The Placer herald., 1871-02-11
A Democratic I! Paper Owned BY q Repab.
llcan Railroad Monopoly.


The Santa Clara Argus, one Of the best
and most reliable Democratic papers in the
State makes the following astounding expose
Of the reasons for the opposition Of the Sac
ramento Reporter to Gov. Haight, and its
trucking subserviency to a Republican Chi
nese Railroad monopoly:
For some time past We have noticed that the
Sacramento Reporter has assumed the champion.
ship of the Central Pacific Railroad Compa
whenever the ntrests of that gigantic corpora
ton seemed to demand a defender. This excited
our suspicion that there was something rotten
in Denmark, and having taken some pains to
investigate the matter, we have ascertained that
the Railroad Company (or its offcers) own n
controlling interest in the establishment We
will state the established to cur entire
satisfaction that the Democracy may under
stand what reliability is to. be placed in their
central organ"
The Reporter, about the time OF the passage of
the act by the Legislature under whose authority
| it was made the Estate Paper" was published
by the Estate Publishing Company, incorporat-
| ed with capital stock Of SIG, 900, represented
by sixty -four shares Of stock, at par value Of
$3.50 per share. On these shares was levied an
assessment Of $25 per share--making each worth
at par valuation 1915 Two prominent Demo-
Gratis owned twelve shares each, and three others
twelve shares jointly, making together thirty six
shares, which was controlling intrest. Pro-
posals were made by gentleman to these five
Democrats for the purchase of their thirty-six
shares. The gentleman making the proposal
WAS old Democrat. He represented that
parties in San Francisco would furnish the money
($9, 900), that they were desirous of buying in
to the paper merely as a business speculation,
and that it would continue to be Democratic in
sentiment. By these assurances the original
owners of the stock were induced to SELL but soon
after the sale had been completed they had
reason to suspicion that the Central Pacific
Railroad Company had furnished the purchase
money. Diligent inquiry was at once made and
it was ascertained that the money did not come
from San Francisco, but had been drawn out Of
the bank Of d. o. Mills & Co. in Sacramento
and that a prominent officer of the Central Pacific
Railrod Company had deposited the amount
subject to the order of purchaser. In fact We
believe Governor Stanford signed the check
1t was now apparent to the owners Of the re-
naming stock that the Railroad Company owned
the controlling interest, and would at an early
day change the Board of Trustees and freeze
them out. As the term for which the Trustees
had been elected was drawing to close, the
shareholders accepted proposals and sold. This
time, however, different agent appeared on the
scene and after repeated interviews with Cover
nor Stanford and considerable running backward
and forward between the office of the Railroad
Company and the business manager of the paper
this agent produced a check for $4,950 and the
eighteen shares of stock were transferred nomi-
nally to young man "a clerk in bank who
| holds them in trust for Governor Stanford unless
he has since that time (as we understand was
done by the former agent at the Grand Hotel in
San Francisco indorsed thom over to him.
| The Railroad Company had now invested $14,
$50 and owned ifty-folr shares. The former
agent had secured to himself personally eight
shares and two other gentlemen held one share
each When this state of affairs became known,
one of the editors (Mr Linthicum, now editor
of the Soano Democrdt), resignd his position.
giving to his friends the reason, that he was
unwilling to remain associated with journal own
ed by and about to be conducted in The interest
of the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Up
to that time the Reporter had opposed railroad
subsidy schemes; it then for time became silent
on the subject and now attempts to show that
subsidy question is side issue" and that
Democrats should not permit it to enter into
politics.
This is the plain, unvarnished truth, and JUST
fes us in warning the Democracy against being
deceived by the Reporters hypocrisy. The Cen
tral Pacific Railroad Company, corporation
composed exclucvely of Republicans and whose
millions have been expended for Chinese labor
while thousands of white laborers have remained
idle becuse no man had hired them owns the
Reporter, and yet it sets itself up the central
organ" of the Democratic party of the State,
and assumes to dictate what the party platform
shall be! We submit that Stanford, Crocker &
Co. are not proper persons to dictate the Demo-
cratic platform, and that the Democracy of Cali
fornia must not, cannot be employed by the
Central Pacific Railroad Company to aid it in
plunderng the State and subjecting the people to
further burdens of taxation for its aggrandze-
ment.
TREAsURER's MONTHLY STArEMENT.--The fol-
lowing is the Statement of the County Treasurer
for the month ending January 31st 1871: