The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-05-28
O CORRESPONDENCE.
CRICAGO
CHICAGO. Nav Is. 1868.


generally trying to all northern newspa.
pers, in the matter of space, is now over,
and your columns are relieved from the
extraordinary pressure, / believe that ]
will be justified to-day in giving you a
pretty full letter-not much of it about
politics, that subject should have a
rest, at least in my department, especially
just now when there is such decided lull
as always follows time of great and un-
wontcd excitement. Since the rerubli-
can nominations are made and the demo-
cratic are not, and since the acquittal OF
the president is foregone conclusion
political speculation ia not so lively a
commodity as before.
But have one topic to-day which can
not fail to interest your readers, many OF
them, no doubt, in the most direct way
viz.-pecuniarily. Some 100000 OF
the stock of the National Telegraph
Company" has been placed in the NORTH
west,-some Of it in your section, and
stock holders would like to have some idea
Of what show they have for getting their
money back l regret to say that when
this stock was being pushed in the north
west, I, like many others, believed in the
very specious professions made by the
company and its representatives here and
aided them in giving publicity to their
scheme, hoping that it might, if put in
operation, effect large reductions of the
present telegraphic rates, and thereby
benefit the public. That hope l no lon.
ger have. From private, and 1 have ev.
cry reason to believe, reliable sources Of
information in New York, I learn tina,
there is not, and never has been even the
ghost of an intent on the part of the pro.
ectors Of that enterprise to build a mile
OF line. Year after year, since they OBJ.
tanned their charter from congress, they
have made flaming announcements OF
how many thousand miles of line they
were going to put up in the ensuing
twelve-month and where it was to be
Pretences of surveys were made, maps of
routes published, and all without shad-
ow ofpurpose of putting up an actual inch
of wire. Owing to their being required
to place such an immense amount of stock
large proportion of their ten millions
before they could begin calling in
payments, Ga provision in the charter
they could not play the same thorough
game which some other companies have
done, Of contracting with their own Off
GERS to build their lines at three, four and
even five times their cost, and devoting to
this end all they could pull out of their
stock holders. The original one per cent
first payment was all they could get by d.
rect action. But there was still another
dodge,-the transfer of their books Of sub
seriptions for stock to some other new
company not 30 bound. The consent of
stockholders would have to be obtained to
the transfer, but who would not consent
when told "here, you will certainly lose
what you have already put in if you hold
on to this stock, for the National is gone
up; but we, to save our personal reputa-
ton, have made an arrangement by which
you can transfer right into a good, sure
thing" ETC., etc. In other words, to save
himself, the stakeholder simply lays him.
self liable to still deeper bleeding. At
last advices, day or two since, the ar
rangements were about complete to dump
the National" stock over to the "Atlantic
& Pacific Telegraph Co." in the east, and
the Nationals western agent, "taking time
by tho forelock" and Choking out for No
l." has been sharp enough to come tc
terms already, on an Independent
basis, with the "Great Western Telegraph
Co." here. Of this latter company l shall
have more to say hereafter, but as a grad
ual preparation therefor, let me give you
few facts relative to the Atlantic & Pa
ciic Telegraph 20. 1t was started by s
Mr.. Van Kleick, and some lesser lights
and although gentlemen of known gooc
character and standing appear among it
directors, it is believed that few, if any Of
them became directors otherwise than by
accepting places offered with stock gratu
itously. AS soon as the company was or
gained, contract was made with Var
Kleick to build 5000 miles of two-lin,
wire, for the sum of s5,OOO,OOO ofstock -
81 ,666 per mile. In other words the ma
chinery of a company was to be used fol-
placing his stock, for it was all his, ant
collecting the ipstallments called in, W
to the maximum Of 40 per cent. This
forty per cent. would give the contractor
S666 per mile. Whether this pays o.
not, may be judged from the fact that tn