndlne Soa
and Mr. Hunter engaged in revising the schedue ara
rules; and left you aad Mr. Hunter still engaged IN
examining ther-oEe alteration, not more, oelhs
actually made before left; and remarked that you
wou Of course make any others found necessary;
1t came from tho printers hands dated I'm pc
cember and ops he 22d the Conductors were using
th7H by your orders of course.
With This brief plain history CT the matter, 1t Is
strange very strange, that you should sttemp 70 re-
pud Z. the Echsdue IS unsafe II you thon2ht SO,
sHoud have expected yea would nave eot on ycoF
rsht ann before You would have allowed It TO go
iato use with yo1r mama attached.
Strange and Unacc untabe as your coufse has e7eh
thus far yet it is net the most strange The daVel
| opmen'g contained in the following extract from
your letter of the 9th, sken in connection with
mu' which previously occurred deserve still more
| serious notice.
4tfer the col sion near GordonsVille, | wrote to
you that, although the ,uie which apphed TO thae
csse seemed t. be FutiiceGtlv plain To have pre-
vented the accident if it had been attended to YET
out OF abundant cau,ion suggested TO you to maze
an addition thereto and requested you to exercise
| your judgment sn3 make any others you might
| think proper To this you reply:
| ~ must he excused from making any change IL
your schedule as of it nearly 10 unsafe, and
cay now, es did at first can't take any resron-
siuiIity of il, in any way whatever. | wish very
much that could agree as to the proper poncy OF
running our trains What startli5g agowal is
this to be willing to psrnit sn unsaie schedule 10
be RUG, dsily and nightly yet actually TO refuse
when requested by the President to make any
charse in il. when you declars in the same breath
that you gard nearly the whole of it unsafe If
such your opinions instead CT refusing to carry
out the suggestion for amending tbs schedule, offered
By the President, who was appointed by the hoefe
to &C. with yen you ought TO have parfecred II be-
fore it left ysur hands IL you could act Gc tEat,
| yA1 pt d haitau TILL This tiDC, DLt u
the n toe most distinct manner, t. nave re
fused TO come connected wt;t It in the EuIst r.
| meta inrirecs way. IouI eoUfse. however: II
| seeuls was s-y dI'i3isaL
DO not propose 20 axtsnI ihs teller allcu 'art-F
In .laeioa 10 thu difference @: policy soou. fnEtlns
our trains TO " acA s!iude, the difference Is tls
that in tsyOr Of reducing the speed as much s.
| pC ssibe, ana IN this yIu s"ow the Board most fny
| coucurred, their resolutions sbow; and It seems
yCu could not apPTscls'e the Importance OF such
| pciicy, as previous 10 the Efforts have recently
made freight trains frequently were tHn Sc much
| SIS vanfy- five mi les ac boar, sQd more, and
sassensev trains otten over forty mites PERHAPS
| should mention another difference. You ere lot a.
much opposed 20 overlooking orr felsst engines as
an which leads 10 high speed TO make up for crawl
| ing up grades
| have ouly now 10 add tina. spirit Of iEsabordi-
nation. perniciCus IN example ana OF most evil elect
.sems 10 hays been exhibited By yOU for some time
past only towards tue President, for which yau
| were 1ebuked by the Boad in kidd spirit, but IN
the present to the authority of the board itself
BY refusing to AID 10 preparing new time tables and
rules as they had directed that great deal of for
bsarauce has be EN- pIactiseG towards you, growing
out of personal fIsr dshp; that the greatest pains
has baen taken to satisfy complaints that had resly
| no foundation But now, since It appears from tbs
developments of your letter Of 9th that vii
ling TO expose not only the property OF the Compa
ny bat the lives OF passengers, TO jeopardy, rather
thon cooperate with Ii member OF the committee il
perfsciirg change of schedule, which wes ordered
by the Board, unpleasant Is it may be, duty TO tbs
soca hoders The public equires the decided
action at my hands, and by the advice of MIR. Over
ton now Inform you tina: you will no longer regard
Yourself "a Superintendent of Transportation of the
Virginia Central Raj road.
Very respectfully,
signed r. FOHTAINE, President
S. II may rot be amiss to remark that since wri
ting my letter Of this morning, al doubt of your hav
ing written the letter Of the 9th is removed
January lat, 1857.
NorE IS this letter about 20 be published ia
proper 80 ssy that While Ar. Ii rieke makes,
will be observed general refusal to alter the schs
dae. though he pronounced that every part Of it
nesry Is uns@fe" he did give verbal order TO hev,
more caution used in starting from Gordonsviile-
ztil, however, leaving every thing else which he
csIIe d unsafe not provided for. +. f.