New-York tribune., 1870-10-06
THE ERIE BILL.

peal it. OF the Governor who signed it, IN
World said " IL there is anything he ought +
1" "covet, it is an opportunity to rectify the mis-
/" take he made in approving that piece o
knavery and making it a law" Gov. Hoffmal
did not rectify bis mistake" and as he want
| to be reelected, The World now finds it neces
sary to take back all that it said in March
and denounce the brazen insOlencen Of every
body who still holds the opinions which Tn
| World has so frequently inculcated. We art
assured that the Bill is justified by numerous
precedents that it was not confined in it,
operation to the Erie Railway, but applied alsC
to the Central, Hudson River, and Harlem
| roads that it is good, just, and wholesome
measure and that Gov. Hoffman did well
to put his name to it. The Albany Argus takes
up the same line of defense, and adds that
Republicans voted for the bill that the only
opposition manifested to it was in two brief
letters from two persons unknown to the
"Governor, and living out of the State, claim
"ing to be stockholders and to represent
"others !" and that the classification author
lied by it did not take place until after ap
election of a full Board of Directors, so that
call the stockholders had a chance to protect
like the bill cOnld have voted for Directors
"wbo would refuse TO classify" Here is such
a tissue of misrepresentation, that we purpose
showing our readers once more what this in
iqutO9 bill was.
After Messrs. Fisk, Gould, Lane g. Co. had
got possession of the Erie Railroad by series
of operations which Mr. Fisk himself has char
acterized as "aa almighty robbery it be-
came of tie utmost importance for the prose-
Cution of their further schemes that they
should secure a lOng term of Office They con-
trolled the annual election of October 1868, by
process which we need not particularize; /;
but we may say th9t having bought $4,000
worth of proxies with the money of The Com
pany, issued an immense quantity of stock in
their capacity as officers OF the road, and sold
that stock, in their private capacity as stock
brokers, to foreign investors, but eft it re-
corded on tho transfsf-boOks in their own
names, they found themselves, in me month
of August the nominal holders of stock and
proxies enough to secure the choice of Di-
rectors. Then the books were suddealy closed,
thirty days before the usual time, and the
conspirators, by voting on the stock which
they had long bsfore sold and delivered, chose
themselves to office for the ensuing year.
This process could nee very well no repeated
annually, and With the assistance of Mr..
Tweed, who had become a partner in the coll
cern, the Erie Directors bill was accordingly
lobbied through the Legislature in May, 1869,
1t provided that the Directors OF the four
roads named in 6iie bill nigh nclasSify them
selves so that, instead of all &c ing ont of OIL 10
annually, one-fifth only of Their runber should
retire every year. Now for al practical pr
poses the Board Of Directors consisted of lay
Gould, James, Fltk, jr., W1lliam Nj. Tweed, and
Frederick A. Lane-the thi neen Others boing
under their influence or else entirely help
less-and the purpose of:the Bill evidently was
to enable the four persOns We have mentioned
to. remain in Office five years instead Of one,
without fear OF Interruption from the plundered
and indignant bona fde stockholders. That Re-
publicans were blind, enough or wicked enough
to vote far this translucent measure, 6priving
the stockholders for fte years of aa control
over their Onn properly, is unfortunately tue
but as none of them is at present candidate
for Governor we see no necessity for settling
their aocounts just now. 1t is not true, how
ever, thatsnO remUnstrance was made against
the measure, or that Gov. Hoffman was sur
denounced it in the strongest terms. Its
inauitg was freely exposed. The corrupt means
employed to push it through the Legislature
we're hlrdly kept secret, and the remonstrant'
TO who SO brief" letters The argus contemptu
eusly alludes represented at any rate con
sid1.abl proportion of the real owners of the
pru perty, and were entitled to justice even il
it was not their happiness to live IN the STATE
which Gov. Hoffman rules. Whatever may b'
tesaid in the Governors defense, it is absurd tC
pretend that he was taken unawares. The FAC
is that Mr.. Tweed said the Bill must become
law, and John II. Hoffman had to obey.
As the conspirators felt strong enough t.
carry another election, they determined t.
postpone the classification until October Is!
this course they would gain in two ways
they would add whole year to their term o
Office, and they would obtain the appearance
of a quasi sanction from the election. Blu
the fact is the stockholders have never beer
allowed to vote on the affairs OF the Enc Rall
road since Fisk and Gould took possession o
| it. The election Of October 1869, was managed
| lust as that of 1868 had been. The stock hat
! been extensively watered during the year; tn
new shares had been sold and delirered {,
foreign investors by Fisk, Gould, Lane anC
their agents, acting as Stockholders, but con
tinued to stand in the names of those persons
on the transfer books and by voting on thes
shares which did not belong to them the.
once more secured their retention in power
The foreign stock, of the greater part OF whicl
they thus made use, amounted at this time Il
q majority of the entire stock OF the road
The classification took place Immediately afte
the choice of Directors, and the longest tern
was given of course to Fisk, Gould, Lane
and Tweed and so the Tammany Ring ant
the Erie Ring, the Mephistopheles of politica
corIrption and the lusty proprietor of the bar