Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-10-31
Letter from EugIae Underwood. Esq.

Tuesday evening previous at the Court
House. and organized by calling you to the
Chair.
This report Of your proceedings does me
| gross injustice. The signature of your name
as Chairman. gives tbema moral force which
thy would not otherwise possess, as it can
make the impression abroad hat these
proceedings meet not only your approval.
but that Of all those over whom you presided
This presume Is the object of their publica-
| tion. Thus these proceedings are elevated
| above the mere expression of individual
spleen; and l proceed to notice what is said
Of me Is the expression Of the meeting which
! gives it much more importance, rather than
that OF individuals.
/ In the statement Of the purpose of the
! meeting. reference is made Ito the many
qrieU1Hecs and ilzs,.Its which Nashville has been
! compelled to bear from the Board of Direc.
OrS in power and the desire expressed .'that
/ ,he merchants assembled would devise some
| plan for the emphatic expression of the feel
! ing Of Nashville, in regard to .he misman-
! sgement and the injustice Of the policy of
/ the Board Of Directors" (meaning the Direc
tors Of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
] Company, Of whom ! have been one since its
! organization in Tennessee.) The report says
/ that tie purpose the delegation Ito Louis
/ viIIe) .'nad been to change their present rep
/ resentative in the Board of DirectOrs-Mr.
/ Eugene Underwood" also in substance, that
/ application vas made to the Mayor of Louis
/ willie TO vote against me--that he promised
/ to do so, but broke his promise when he came
to vote. Again, the report speaks of 'the
! deception practiced by the Mayor of Louis
vile, and he despofic manner and purposes
displayed by the old Board in the election"
and '.that the Tennessee delegation had re-
| quested Mr.. Underwood to resign''-tbat
'.befOre his answer could be received Mr.. IN
| derwCOd had been called from the city, and
| that ION going TO Louisville they found that
by the duplicity of the Mayor, Mt. Under
! wood bad been reelected, against the express
wishes Of the Merchants of Nashville" l
have taken from your report the above ex-
tracts Ia detached parts, but in 4 manner
| | believe to do nothing more nor less than
| exact Justice to its meaning L am one of
nine Directors of the Road, and there are
| two others in Tennessee beside myself. The
| general charges of ..grieUzlces" inflicted and
insults" offered to Nashville, and the despotic
/ manner and purposes displayed by the old
| Board in the election, apply to all the Direc-
| tors, and TO myself with as much force as
any. l am further especially designated and
presented to The public in such a manner that
feel called on to vindicate myself against
| the implications and inlerences which will be
drawn from the proceedings of your meeting
In doing so, however, feel that 1 have no.
thing to combat except general charges
(Which any one may nlake) without tangible
specifications
Thus your meeting has imposed an On-rous
task. to meet and expose underlined generdli-
ties, when If those who assail me would state
their specifications, should have no difficult
~ in exposing the injustice of The attack. 1t
Is not my purpose now TO defend myself
against these aspersiOLs. except TO say that
the statement that 1.-The Tennessee delegation
requested Mr.. Underwood to resign" is IN
true. Il is due to candor, however, to state
that l had understood that such a request
was contemplated by some of the merchants
Of Nashville, but it was never made. On
| Tuesday morning the 18th of September last,
/ Mr. Miz.Il q think it was) called at my Office
/ door and informed me that some of the mer-
/ chants OF a committee of merchants wanted
/ an interview with me, aud Q o'clock next
morning was fixed for the time of meeting
/ Late that afternoon 1 received letter from
/ kentucky. informing M of the dangerous
/ illness of ne OF my children. Meeting with
my frienL Geo Nancy Esq, requested him
| to read the letter and explain to the mer
chants the cause of my absence. as l should
leave in a few minutes to go tony child. In
the course of our conversation, asked him
if he knew what the merchants wanted with
me. His reply was IN substance that he had
received the impression that they wanted me
OFT of the Board, because it was thought 1
would not vote for Governor Helm for Pres
ident of the Board. left that evening for
he vicinity Of Harrodsburg, KY, which Mr. |
Nancy knew was my purpose. l was pre-
vented from attending the stockholders meet |
ing at Louisville by the sickness of my child. |
never spoke to Il human being to vote for |
me. nor had 1 anything to do Or say in refer
ence to the seeming trouble about my cleo
ton at Louisville.
Now, sir, perceiving that your meeting
adjourned to assemble again upon the call of |
the Committee to which certain unpublished |
resolutions We're referred, and of the purport |
of which am ignorant, allow me to request |
you, as Chairman, to make known to the |
meeting my desire that the fullest investiga |
ton Of all my official conduct as Director |
shall take place, and that l only request as |
an act of justice at their hands, distinct |
specification of each charge, and a brief |
statement of the evidence on which it is |
founded. l admit the right of every commu-
nifty to investigate the official conduct of Off |
GERS whose action effects such community |
but insist when meetings for that purpose
assemble, perhaps predetermined to stigma
tie the officer with inflicting grievances and |
insults upon the community, which it is his
duty to serve with fidelity, the obligation of
the meeting by every moral principle known
among men, binds chem to exhibit their
charges or indictment in such shape as to
afford fair opportunity for defense. That
this community may know my wishes in this
respect, L have deemed it proper to address
you through the medium of the press in
which l have been assailed by a publication
apparently under your name.
ECGENE UNDERWOOD.