The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-04-05
THE GREENVILLE RING.
HISTORY OF TIE sO-CALLED CON-
SOLIDATION Bill.

HOW the 0reenS1hko noauHoAuoAs "A0
to DO choused Out OF their Rights,
and the People Of the State are to
Lose their whole Security.
The following history Of the act no PRO-
mote the. consolidation of the Greenvilie and
Columbia Railroad and Blue Ridge Railroads
is handed to US for publication, with the re-
quest that we will direct to it the particular
attention Of Messrs.: h. Olews & Co., OF New
York. who have the reputation Of being viii
ling, upon all proper occasions, to interest
themselves in Southern State bonds and rail-
road securities. We are assured, moreover,
that no stone will be lett unturned In the
,endeavore to prevent the completion Of what
is regarded here as an Infamous attempt to
chouse the First Mortgage bondholders Of the
Greenville Road out of their legal priority,
and the people of the State out OF their dearly
bought security:
The Act to Promote the Consolidation of
tho Greenville and Columbia and
Blue Ridge Railroads.
This precious moroccan of legislation will not
shame its fellows OF the session of 1901, nor
prove unworthy of its projectors, "the Green
vile and Columbia Railroad Ring" a body Of
men comprising nearly, II not quite, all Of the
State officials, with q few individuals in pri-
vate positions, but net unknown to unenvia-
BILE fame. Few associations of this character,
it Is safe to say, have ever existed which COM
prised individuals SO utterly selfish and un-
princip!ed in the objects they pursue, and so
utterly INSCRIPTIONS In the use Of the means
they employ for the accomplishment of their
purposes.
Not twelve months ago, imposing upon the
credullty of a few individuals of character
and influence in the State, by representations
OF their ability and purpose to put the Green
vile and Columbia Railroad III first class con-
dition, they acquired through such instrument
tally, and at a beggarly price o large, majority
of the shares OF the stock. III that fCad held by
individuals. Immediately thereafter ooer
tOenta thousand shares oaoned by the State
were sold to them at 81 IS per share, or about
one-half of what other parties would glady
have given.
Let it be here remembered that the Ring
embraces nearly every member oil the State
Government, heads Of all the departments,
.cusspdians of the public property. A sale,i
ftheraEere, of the State shares In the GreenViae
and Columbia Railroad, to the Ring, is simply
a sale of the State property by the State officials
tothemselues, andsthe fraud is intensified into
an outrage when the ridiculously low price Is
borne in view.
The title of the act, it is proposed to con-
slider, might very naturally mlslead the unsus-
pecting. Such persons would find no difficult
ty, without examination, to. conclude that the
consolidation of the two companies to which
1 refers was Accomplishments least authorized.
No such thing is done. Most prooabtln no such
thing was contemplated to be done. No legis-
1ation was necessary to enable roads TO con-
solldate. An act already in existence provides
for that. The 1.-THE adopted in this case was
merely the screen behind which another of
those monstrosities of legislation might be
enacted, which will render forever famous the
session Of ls~7O-legislation which gives to q
corrupt band of strangers the property Of the
State, and, at the same time: degrades the
status, and thereby, perhaps. destroys the
value, Of the citizens property. Let us see.
In the gears 1864, 1853 and 1854, the Greens
Vile and Columbia Railroad Company issued
bondsto completeitheir work to- thea mouutof
$500, oOO.I In the year 1854 the company exc
cuted. a first and only mortgage TO secure
these bonds. In the year 1857 the company
Issued another series Of, bonds amounting to-
$780, oe. This series was protected by no
mortgage or guarantee of any description.
Both issues were made to run ten years. In
1851, to provide for the payment of the hPst
mortgage bonds ($soe, oQo) maturing In 1867,
1858 ana 1854, the company applied to the
Legislature Of South Carolina for the States
guaranty OF a new Issue, which they proposed
to fix at $500, GOETHE additional $4,000
was needed to discharge. some floating oblisa-
tions.) The application was granted, with
conditions. Amongst these conditions was this
one: That the. GreenYille Railroad Company,
upon the completion OF the exchange Of said
guaranteed bonds for lis matared first mort
Gage D0HQS, SuOulU uettCcfi Wy Io Oo"tP
troler of The Ssate said first mortgage bonds.
&C., &c.
C~ontorna6tyto these requirements, the new
series of bonds was executed, the guaranty Of
the State endorsed thereon, and the exchange
proceeded. untifne or about 100000 were;
retired The arrangement of values arising
fromtherwarh here interfered, and further pro-
gress was stayed. 1
After the war had terminated, viz: in the1
years 1855 and 1866, the Greenviile Railroad
Company again applied TO the Legislature OF
South Carolina for additional aid, aud again
obtained the guaranty of the State for the ad-
ditional sum Of 5000, 600. Shortly after the
sum of $50, 600 was added. 1t was condition
ed, upon the grant of the States endorsement
to this addition of sG5o,OOo, that s2so,Ooo of
the same should be applied to the e%xtinguish-
ina of the $780, 600 ~non-nortgoge bonds issued,
as already narrated. in 1857, 20 repair damages
to. their road
Thus it will be perceived tsee President
Hamett's Report, April Is, 1870, psge y that
the whole amount of State guaranteed bonds
is sl,55O,O0o. "The acts of 1866 and 1868
are apaeudatory- of the act of 1861, and each
contains a statutory mortgage to- the State of