Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1858-05-18
SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD-A LErTEB
FROH The PRESIDENT.
10 fhs Esitors Or fhf n 0. Pieaytrnt'

is erroneous.
may here premise that my sole object
calling the meeting was TO devise means TO pr
is vent sale Of the road under the deed OF trU
Is executed IN October last Arrangements b
b. been made by the Board Of Directors in ID
cembsr, by which they confidently believed &
debts In the deed Of trust would be satisfset
) rily psid OF arranged but this arrangement,
y confidently relied on, having failed, some 9th
y means had to be tesorted to to save this ia
J. menssiy valuable property to the s'oekholder
now worth a million Of dollars. and the chart
i'self worth many millions. The whole obje
r Of the meetii was to Prspsht a sale, by rsisir
enough money to satisfy the creditors. or
getting a pos p0nement, to enable generi
D meeti Of the stockholders TO be called
3 In the course Of my remarks, stated that
bad most earnestly rsqnes,ed the creditors
postpone The sale until after the meeting Of th
ockhelders here in June, with view to thel
taking action upon L. nut thew bad refused, a
they thought that If they di they would Jsor
ariZs heir own interest. ! stated that ghei
debts were inst sn4 ought 10 be paid. that the
, bad been liberal and lenient, and doubted no
would yet be liberal and lenient, and that
hoped satisfactory arrangements could vet b
made with them. | stated that sale woul
deprive the company Of millions Of property
which could be prevented BY energetic action
gave the company full statement o. IL
affairs and In regard to my reason for not &C
eepting the Presidency, I stated that woul
have nothing 10 DO with It until ] got ful
statement Of its sffiirs from Mr. Post, tn
/ Vice President hat I had implicit c0nhdsnc
in bis statement, because I bad seen a ette
from Brown, Brothers & Co, stating that Mr.
I Post was man Of high integrity and honor
and might be confidently relied on. further
mere stated that then believed (and vet be
Iieve) that the statement made by Mr.. Post t.
me was correct. But said that after the com
Fpany was organized here I had sseertsineG
I some things in relation % the company which
/ il / bad known them at the time. would have
| prevented me from accepting lhe Presidency
/ One Of which alluded 20, the contract with th'
I Aessrs. Brown, BY which they were to have,
I believe, about one-fifth Of the stock 10 the
| whole road for certain services 10 be rendered
By them that this contract deemed an iuec-
bus on the read unless it could be got clear Of
At the time the company was organized here
/ stated that it wouid take, | supposed, abou'
S610,000 70 complete and finish twenty five
miles Of the road. and grade enough more, &c,
70 get 256,000 acres of land and loan from
Texas OF sl50 600. That that amount Of .
per cent. stock was only authorized 10 be issued,
and that this formed part Of the contract OF
subscription that, believed, about S300,U00
would be sufficient TO build the twenty miles
required to save the charter. That the $780,
900 was intended to be raised in this city sHd
in other States, but that whilst the subserip-
0ns were going on here, large amounts Of
sr cent stock were sent to Vickshurg, s..
VFouis, and o.her places, for sale, at IS, or per-
neaps less that this fact, in connection with a
port which got out, that there was an i'm
pence debt due from the company, prevented
sae 5000 600 from being raised-in other words,
sprevented subscriptions from being made
In regard to making the deed Of assignment,
stated that had been greatly misrepresent-
Z that It was Published and BY many believ-
ohi, that bad taken the responsibility Of max
reg this deed Of trus- without authority. | said
splis was not true. then read from the min
sptes Of the Board Of Directors the resolution
uuth0Tizing IL 10 be made, and IS my remarks on
this head are not fully and accurs tely reported,
/ here repeat in substance what | stated: /
said that when the commercial panic or crisis
swept over the country, and the bills Of the
company on which il relied 90 finish the twenty
miles Of read were protested, that the company
was then without a dollar; that if the work
then stopped the charter could not be saved, al
there was then barely time-if We had the
most ample means-to finish the twenty miles
BY the 16-h Of February; that I Immediately
convened the board thar with their authority
| eniesVored in the city 10 raise sum to go
on sufficient by Offering high interest and
pledg.Ug the iron rails Of the company, worth
ten tines the amount we asked for; but su b
was the universal panic and want of coufi
that not dollar could be raised
stated that Col Scott, director, and the
Chief Engineer, had arrived from Marshall,
that they stated an attainment was about to
be taken out against The company, which, if j,
were done, would eifsctCaily prevent it from
saving the charter, as it could not be dissoiVei
10 time to do any good that The hands, if they
were not paid, wo,iid leave, and il they ever
l=ft the r0si was done; that II the protested
bills drawn by the treasurer were not paid, at
tschRents would be taken out in a word. that
il some means were net instantly taken 10 raise
money, the charter would be inevitably lost
that I then determined 10 90 to Texas and try
70 raise the money to save the charter. The
Board thereupon passed the resolution above
referred to, authorizing me to make the deed Of
trust. Upon nv arrival in Marshall, found
things in a depi0rahle state. Il was universally
believed that immense frauds had been perpe-
tratei in New York, unknown to the Southern
subscribers.
Il was determined to let the charter be for
feiied, and not extend aid to the amount Of a
dollar. The hands were about to leave at
tacbmeuts were threatened. and not man vas
willing to loan doll5r; bat ihat l succeeded
Ia allaying this fermeBt, Eept the hands oE the
road aud finally got several prominent gentle
men 10 agree to advance enough money to Sc
cure the charter, upon the express condition
that it should be positively repaid b. the 10
Of January, as they were bound TO have the
money then.
The question then vas, shall let the charter
be folfeitea at once and lose it forever or shall
get this money on the terms proposed and
save it? had no hesitation in adopting the
latter alternative The company had three
months t. raise about $50 000-snd surely il
could be done and the charter saved. But
the times we're critical il the panic continued,
I thought il might be possible th at the company
would fail to raise it.. 10 saeh event, to save
the gentlemen who advanced the
money would have to buy the road. ], there
fore, determined, if such contingency arose,
to save the stock Of all bona Jide stockholders
who had paid cash or its equivalent. l, there
fore, as a part Of the arrangement, got all Of
The gentlemen except one to agree that II the
road was sold, aud they, OF either Of them,
purchased It, the bJza fle stockholders should
have the same bsnthE of the purchase with
themselves.
But before these gentlemen would make the
above arrangement, several Of them who had
claims on the company. wbfch was authors re ]
TO settle OF arrange, refus q, without a settle
ment, to 20 into the arrangement 1 cOmpro-
missed these claims, and the arrangement was
completed. and the deed of trust was made.
I lis deed % trust sapei the road. Ten da IS
seisy, and flisning the twenty miles would
have been impossible Without 1t he money
could Eot have been raised. With Il the monry
t5as raised, the road saved, and tue company
nEd three months 70 raise the small sum Of
about so 600, for this was all that was re
quired in cash, the balance being agreed to be
postponed.
Ireported the deed Of assignment to the
board Of directors Immediately on my return
I n.ere9 into Tie details Of the Brown eontrs-t,
and the claim Of Col Wigfsll aud others,
which it is unnecessary to repeat here.
am made to say in your report that, 1t
was next asceTtained thar Mr.. Post had been
Issuing stock in manner which, though no
doubt correctly intended, could not consider
discreet &c.
What said was this, that reports were rife
through the country that since the organiza-
tioa OF the company a. New Orleans, immense
amounts Of stock had been frsudulsn,iy issued
by the executive committee az New York that
at the meeting OF the board in December, Mr..
Post VINO was a member Of that committee,
demanded IN investigation that an investiga-
tioR took place that the board, myself IN
esuded, believed that there was no fraud in is
suing this .oek, bat that It was issued, sns
settlements made, b0sa fte, We believed, bu
which / th0ugh- erroneous, or not entirely dis.
Greet.
Ia the course Of The remarks made by Mr.
Archer, be stated that my name was put down
for myself and friends, for $50 OO0 Of stock Mr
Bullirt for $40 600, sc. When Mr. Archer ha,
finished, stated to be meeting that had pu
down for myself and frisnds in Mississippi $50
900 but il was apOa the c0Hdiiioa that when
got nome and saw them, they would agree 20 IT
! that / arrived home and saw these friends, o
| many Of them that 10 Consequence OF report
/ thsV had heard. they refused TO take the stock
! and that on the Sh Of April / wrote to Mr
| Post this fact, 50 that the subscription was IN
! operative; that have copy Of the letter Wit
/ me, &c, and that, in regard TO matter, MI
/ Archer was iaboriug under mistake. ! after
! wards, however, did procure come snbscrip
/ tiOns. and sent them down.
/ / stated 10 the stockholders that thought
/ 'hey would appoint a committee, means nigh
/ Be devised to RAISE enough money TO satisfy th
! Texas creditors, and thus prevent a sale OF th
! road to prevent which, and satisfy them, wa
the whole object Of the meeting and suggeste
| that, probably, If each stockhoider would ad
vance ons-third Of bis stock paid in, and wa