Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1857-01-17
m TIA STOCKHOLDERS or THI
NJ. g. MI. Railroad Co.


holdino a Convention of the Stockholders
at large, Of the said Co., at Milwaukee, on
the 9th Of f =hruary next, for the purpose
Of nominating a Board Of Directors, TO be
supported at the Annual Election OF the
Co. on theslOth of February next.
This strikes me, to bea move in the right
direction, and one particularly called fer
at the present time in fact, it should have
been entered upon several years ago. A
brief examination into the course which has
heretofore been pursued, will satisfy
any one as to the correctness OF our posi-
ton.
lst. Then, the post Of Director, seems to
be desirable one. This is evident from
the fact, that a majority, substantially, Of
the present Board, have served for several
years past. Were the position an oncrons
and Improbable one, we would have heard
Of some of those gentlemen declining 10
serve the Co., in this capacity. They
keep their own time, and vote their own
pay, and if, under cover Of doing the bust
ness of the Co, any of them have spent a
considerable share Of their time in diver
sion, or IN running about the country trans
acting pirate business mainly, they will
at least stand self-reproached. At any
rate, they are SO well pleased with their
office. that they take pains to coniing e
themselves therein.
This brings us to the I'd point, !. e. to
inquire into the present manner of nomin-
ating succeeding Boards. This is done, |
understand, in the Directors room,by mn
sual arrangement among the acting Difec-
tors, with no one to modest, or raise an OBJ
lection. So the ticket is prepared and
printed, and the Stockholders, on assem-
bling at the Annual Election, find no
other ticket prepared, with no concert of
action among themselves, and thus the
nomination is always equivalent to an
election. To strengtlcn themselves still
further. The Annual Reports then dis
tributed, wherein the Chief Engineer com
plimcnts the Board Of Directors conpli-
ments the Chief Engineers nd SO the wheel
revolves, year after year
Sd. If satisfaction should exist, among
the Stockholders, even to Very general
extent, it would not be effective under this
state Of thiags;a d this brings US to inquire,
lastly, if there are any causes for dissatis-
faction, now existing, in relation to the in
terests of the Railroad In answer to this,
we charge lst. That the Catin Contract,
which bound the Co, to pay $4,000 per
mile. for constructing 100 miles of road,
was about 40 per cent. too high. This is
an obsolete affair, but it still shows the i'm
portance Of looking after the Managers of
the Road. Cd. The Cook & Lockwood
contract, which binds the Co, to pay ST,
500 per mile, for the same work, is also
too high, as it undoubtedly leaves mar
gin of about $1,000 per mile, in favor of
the contractors. This contract is not to be
disturbed Of couise; but the Board Of Di-
reclors,should see that it is faithfully exeeu-
ted, that all thework is WELL DONE ;and that
the stipulated forfeiture Of 100000, isl
paid by the contractors.
Let US inquire now, if no work under the
contract, has been done IN a satisfactory
manner. No doubt but that by far the
largest portion Of it, is all well enough
But then, there are the Bridges across the
Wisconsin River, three Of Them, averaging
about 500 fl. in length. These are built
on piles, driven into qnick-sand, which is
continually shifting, by the action Of the
current, so that, unless The sand is confined
in some way, say by rock, it is liable to
wash away, and leave the piles without
support. This. has proved to be the case
already, with the second Bridge; consid
cradle portion Of which, settled on account
of the shifting Of the channel, and swaged
down stream, of course. Piles, are per-
ishable material at the best, and these
bridges are therefore temporary structures,
which will require to be rebuilt, at an ex-
pense Of from $50 to 100000 dollars with
in few years. There are several other
pile constructures, on the Road of smaller
size, which are open to the same. objec-
ton. ps
Then agai,ia considerable portion Of
heauy cm5ankmeat, in one place, at least,
is builtsof timber and cord aoood, and on
piece Of ground too, where it is annually
ouer1osen, to the depth Of from two, to six
feet. The improperly Of this is evident
without comment.
Lastly,-a large proportion, Of the cross
ties, placed in the Road, are of so poor a
quality. that they are only fit for fuel
They would not be laid into any other road,
in the country. One fact under this head
will suffice. The culled ties, 1. e. those
which, on inspection, were rejected by the
Assistant Engineers, have been placed in
the Road inst as it happened, without dis
elimination. M
Thus much in relation to the work done
under the contract; and now we have to-
do with the Chief Engineer, who should
be held accountable, for the delinquences
under his direction. He, it seems, has
been allowed to have full swing, over the
affairs of the ROAD regular Ksag Bonn
to fnp fUn