The Placer herald., 1870-04-23
THE RAILROAD CORNER"

on The matter it hints at. and rs early as posi-
BILE, it will confer great favor on the people oil
| this county Sacramento Union.
After publishing portion Of an article
which appeared in the HERALD Of last week
referring to the sale Of Placer counly's Rail
road stock at par, the Union makes the
above suggestion. We have no hesitation
10 telling how and why Placer county sold
her stock at par, but there are some mat
tera aud names connected with and leading
to this reaIizsliou Of par which we DO not,
as yet, feel at fill liberty TO make public
We published an editorial in the HERALD
on lie sixth of November last showing the
probable amount due Placer county as "a
s.oc kholler in tie Central Pacific Railroad
company from profits Of construction, net
efrnings, ETC.. which figured up nearly
5000 600 al very low estimate. A por-
ton of this article was copied by the Union,
and commented on by the alta, the latter
paper falling into the bands Of deeply in
tereSted stockholders; the HERALD was ap-
piled for and since furnished to the agent Of
the parties. A correspondence followed and
finally this party offered par for our stock
through some four gentlemen in Auburn.
These gentlemen made this fact known to
our Supervisors ty letter, prior 10 the sale
of our stock, and vi b this fact in their pos
session no difficulty was experienced in read
lily and easily obtaining par, indeed we be-
lieve a much greater sum could have been
obtained. So eager was d. O. Mills & Co.
to pay par, and pay it quick, that a locomo.
tive was fired up and special train run
from Sacramento, (Shere our Supervisors
bad b,eu taken and the bargain made), to
Auburn in the night and back again the
same night and up the next day to close
the bargain. And this is how we got par
for our stock and why We should have got a
great deal more. Four trips were made be-
tween Sacramento ard Auburn with a
special train in some twenty hours so eager
were these parties, d. O. Mills & Co., Che
managers Of the railroad furnishing the
train,) to close and perfect the bargain; and
our poor Supervisors were nearly worn out
with fatigue and want Of sleep, the urgency
being SO great. No sleep nor slumber TO
their eyes good Crocker would atford,' un-
til $25o,O00 in gold coin had been paid
over to Placer. This was a nice railroad
Corner" but we failed to profit BY it and
get what we should have had and what was
due Us, yet we say we are content because
we might have done worse under the new
law. This hurry, haste, special tram, loss
Of sleep, etc, all commenced when he fact
became known to d. O. Mills IL Co, that
another party had also otf5red par for our
stock. The Sacramento Supervisors may
not have had, and probably did not have the
Information ours were 10 possession of, or
they might have beaten us long ways in
the sale Of their stock, with the proper bus.-
ness management. We have had an en-
aLling Act since 1866, authorizing our Su-
pervsors to sell or stock for par, but the
late Legislature took fl the limit and the
day they sold it for par they could have
sold it for one cent on the dollar or one
thousand dollars, and for that reason We
give them due credit for what they have
done. That which we might have got is
oow "spilled milk" and there is nothing to
be gained by shedding tears over it. We
think it was wrong in our Supervisors, af-
ter one party had offered par for tho stock
to sell it to another party who onIy offered
the same in such great haste, without giving
the first bld chance to be heard again,
or make the second bid, when more than
par would evidently have been offered. As
matter of courtesy and business trausac-
ton we could not defend such actions, but
Of this we do not now propose to treat.
SUPPosE the Clerk OF Sacramento refuses