The Van Buren press., 1870-08-23
Arkansas Western Railroad Company.

1
nv soundly berated by certain parties,
claiming to have great interest in build
ING this most important Railroad to the
Missouri line, for not, at a recent meet
inc in Boston of railroad men, turning
| the charter over TO parties representing
the South Pacific Railroad Company.
Among the charges, is, that one of the
corporators, at least, made overtures to
Judge WALKER, of Fayetteville, for him,
Judge W., to go home and procure all
the subscriptions to the stock of compa
ny that he could and 4" that then they
could sell out to the Pacific Company for
q good round sum-" and make good
thing of it.
We are not prepared to deny the asser-
ton; but it looks very improbable, when
we take into consideration the fact that
the company is now in the hands of Com
missioners, Of our own people, who have
but one object in view, that is the speedy
building of the Road. One thing is Ger
tain, if the Counties of Western Arkansas
along the line desire, they can have the
control Of this company in their own
hands-at least the organization. The
whole question, it appears to us, is in a
nut shell, and if one half the talk spent
in denouncing the corporators of the
" arkansas Western Railway Company
was used as encrgetically to add to the
subscriptions of the stock of the compa-
ny, it would have taken the entire con
troll from the hands of these men, long
ago.
Bentonyillc and Fayetteville have three
Of the five Commissioners appointed to
receive subscriptions and to organize the
company, and if they had of chosen could
have had stock sufficient subscribed,
to have organized, controlled and elected
officers before this and would now have
been ready to make a business connection
with the first company that was ready to
take hold and help build the road.
If the South Pacific Railroad Company
will take, as it is claimed it will, a million
and half Of dollars in stock in this Road,
let them subscribe sufficient for the or
ganization and they have the work all in
their own hands at once.
We are not ready to believe that the
corporators of this company, or any one
of them, have made the broad assertion
that they "neyer expected to build the
Road, but got the charter to prevent
others from getting it and building the
same" and we have yet no, reason to
think they have not acted in good faith
with our people; and certainly should
not be condemned unhcard
The citizens of Van BGren are the only
ones on the line of this Road, that have
as yet, subscribed one dollar to the
stock of this company, and they have
done it in good faith, and will certainly
wait for further developments before they
incline to the belief Of any of the stories
aAoat, touching the bad faith CT any of
these gentlemen.
Since the above was in type we have
received the Fayetteville Democrat, con
tanning the Report of Judge DAVID
WALKER made to the citizens of Fayetie-
vile, of his visit to Boston and interview
with Railroad men there. The gist Of
the report is in the following extracts:
Waving any particular reference to
the difficulties we met with in procuring
transfer of the Charter which certain
Corporators claimed to hold over the
route from Van Buren by way of Fay
etteyille and Bentonville to the State line
Missouri, and which we had been assured
could be obtained, it may suffice to say,
that we became satisfied that the Charter
was procured with no intention of con
structing the road but to protect them
selves from rival interests, and for the
purpose of speculation; and that in fact
tHe llduCHISc was pIoCulcu from lnc
State, not in good faith as required by
law. With these convictions, we came
to the conclusion that gross fraud had
been practiced upon the State of Arkan-
sas, and that franchise thus obtained
was worthless, and could not stand in the
way of Charter taken with the honest
intention of building railroad, to de
vclop the resources, and add to the wealth
of the State Firm in this belief we were
encouraged to appear before the board
of Directors at Boston, composed as it
was of honest. shrewd, practical business
men. After they had examined the gene
raj railroad laws of Arkansas, and learn
ed the facts and circumstances of the
case, took the same view Of the matter
that we did, and gave us assurances, that
if in the future, we could get control Of
the charter claimed by Scott and Compa.
ny, or otherwise obtain valid charter
for road upon the same line, and would
afford them such liberal aid and dona-
tons as it might be in our power to make,
that they on their part, would at once,
put competent engineers on the line, and
have a survey and estimate of costs
made and that after their Company shall
have completed their road from Pierce
City to Missouri State line, and ciroum-
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