Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-04-22

ter does he give Captain Lacey es q safe
director for a company The unmistaka-
bic intimstiOn is, that at my request be
stsid away.fr0m the meeting Of the Board
in order that I might consummate 8 ne
fsriOus contract Heavy on Lacey, his
partner in the BOardl
A careful
EXAMINATION OF MEHIWETHER's GoMMU-
NICATIoN
will show that bis attack on me Is based
on the terms Of the contract %reserving ten
per cent. commissions OF subscriptions
obtained al home, fifteen per cent. on
those obtained abrOad-besides commits
sions on buying rails, spikes, chairs,
locomotives, ETC., etc, for the road during
its construction. he says It was a fear
fully rapaciOus eontracs-such as no rail-
Dad company could live under. Well,
let US suppose he Is right. Again 1 say
that more than a year ago at the COM
pany's request, I promptly, literally
chesrfnlly relinquished all those commits
sions and am asserting no claim to them
Whatever. They are no longer practically
in issue. Instead Of receiving ten per
cent.
I SETTLED AT ABOUT THREE PER CENT f,
having 5000 a year salary. M~erriwether
says General Forrest gets two and a half
per cent. commission for similar work,
and $40. goo q year salary, Let q candid
public say who has the BEST of it-Gsneral
Forrest or myself.
MERRTWETHER CHARGES.
that my contract was kept secret. It was
not 80. The minutes Of the Board aE the
time, six Directors present, say it was
openly Tread, considered and approved
in all its parts" and ordered to be signed
a-I IaNHmn.nA - - A. aa-
ested has at all times had access to our
records, and could have learned all about
the contract.
I will ask Nj. MeriWether as q man Of
truth and sense, whether it is usual for
railroad or other oOrpOrstiOs to publish
carelessly to the world all the contracts
they maze. ask him whether the people
OF Shelby county knew General Forrest
was to have $4,000 of the money when
they recently voted a tax of ahalf million
Of dollars to the Selma rOad2 I demand
of him, finally and specially, In the name
of
THE OUTRAGED PEOPLE OF SHELBY
county, whom he claims to represent,
whether he, a "friend of Shelby county"
breathed a word Of the internal contract
with the NOrtOns, when the County Court
was recently asked to levy the tax to
build the Mississippi river railroad, he
knowing that 100000 worth Of that road,
when built by taxing his fellow citizens,
was to go to the NOrtOns without the con-
sideratiOn of a dOllari-he knowing that
they were tO be enriched to the extent Of
two millions five hundred thousand dol
lars by the secret cOnniVance of q Four
DOllar-BOard of Directors. Cf which he is
ring-leader7
Mr.. MeriWether says thai
PUBLIC SYMPATHY
is not with me since the publication
of my letters-that he has heard but one
sentiment expressed toward me, that Of
unqualified disa~pprObation," etc. That
is because, of course, be has been chiefly
in communication with the members Of
the -Four Dollar Board.
I excuse some of the feeling that Mr..
Meriwether manifests in his publication.
was displeased, 50 I am informed, by
my sllusiOn to the fact that he had been
an engineer and was now TUNED lawyer.
I did MOI know that be was ashamed Of
his old profession or 1 would not have
mentioned it.
deem the profession an honorable one,
and I only intended to explain why 1
thought
Mr.. MERTwETHER's LEGAL OPINION
not very good on railroad questions. II
his appointment as attorney 20 the Missis-
sippi River Railroad Company, in place Of
those able and excellent lawyers Msssrs.
stephens and Smith, removed, has made
him proud, I would warn him that even
the profession Of law has its humilia-
lions. He should be prepared for them.
1 give
A CAsE IN POINT;
the story Of a young barrister who had
just opened his office, and was waiting for
and fees. An irsts and HtigiOus
individual entered, full Of a quarrel Just
sprung upon him, sat down by his table,
and, demanding from the young attorney
q written opinion on the case, watched
him as he wrote. The delighted csndi-
date for legal honors heard the story,
seized his pen and began:
'OpPinion in the case oftrespass, Jones
-
''Stop," thRndered the angry man.
bringing his fist down with a smash upon
the table and rising from his seat, 81
wouldn't give a d-n for an opinion with
two ps, - and so saying, he strobe iudig-
nantly from the office. The crest-fallsn
attorney concluded il was best for him to
return 10 his spelling-bOOk and postpone
for awhile his legal practice.
I make no application Of this story,
Let me thank publicly Norton, Junior,
and Mr.. Meriwether for appearing in print
and giving some animation to the pend
controversy. don't want it all on
one side.
I'LL IN THE COC0ANUT
Is becoming visible. The Nortons fear
that $500, 900 of stock and bonds, as
yrstuity to them for kindly permitting
she Mississippi River railroad TO be con-
structed at our expense, is not altogether
IS good a thing as they are entitled to,
IhereupOn they make up a pool of Four
and put in Directors to repudiate
All claims on the road on the part OF my
and others, who have labOred for
years to create the road. Mr.. Meriwether
rs
FRIEND OF SHELF COUNTY"
il, and goes in. He asks himself; /
How can the NOrtons get their meat
rUm' OF $500, 600 profit out Of the Missis-
River road, unless Mitohell's claim
3 cbOked Off" Being an upright Direc-
or, who despises secret contracts" he
put through 8 secret contract that
srefHlly ignores my claim, and dxes it so
hat all of Che bonds of the road and near
twO-thirds of its stock shall get into
he hands of the NOrt0nsi He then pro-
lounces me
A"CORMORANT,"
nd reviles my little $4,000" Il am al
most ashamed to admit now that my
lain only amounts to that contemplate
UNI, and calls On all honest people to
unit me down, Is this the cover for the
most ~stupendOus wrong that ever dis
raced the adopts in railroads ~plundering
the United Ststes2
A. s. MITCHELL.