The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-09-19
BALTIMORE.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1860

defence presented by Mr.. GARRETT himself, to the
choroes which have recently been made, in this
paper, against that gentleman IN connection with
eundrv other officers of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company, reserved to ourselves the
nrivileoe of considering, in their order, certain
editorial observations, upon the same subject,
which appeared in the Baltimore american of
Monday. The discussion, it is true, has already
occupied columns more extensively than we
should have permitted, had the matter been of
less commanding public interest We regard it.,
however as one which involves not only the
integrity of the most powerful and wealthy cor
poration in the State, but in large degree, also,
the reputation Of our whole community; and
standing alone as We do, among the presses OF
the city, in the vindicatiou Of what we conceive
to be the plainest principles of everyday fair
dealing as applied TO the transaction in contro-
versy, we feel that we have no right to abandon
the subject while single Misrepresentation or
mis-statement, in connection with it, remains I'M
exposed.
The article of THE American divides itself into
two parts the one discussing THE EXCHANGE, the
other defending Mr.. GARRETT. We take up the
after part first, it more particularly concerns
the public. 1t has, in its turn, two branches
also touching upon the main question in
dispute-the taking of the notes, by Mr.. GARRETT
and his associates; the other, expressing the views
of The American in regard TO the stock iobbng
of corporation officers in general and the possible
transactions of the President of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad in particular We begin with
the matter of the notes.
Qnoting, from our article of Saturday, the call
which we made upon our brethren of the press to
take notice of the 'true issue''-the fact that
''the President and some of the other confidential
''Officers of the Company, unknown TO the scrip
"holders and the rest of mankind had helped
themselves to the bills payable of the corpora
"tion''-The American proceeds
ain brief reference the statement of President
Garrett we considered this such trifing and untenabe
point to be scarcely worthy of notice. When the Com
pany gave its the city the fact published in
the afternoon papers of the day, and we should
presume any person ordinary business knowledge
that announcement sufficient to inform him that if
he held of the dividend scrip he entitled de-
mand to receive note also. The Company could not
refuse any of its scpholders what it had granted to
one of them. 1t had power make the city pre-
erred creditor and all who demanded their rights OBJ
tanned them"
If the facts stated by our neighbor, in this cx-
tract were as entirely true as they are precisely
the contrary, we can hardly suppose that any
man fit TO go at large, without committee, could
possibly be deceived by such fetch If all the
papers in Baltimore, morning as well as afternoon,
had published and over, that the city had
received one-half of its interest in cash, and the
remainder in note, would that have been any
notice to the stockholders at large that they could
obtain the same thing by asking for it? Suppos-
ing true, in point of law, that all the stockhold-
crs were 'entitled 10 demand the same treatment
rs the city, does it follow that they would have
received it, simply because they were "entitled''
to it? Why, the very point of the very matter
now in dispute is that although every shareholder
was rs well 'entitled' TO q note rs Mr. GARRETT
or Mr. HOPKINS, only these gentlemen and their as
sociates obtained notes, notwithstanding. The de-
fence of The American therefore merely begs the
question on this point. Everybody knows that
the State and the City were the only formidable
parties whose injunctions prevented the distribu-
ton of the extra dividend, and that in order to
get them out of the way, every concession was
made to them and their counsel Mr. DULANv
states, in his letter, that in addition to the cash
and the note, and the costs of the suit he demand
ed the counse-fees of the city, likewise, and would
have insisted on having them if he had not been
oyer-ruled What position did any of the private
stockholders occupy, that would have enabled
them to force such terms? 1t is farce, therefore
as no one knows better than The american and
Mr.. GARRETT-to say that if the stockholders
at large had seen the good luck of the City and
the State reported in the papers, they could have
gone, straghtway, and drawn the same prizes.
But it is wholly untrue, as stated by The Ameri
can, that 'when the Company gave its note to the
getty the fact was published in the afternoon pa
'pers of the same day" There was no such pub
lication at all, in any paper Not having been
able to find any such, ourselves, we took special
occasion TO cali nj the Office nf TAezAissrieaa ftS
us. The true history of the case is, that the COM
promise with the City and State was not consunl-
mated until the afternoon of the 18th of July The
P@rtot OF that afternoon, referring TO the subject
said, reiocingly: 'By this movement, the City
''will receive over $500, 00O IN cash. The Araeri-
en- itself next morning, said not one word in re-
gard TO notes, but, on the contrary, informed its
readers explicitly that During yesterday, JNo. A.
THOMPSON, City Register, received, in conse-
"quence Of the settlement Of the suit on account Of
"the City of Baltimore tie sam Of $3.50, 900, that
'being the amount TO which the City is entitled"
- 'heANloLNI nc <i"tIttuH hllEW lHc WuOlc
facts, it garbed them If it did not know
them, it has no right to suppose that
Others were better informed. But, be that
rs ii may, not one syllable in regard to the
delivery of note to the City was breathed to the
public, in any paper, until July 23d, when it was
disclosed for the first time, in Mr.. DULANY's let
ter, that $3.50, 900 had been received ''onehalf in
cash and the other half in note, payable Goth
september next to be Immediately cashed, if de-
sired" On the identical day-July 23d-on
which the public thus became first acquainted with
the desired fact, The Railroad Company closed its
Treasury and suspended all further action in the
premises, notice OF the contemplated injunction
having been received. No matter, therefore, what
Information the announcement communicated
to "any business man" it was not
made until too late for any man, not
in the secret, to be able to take adj
vantage of it. The only defence, there
fore, (which our neghbor has set up for Mr.. GAR
RETT is thus not only puerle in the abstract, but
wholly untrue in point of fact, and we leave it,
IN company with Mr.. GARRETrs personal denial.
IN the classification TO which it belongs. But
even if 'the fact'' had been really published, as
SO untuly aVerred by The AmTca1r and even if
such publication would have been, rs that paper
has argued, a decentralization to the general
stockholders, to go and demand the notes of the
Company likewise; and even if Air. GARRETT did
really give his instructions to Mr. ATKINSON.
to issue notes TO all who might ask for them; we
appeal 10 all candid and honorable men TO say,
whether it became Mr.. GARRETT and his brother
officers, who feathered their own nests to act
upon the knowledge which they themselves had
officially acquired, as the trustees of Others, and
leave their constituents 10 find out what they
could about so vital 4 matter, from the reporters
OF 'the afternoon papers?' Mr. GARRETT and
MS brethren were on the inside of the treasury, |
and their constituents were on the outside MI
GARRETT and his brethren had cooked up the COM
promise with the City and State and they knew its
opportunities and advantages. Their constituents
the contrary, knew nothing but what was ru-
mored on the streets. Mr.. GARRETT and his asso.
ciates, therefore, had but of two things to do
either TO abstain from using their private knoWl-
edge, and take notes themselves-or give open
and public notice to the stockholders, that they
too could have notes for the asking Anything
short of this fell sadly short of what should
have been dictated TO gentlemen in their position
by every instinct of personal propriety and the