Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-07-01

snec, Tor ourselves, and for the oilice
Won hold, 10 reply TO you 10 the tone
which characterizes your letter IN
other words, for our own sake, ana Tor
the sake Of the Office you hold, we cannot
afford to write you any other than a DO.
cent letter
We say we wrote you on business, and
got a TRADE upon rebels. Didn't your
Receiver employ us to do the work. ana
have we not done the work. have nov
we run your engines and conducted your
trains, and repaired your road and Kept
up your rolling stock2 And have not the
entire proceeds gone into the hands OF
your Receiver. and are we not still with
out our pay for many mouths? Tbs u
the question. II Is not a question about
rebels. Do you suppose that the cry oil
rebel can appease our hunger Do you
suppose that your old song about rebels
will dispel the pail that hangs over our
families from many months OF hunger
and nakedness7 ALLOW us to say 10 you,
sir, in all sincerity, that neither official
station nor the interests OF party can
Justify such an outrage upon the rights
Of the humblest man in the land. We
wrote you on business, and decency at
least required that you should have re
piled to us, leaving out "yeur piece:
about rebels. Your piece" about reb-
els may be very good thing II a man
was not hungry, or his wife and children
naked, but fancy sketches don do hun
cry man any good. Besides, we have
read "your piece" about rebels in all.
your messages and proclamations; and,
ia fact, it is stale 1t was very well got
len up, but you know thing gets old,
no m after how good it is. II SO happens
that nearly all Of us who participated in
the late struggle, and that is the larger
number, fought or worked on the side of
the Government, and hence, your
piece" il we were not hungry, would be
laughable. When we we're engaged in
fighting rebels, "your piece would have
been very good thing, and in the next
war one side or the other may use it;
but permit US to say that the war is over,
and what we want now is some money
that your man Innes owes us. Thefacts
are simply that, under your instructions,
he hired us to work, and promised to pay |
us out of our own earnings. The money |
we made was paid to him as Receiver,
out of which, if we had our rights, we
would have been first paid; but this
money land the amount made by US was
Target, together with 100000 Of other
money, went into the hands Of Innes, and |
we have not got one dollar.
Monthly reports land especially when
neither the Secretary of State nor the
Controller can understand them) do not |
amount to anything-there being no
money paid over. We we're entitled to
be paid first, as we made the money.
You see at once that your piece" has
nothing to do with this question; nor
has it anything to do with the question |
behind which you seek to hide your re-
iDjunctions by rebels, etc.
We do not see how the injunction by |
Kentucky stockholders has anything to
do with the question we make on Innes.
We simply say that he collected money |
which we were entitled to- and that he |
refuses to pay it over to us. Theipjunc-
ton bill, as we understand it, raises the
question, and asks to have it settled,
whether the bonds provided by law for
buying rolling stock, and nothing else,
shall 90 into the hands of the receiver or
the Board of Directors We understand |
the Judge announced his opinion that
the bonds belonged to the company and |
not to the receiver, but you say these |
bonds, but for the injunction, would |
have enabled you to pay us. To this,
we make answer that your receiver did |
get 100000 of these bonds, and we did |
not get one dollar Of them or the earnings |
while he was spending them.
Now, if 100000 of bonds and the |
proceeds of the road for five months do
not pay one laborer, don't you think that
three hundred and fifty laborers would |
have bad chance to get pay out of the
remaining $250,OOO, if put in Innes'
hands?
Now, Governor, you will pardon us
when we say to you, as plain laboring
men, that no words or even written
monthly reports can relieve your Re-
cever. He got all the earnings of the
road for many months, and had one
hundred thousand dollars besides, to
keep up his rolling stock. The law con-
templates the payment of interest AFTER
paying laborers-but he paid neither. |
Governor, you can't shelter him. john
son, Burns, and the stockholders in the
Pacific road may have Endorsed him, but
these are facts, and our information is very
distinct that they have opened the eyes of
everybody but yourself. The general
impression is, Governor, that lines is
pulling the wool over your eyes, and it
may be true; but we wish to say to you
plainly, juding from the tone of your
letter, that you are winking at the great
wrong done us. You authorized Innes
to employ us; he did SO; we lsbored
faithfully; lines has treated us like
dogs, aud you, in substance, tell us that
you are going to help him keep us out Of
our money. 10 answer to our appeal for
bread, you say rebel"
We have no money to 60 TO law with
you and your Receiver, who has grown
rich upon our earnings, and we contem-
plate no such thing, but, sir, there is
court just ahead of you as we'll as of us,
where the cry of rebel will not deceive,
and at whose bar you and your Re
ceiver, stripped of official superb
oriiy, will be required to make a
settlement. Here you may insult the
poor laborer, and protect the man who
has appropriated his hard earnings, and
cover him over with the-robes of your
Office, and thereby hide from view his
wrongs upon large number Of helpless
Iaborers; but, thank Heaven, at that bar
official robes will conceal nothing, and
the cry Of rebel viii be no answer to
a breach Of the seventh commandment.
We have the honor TO be, etc.
TON CASEISG,.
WV CRYSTAL,
F McTlGUE,
Ed McGRAw,
I. B. SINGLETON,
and others.