Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-04-18

]
been in the service Of the road.
This is an
UnvARNIsHED HISTORY
Of my connection with the Mississippi
] River Railroad COmpany-Of my weary
and anxious years Of labor IN Its behRlf
Of my personal risks and losses in Othel
/ business while serving It; Of my advance
of thousands Of dollars of private means
/ 20 maintain il during the gloom Of pOliti-
| csl despair and bankruptcy that so long
| overshsdowed the South; Of my liberal
| abatement of well earned wages when
asked 20 abate them for the good OF the
road; OF my recent offer TO cOncede
/ still further il thereby I could pro-
mote the construction Of the road; and
/ finally Of the COntemptuous scOrn of my
liberal overture, and the unblushing re.
/ pudiatiOn OF every claim I have or ever
/ had, and the demand that 1 shall pay back
! % the last dollar, even the money spent
/ for the road and which I never can reclaim
| from those who Justly received it.
I do not care to characterize this con-
| duct on the part Of the present Board OF
| Directors Of the Mississippi River Rail-
road. I venture to say this, however, in
| their behalf, that if any other persons had
| peEpstrated such an indignity and outrage
as is attempted upon me by their resolu-
| tiOns, there is not q member OF that Board,
a u
would not pronounce the deed as infin-
| itely disgraCeful and such as should
mantle with shame the cheek of every
one engaged in it.
A QUESTION OF LEGALITY.
There are some legal results that NAV
flow from the present action of the Mis-
sissippi River Railroad Directors of 8
startling nature to them, and not con-
tempiated when they plunged biiudly
into it. If it be true, as they allsge, that
the old Board OF Directors, elected at Gov
ingtOn in August, 1866, had no legal ex-
isJence and could not make contracts
binding on the company, there does not
exist At this day any Mississippi River
Railroad Company. For the present
Board inherited its official organization
aud existence from the Old Board. The
Board that made the contract. with me. is
the identical Board that. made the con-
tract Of subscription with the counties of
Shelby, Upton and Lsuderdale. II the
contract with me is null and void, the
others are also, and the subscriptions
made by those counties are frauds upon
the taxpayers that can never be enforced
Thus 90 curses, like chickens, come home
to roost. Ia repudiating my claims, the
Board kick the. bottom out of their own
cause, and sink with iC.
ONE WORD IN CONCLUSION.
The public may have forgOtten-thev
are tbOughtless and apt to forgeE-What
my work has been among this people.
Let me remind them. During the latter
years Of the war, commencing in the year
1868, being then a CitiZ5n of Memphis, 1
devoted my whole time to the relief Of the
suffering Southern people. I got their
MANNED and captive sons out of the
Irving BlOCk"-I obtained protection
and relief for their widows and orphans
| visited Washington city and the North
sru prisons again aud again and procured
the release OF sick Confederate soldiers
that they might have at least the sweet
boon of coming home to die. For Upton
county l procured entire exemption from
Federal raids or occupation, whereby its
people Were.saved not only from the So
cisl distress Of war, but, as many Of he
citizens estimated, from the loss of a half
million dollars Of spOlistiOn OF property.
1 refused to receive ever one dollar of fee
OF reward, though others were growing
rich, sud 1 might have grown rich also
through such services. 1 said, 4" will
never make one dollar out of your mis-
fortunes and misery, but if psace is ever
restored and prosperity returns, and I
can make any money among You in legIti-
mate enterprises, L shall expect to do il. j"
10 is well known that 1 msde the at
tempt, and how I have been helped and
rewarded. From the day 1 began my
services for the Mississippi River railroad,
the
TIDE OF OPPOSITION AND ABUSED
set ia. Time and again had to pause in
my work, and kick back 70 their kennels,
the ours that were set on my heels. Lying
sheets in the country were weekly filled
with charges OF precaution and frauds,
and misapplicatiOu of county bonds sud
aRr min Of 3,
the cOunivBnCs OF corrupt members" of
my Board. After 1 left the Board last
June, investigating committees were
raised, into which one or more malignant
enemies insinuate6 themselves, TO hunt
through my accounts and dstsct the
frauds snd peCulatiOns they had declared
to exist. Their malice had free rein to 20
through ali my transactions, but they
failed to bring TO the attention of the com
mitJee a single fact 10 sustain their
charges, or to show that a single bond was
even ont Of place, or that & dollar ever
came into my hands for the Company thst
was not accounted for, or that any mem
Der Of the old Board prOh56d in any way
whatever, from his connection with the
road.
/ had right to think that the last as
sault ON the part of my enemies had been
made, and that I might be permitted 10
quietly accept Punishment as q final sx-
pi8tiOn OF having loved the people Of my
native State, and given for years my time
and money to relieve their distresses in
war and rebuild their broken fortunes in
peace.
THE INSTRUMENTS OF BAFFLED MALICE.
But MOI Just as the mslignsnts were
fOilsd and forced TO give up their persecu-
tiOn Of me, the new Board of Directors Of
the Mississippi River Railroad Company,
men whom 1 put into their places, and
who are controlling the CORPORATION and
property that ] created for their hands,
and who would be sstOuDded if any one
thought they were not the pink Of honor,
have become the willing Instruments
tools is an Objectionable word and I will
not use it-Of 3 bstiisd malice, and are
soaking by techniOality Of law TO accom-
plIsh me that ruin which years of sleep
less vigilance and deYilish ingenuity on
the part of my enemies, have found no
bad act to justify.
THE PROOF.
Now publicly and specially call upon
VIM. B. GreenlaW, mot now In the Board,
and having no part i'm its transsctiOns),
on 4. 7. Lacey, and Rev. DR.. Kerr, OF
Shelby county, John T. Douglas and DR..
Hill, Of Upton county, General William
Conner, and DIR. Henuing, of Lauderdale
county, any and all Of tRe honorable
men, whether as directors or not who
were, from the beginning, associated with
me in recognizing and building up the
Mississippi River Railroad, to give public
testimony as To the facts of the record
here present, so far as / state those facts
As coming within their knowledge
whether In my public or private capacity.
If il be not true in every material partic-
ular, if every aot of mine in connection
with the road hiss not been open, honest,
manly and RboVs-bOard, let them say so,
and let me take the consequences But if
this my defense, be true, have q right to
their testimony, and on shat testimony to
brand a. unparalleled in its injustice and
shRmelessnsss, the outrage attempted TO
be perpstFated upon me, by which it is
proposed 10 despOii me Of DObh hDlOr and
prosperity, just as ! am quitting the
scene OF my unweicone labors. -
WILL NOT COMPLY WITH rHE pEMAED.
In view Of the facts as now given, 1t is
my duty TO say that L shall not comply
with the demand made upon me by the
Board Of Directors Of che Mississippi
River railroad. shall rBtUFn them
neither money nor stock, but will visit
with the extremity Ofredress that the law
affords, any and all persons who shall OBJ
sJruc5 me in the enjoyment OF the rights
and property secured to me by my con
LfaeLs A. y MITCHELL
ssgs-.ss--z-sssa
A Brutal MRFdsF.
ST. LOUIS, April 1.-THE body of a
murdered man, skull badly fractured,
was found in ashalloW grave, partially
covered with large stones, near the
quarantine hospital, thirteen miles
below the city, Saturday. Papers
were found on the body addressed To