Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-06-03

For the Chronicle
Was u Cato who snid, "Where Vice pre-
walls ard tnIplous men bearsway, the post
Of honor - a privnic etationv7 Perhaps
have hereiofo held posltfons In one NJ, &.
n u II. R.DirectOr's BOARD, striving ~ do
tlsir duty. and who have been supplanled
~ others who have more Interest IN the
second mortgage bonds OF the) railroad.
hut whether they feel sore, hurt, aggrieved
or perfectly placid and "content with their
lot" certain Is IL that the people who built
or three hundred thousand dollars a conn
ty subscription of two hundred and nifty
thousand and n city subscription of one
hundred thousand, to say nothing OF the
pal or funded, and the prospect of ~ debt
snddled upon them, the end or final pay
ment of .wiilrh no man can see. We say,
S iSsse shns S p sDRe "s cf hens
though Sitting with closed doors, in sxecu-
tive session, (Which, by the way, isall right,
"though meeting oft, and Hitting ever y
yet enough IL known TO class ~ them rs
follows: First, Those men who are sup
posed 10 have nothing but the Interest OF
the stockholders, the citizens OF this city
and county, at heart. Second, The men
who are. friendly 70, and have the Interest
of, the President (s36o at heart. Third
Interest of, the .'Due Hill" men ut heart
Fourth last, but not least, those who
have thcir interest In the second mortgage
bonds Mt heart. Having enumerated tiie
heartfelt interests on one side. the ques-
ton now presents itsclf--to what portion
'of this Directory do the people look for ai,li
Undoubtedly to the first. We believe that
the ''Due Bill' men should, md will. bt
paid by the state. The President ana Re-
celver will hold his salary III we can keer
the road, but the second mortgage bond
holders are least entitled to sympathy ol
"a nf ha A la nr n<f mr. N,
the road. We do not say that the second
mortgage men are not entitled to anything
but all of US remember the decision of the
case, when ne demanded the full amount
OF his bond and iIis, you remember, was q
first and only MORTGAGE" We must adj
nit that we do not know what price was
second mortgage bonds, hut with the ex-
ception of n debt of ten To twenty thous-
and due the Planters Bank, u debt arising
larry attachment, at Plttsburg, just before
the war, and which, If attended To proper
~, would probably have cost nothing hui
attorney and court fees. and n certain per
centage paid some contractors, amountina
20 perhaps forty or nifty thousand dollars
With these exceptions, we do not know
tnor has iteyer been published so fnras we
can rememberl what these bonds were IT,
ask AIR. Breed or Mr. Faxon, In whose
hands these books probably are, to give the
people the history of the disposal or these
nor would weintimate that the parties who
disposed of those bonds did so Illegally oil
uEIawfully; but we do wish to know how
ths necessities Of the company have been
OF the equity that The holders. both forei ~
and domestic, sustain. We leave this
branch Of the subject, however, for we are
Of their Interests and tie danger, VIII look
out for the one. and avert u possible, the
other. In any event. the writer has but an
equal relative interest with all tax payers
and will try to stand whatever the rest car
But what Is the status Of the Railroad? In
a few words. we understand land there was
no Tribune reporter In Your executive that
hasagreed to let this people have the States
interest or claim against the road, amount.
ing to between two and three millions, for
81 ,7o0,OoO in state bonds. This may proba.
bly, be lessened. The l.. & ". Railroad is
willing to give 81, 20O, 900 In State bonds and
ss7 900 In stock OF the L. & N. Road for the
States interest. This may probably he in
Is made, by or IL rough an outside party
either tile second mortgage holders will
have to suffer. or the city and county. As
you will see, there Is n margin or difference
between the states terms and the l.. & N.
off 4 OF sJD0,0O In State Bonds, worth zoe.
or cash s}50000. How readily and how hap
PLY, II this trade Is consummated, by or I'm
haps claim an act of benevoience "in
knocking Off the interest,"" and thereby
leavingyou without Railroad, but % nice
little Railroad debt of (original or fnnded)
about Si20. 900. Is not this "a delightful pros
pect? Bat Is IL necessary to lose our road
at all? We think not, and we believe II
will be cause for shamefacedness in all ftl-
ture time. Ii we cannot raise financial skill
and enc gy sufficienttO save IL to ourselves
We have not got the figures at command
but we remember this much, that while, In
1868. the road earned between S200,OO and
S3irl000. In 1860, II earned between $500 O0f
and s500, 000: that the earnings Of 1869 over
1868 were fiftv odd per cent, and those oil
1870 over 1868 wero eighty-two and a hall
per cent; that of the earnings of 1870 II
took hui sixty and a half per cent. 10 run
the road as ordinary expenses: the rest be-
ing absorbed I'm .extraordinary" expenses
such MS iron bridges, ballast. filling up old
trestles mileage or rent of cars, &C., &c. We
have gotten these figures from one of the
officers of the road. and bclieveng them Ia
he correct, we made memoranda at the
time.
We expect to have more to say upon this
matter hereafter. and so close now with the
question Are you ready to let this road GO
out Of your hands without an effort? or. IL
finally Obliged to let IL 90. are you ready to
p ying Mr.. Wilson, of New York, a good
sum of money, and u half dozen men OF
GAINESVILLE n lesser amount? some of these
same men having made speeches over the
county to induce you to subscribe THU
stock, or will you let your voice and wishes
be heard by n mass meeting?
JUNIUs.