Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-04-23
Monroe and Dubuque Railroad.

derstood by your readers, | have
prepared brief report of the pro-
ceedings in the Assembly on the final
passage of the bill,
The bill as originally introduced
by Senator Earnest, Of Lafayett Co.,
as your readers are already aware,
authorized the M. and Pr. du CHEN
Railway Compony to issue bonds to
he amount of So, 10000 So, 900, 0LO
Of which should be used for the pur>
pose of retiring the bonds and pres
terred stock Of the Company and the
Balance amounting to $1,418,000
should be used for the purpose of
building the Monroe and Dubuque
road. The opposition to the bill
came from the preferred stock hold
ers Of the Prairie du Chen road-the
common stock holders supporting the
measure. The Objectionable feature
to the bill, generally, was section five,
as reported by the Senate Railway
Committee, which was as follows =
"The board of directors of the Mil
waukee and Prairie du Chen railway
company are hereby invested with all
the powers OF said corporation, as the
same are contained in chapter 309 of
the laws Of 1860, entitled an act to
facilitate and authenticate the form
alton of a corporation, by the pur-
chase of the Milwaukee and Missis.
sippi Railroad Company, approved
March 32st, 1860. Provided, how.
ever, that the directors of the Mil.
waukee and Prairie du Chen Rail.
way Company shall not exercise any
power conferred by this act, and
which they do not now possess, I'M
less the assent In writing of a majors
ity in interest of the owners and
holders of all the shares Of capital
stock issued by said corporation
shall be first had and obtained, au-
thorizing the same, in accordance
with the fourth article Of the articles
of association of said milwaukee and
Prairie du Chen Railway Company"
This section was stricken out by
the Railroad Committee of the AS
sembly and another inserted sepeat-
ing the PropiSo contained in section
of chapter 81 of the Private and Lo>
cal laws Of 1869, entitled can act to
authorize the Milwaukee and Prairie
du CHEN Railroad Company to &C.
quire and hold property in other
states for railway purposes. This
proviso reads as follows: Provided
they shall only exercise the rights
and powers hereby conferred or that
are or may be hereafter conferred
upon it by the laws of the state Of
Minnesota in relation to the extern
sion or requirement Of such extended
line of railroad il 2 and through the
state of Minnesota, by lease, pur~
chase, or otherwise so far as the same
shall be approved by a majority of
each class Of its stock holders, Of as
ISOLATION" Mr.. O. B. Thomas, of
Crawford, moved to amend the fore>
going amendment by adding thereto
the following: Provided that this
section shall not confer upon the
board of directors Of said Millwau-
kee and Prairie du Chen Railway
Company the power to consolidate
said railway in this state or any
power which they do not now possess
by law. This amendment was re-
iected. Mr.. Dyer then offered the
following:
Resolved, however, that this Sec
ton shall not take effect or be in
force until the mortgages, provided
for in the 1st and End, shall have been
duly executed by the Company, and
the bonds thereby secured executed
by the Company and ready for de-
livery to the proposed stock and
bond holders, and to the trustee
named in the 18th section Of this act
and notice therby given to them,
which said bonds shall never be APP
propriated to any other use than the
purposes specified in this act, nor
until the 141S bonds reserved for the
building of the road from Monroe to
Dubuque shall have been deposited
foe that purpose under this act and
and when so deposited they
shall be devoted to that purpose,
and shall be used for no other.
And provided further, that this Sec
ton shall not confer upon the board
Of directors Of said company, or upon
said corporation the power to consol-
idate lis railway with any other rails
road in this State" This amend,
ment was adopted. Mr. Robbins, of
Grant, opposed the bill for the rea-
sons as be stated that the amount set
apart by the bin would be insufficient
to build the road-that the Company
was already deeply involved in debt.
That ifits should become a law it would
throw the stock holders into litigation
with the company and would ensure
practical consolidation of the st.
Paul and Prairie du Chen roads,
Mr.. Bennett, of Grant, spoke in favor
of the bill, because it proposed to
abolish the distinction between the
preferred aud common stock holders.
Under the old articles of association
the consent of a majority of each
class of stock holders was necessary
to enable the directors to build moro
road. Many Of the preferred stock
holders lived in Germany one class
of preferred stock was nearly all
owned by one man, who could by his