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


Board OF Directors together to receive al
account OF my stewardship. The entire
sum Of State aid and subscriptions Sc
cured by my agency had now run up Il
two millions and twenty-five Thousand
dollars, Of which I then turned oyer hal
a million Of county bonds to the Board
| had borne all the expenses Of canvass
ing, had expended Of my own cash over
Sl2 000 in surveys, and never from August
1 "a, 1855, when / was made Its President
% the good day in june, 1869, when
made this exhibit, had the Mississippi
Railroad Company had one dollar in iUl
treasury, OF had any citizen of Memphis
city, or OF any county, advanced one pen
ny or rlsked a farthing 10 aid me in my
work!
HISTORY REVERSED BY RESOLUTION.
Il is pleasant to remem bsr-Dut Of What
avail now, seeing they are dumb while
history is reversed by a resolution of q
Board THE chorus of applause that was
measured out TO me By people and press.
The Board Of Directors, rejoicing natu-
l rally in having success assured 70 then
road adopted the following preamble resO-
luton at the mesting have justsmen-
toned:
1t appearing to this Board that the
| President, Mr.. A. s, Mitchell, has not only
borne all the expenses Of the reOrganiza-
tion Of the Mississippi River Railroad
I Company, and procurement Of all the
! legislation necessary thereto, but has
[ also from his own resources and credit,
furnished all the money for the engi
l neering corps in their recent work
/ bet wsen Memphis and COvington, amount
| ing to several thousand dollars,
I Therefore, Resolved, that the Treas
| urer OF this Company, out of the first
money OF the Company that shall come
1 into his hands, relieve the President Of
| all Liabilities incurred in behalf of this
! Company, and further that be shall pay
/ the salary Of the President from the date
! Of his election and commencement of his
/ labors as such"
And this was the first return 7 received
| for three years of hard labor, large eX-
/ penditures and heavy risks. It hardly
! paid me back the money I had expended.
But pretty soon the road had created
! began 70
/ LOOK UP IN FUTURE IMPORTANCE,
| and cOrmorants 81 home and abroad who
| wished 10 control it, came in. A dssper
ate "raid' was made % drive out me and
my friends. That failing, McCOmbs and
] mis- associates made proposition 10 take
I the road and build It. Our Board sp-
/ pointed A. T. Lscsy, W. B. GreeuIaW and
myself to make contract with them.
Ne 'Ombs objected 30 the contract with
me as 20 the amount of commissions on
! subscriptions Only that. He knew too
well the uncertain value Of the high
sounding sums of stock and bonds to
make BuY point on them. But he desired
that the commissions be reduced. / said
/ 81 once: 81 don't care for the letter of my
/ contract. never expected to ex act It's
full terms. / only made IL TO secure my
| self in being fairly dealt with, and I viii
| accept Whatever settlement is just and
! reasonable under the circumstances"
| mentioned some OF the expenditures
| I had made in cany sssing for the stock,
/ that they might be guided in making me
/ proposition These expenditures
amounted 90 about $40 coo, and had not
been covered in the payment TO me order
] cd in June.
/ CAPT. LACEY's PROPOSITION ACCEPTED.
Upon the statement as made by me,
I Cape. Lacey proposed that the Mississippi
I River Railroad Company pay me the first
I years coupons on the Shelby and Upton
county bonds then in hand, amounting to
about So 000 that out of that I pay the
/ expenses had incurred, and that the res
/ idue be mine, and that I relieve the Com
pauV from all claim for commissions.
/ This claim wss So 900 on the county sub
| sCriptiOns alone, but without hesitation i
accepted the proposition. And in this
connection it should be borne in mind
that at the time the proposition wss
made to pay me in county coupons, the
county of Shelby was meeting no de-
mands on its treasury for interest on
county bonds, and coupons were worth
no more than county sCrip-fr0m 90 TO 20
cents on the dollar The offer was in et-
feet then 20 pay me- something over
s23, 900. out OF which / hal 70 pay $4,000
OF expenses, leaving me about $4,000 ss
compensation for three years Of as hard
work ia CanVassing as any man ever per-
formed in Tennessee, which work had
created q powerful and popular corpora
tiOn, with @ half million dollars already
in hand. II I got a higher rate for the
coupons than 65 cents on the dollar, iJ
was my good fortune and not the con
temptation OF the settlement
THE SETTLEMENT ANALYSED.
Now consider my entire compensation
in iLs actual value TO me: l had obtained
over ES2, 900, 600 Of savailable grants and
subscriptions for the Company. On 81,
300 600 Ofthe amount 1 received the prom
Use off, per cent, payable in the future
If tbe road was built, in what might or
might not be Of value. On.S650, ,0OGof the
county subscriptions ] was entitled 10 10
per cent. by contract, bEJ on settlement
realised less than So, coo, or iibtls over
per cent. in money. Now / assert that
there Is not new railroad building in the
United States that would not readily sell
its stock st 20 cents on gh6 dollar 70 sol
vent subscribers who would furnish the
cash TO build it. IL is known that many
new roads are compelled 10 sell their first
mortgage bonds st that price and l6ss,
though these are more valuable than their
stock, to raise mssns for their completion
ana equipment.
Under these circumstances IL will be
ssen-snd the cases form thesTul6 rather
than the exception in railroad building
thst thirty per cent. Of stOck suOscrlp-
tions and bonds, go ss profits 70 be divided
between the capitalists and brokers. The
public can Judge by the contrast ss to the
Justice and fairness OF the commission
agreed to be paid to me.
Mr.. W. b. Grseulaw, who is our most
experienced railroad organizer and build
or with an intimate knowledge Of all the
facts connected with my services for the
Miszissippi Railroad, has again and again
said in my presence and i'm that Of others,
that there had been less waste Of means in
the organization of the Mississippi River
Railroad. by myself, than IN any other
road ever organized in Memphis, and he
knew them all.
But settled with the Mississippi River
Railroad Company, represented by VIM.
b. GreeulaW and A. II. Lacey, accepted
thecOupOus, paid the costs of my canvass
ing As far IS these limited means would
enable me TO pay them snd save myself
from loss, and released the Company nom
sll obligations TO me Tor any further cash
or commissions.
NEW NEGOTIATIONS COMMENDED.
After awhile the McCombs contract was
cancelled, and new negotiations were COM
menced with the owners OF the Paducsh
road, and now I learned that these latter
parties Obi sct6d to my contract on account
Of the bonds reserved to me. Resolved
again, and ever, not TO let any private
interest OF mine stand in the way of the
building OF the Mississippi River railroad,
7 said 20 Captain Lacey, now the Presi-
dent, that IL the rest Of my contract was
iu the way, / would cancel It ON the most
liberal terms, just as did in regard to
the commissions, and ] submitted a pro-
position through him as an opening and
inducement TO a settlement.
NO REsPoEsE-''NULL AND VOID"
But never a word did hear from the
new Board. I suppose they thought it
would bs essisr and cheaper, IN th8 slang
phrase OF the day, b. "beat nae" out Of
my rights than get 8 release from nay
claim by an honorable settlement. The
Board, therefore, composed Of men who
never rode a mile or risksd a dollar for
the Mississippi River Railroad, and hardly
knew its name ia its early struggles for
existence. did on the 9th instant pass q
formal resolution declaring the contract
made with me "null and void" and
speaking cf tho old Board, composed Of
such men ss Rev. DIR. Kerr, John T,
Douglass. Dr. Hill, Wm. Mcintosh and
General Conner, who made the contract
with me. and who have spent years in
their respective counties helping me or
pauizs and get stock for the road as inter-
ioDers and unauthorized persons "claim-
inp to represent the Board Of Directors Of
the Mississippi River railroad"
WHAT THE NEW C0MERS PRoPOsk'
HEbasa nav eouera mart Of whom no