Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-04-27
ALAsT WORD.
A yIsdloailau Of M. alHsF hlsFiwsihsF-
Aa Answer to kr. a. s. Mlt0hsH.
An Able esmmanaer Of NsFss-That four
Dollar stock InVestmsRt.
That eostFaef Alphabetical People aad
Prastlesl-Faets are siUbbaEn ThHas.

I
That eostFaei Asain-Postlcal People aad
Pragtlcal-Faots are siubsaFH Thnas.
| Editors AppeGL-As the length Of Col.
/ MeriWether's absence is uncertain es 80
many people express to me q regret tnst
/ he is not here to reply to Mr.. Mttehell's
| tremendous statements, as Mr.. Mitchell
/ persists in coming out every day Ia the
| DaDers and triumphantlY assumes to have
| s'shelled out" the whole "Four Dollar
/ Board, ,"and to ''hOld full and peaceful pos
sfs sion of the Geld, " and, IS deeming this
! an oouncement of victory g little prema-
/ ture on Mr.. Afitehell's part, propose to
make little review Of the present aspect
| of the warfare, / do this to show the
| true position of parties, that our thinking
| people may not too hastily believe vic
| tory rests with the biggest talker.
It is well known that Colonel Mert-
| wether is q lDOrkiHQ mana man Of facts
| and figures. In the aFts Of the advocate, in
| the show of the sOphist, in the ready
/ tricks and quirks of the special pleader,
many men will excel him; and lhr. Mitch
ell, in these gifts, will excel many men.
| MIR. Mitchell is, indeed an
ABLE CoEAdAEDER OF WORDS.
He can muster them around any state
mont, any humbug, any plan he wishes
70 fight for, ana they do him good service.
But the man of FIGURES viii bring up his
close columns and scatter his words 20 the
/ winds. The man that fights with figures
| moves steadily on the object be fights for;
/ the man that fights with words makes war
| as the old Parthians did-he lets az g
I shower Of arrows which may annoy the
! enemy, but do not impede his progress,
/ Il is verV natural Mr.. Mitchell should
/ oh +.11T
| business. But why bs. so hard on the
/ poor a four dollar" gentlemen, when it
/ really seems it was not all their fault that
! they got into the Board so ehesply? As
/ Mr.. OvsrLOu says, - q number Of leading
| citizens haUlHg a deep interest IN the pros
/ pertty Of our county and city, !" solicited
/ them to 90 in-at least It was such solicit
/ tation that made Colonel Meriwsther and
! Mr.. OveTtOn consent to become members
| Of the Board. When those {" leading citi-
| zsns " find out what huge mistake they
/ made in their estimate Of those two gen
/ tlemsn, how badly they will feel. The
/ worst thing about the ''four dollar Board"
/ is, Mr.. Mitchell, even with his able gene
! ralship Of lgOTds, can't make them
| ashamed of themselves. They positively
refuse to blush about the
-FOUR DOLLAR" STOCK INvEsTMENT.
| They boldly say their only idea was to
/ uuY enough STOCK 10 uAko bneLA Selves
i legally qualified to act In the Board"
1 Our private opinion is, had the legalizing
| amount been One-qUsrtsr instead Of
/ whole dollar, they would not have in
| vested 8 cent more than the quarter. Some
| people GCilL be economical, and besides,
| one Of the number very justly took into
| consideration the "Chesp land" he might
/ bs called on to give. We heartily wish
! the amount had been quarter of dollar.
! The less money the bigger the joke on
! those TOO too solid" men OF Memphis,
| Col Frank White, Mr.. OvertOn and Col
/ MeriWether, and the public enjoy a joke
on such men.
Mr.. Mitchell says: "a careful exam
ton of MeriWether's com mmunicatlOn will
| show that his attack is based on the terms
| of my contract" We like that. CErefll!s
! Did it need a careful examination 10 show
thst2 One had as well say, "a careful
examination of a msn's face will show
! the nose on It,"
CAREFUL EXAMINATION
Of the sky on a sunshiny day VIII show
the SUM That contract was the very head
and front of the ''attsck." That contract
was itself the "sttaGk" M6riWsther
made no attack; the contract made it.
MeriWsther took the contract and held
it up to the public, and that was the
attack Of which Mr.. Mitchell complains.
Lest unthinking persons too easily give
credenee to Mr.. hIitChsllis cry Of victory,
we reproduce here Colonel MeriWether's
expose of that contract:
''THE CONTRACT EXPOSED.
81 found a contract msde By the Presi-
dent Of the company with the company,
in his own behalf by which he pays him
self $50 900 first mortgage bonds, and $50
600 ten per cent, preferred stock, for pro-
curing an set OF legislature, which did
not cost him Ons dollar save his legitimate
/ eX psnsss at n Esshville-whiCh were paid
by the company, as 1 am informed; Hnd
mind you, this s 800, 600 be talks 50 much
shout, is not subscription, but loan Of
State bonds worth about $50, 900, Tor
| which the company mortgages it's entire
road, and pays six per cent, on the $780,
/ 900. This state aid is not receivable until
| twenty-five miles are graded, and ready
| for the iron, and so on in sections Of
| twenty miles.
" EXORBTTANT COMMISSIONS.
This same President contracts on his
own behalf for ten per cent. commissions
| on all stocks procured in this State and
! Kentucky, and fifteen per cent. on all
stock subscribed, or loan Of material or
! Credit-mark you, fftes7s per cent. OH al
money bOrTOIDed sLSe1OheTe-snd reserves
| to himself the exclusive agency of max
| ing all negotiations of bonds, and the pur-
chase Of all rails chairs, spikes, lOcomo-
tiyss, cars, etc., from Memphis to Cairo,
Tor which he is to receive the usual COM
missions.
" Five THOUSAND DOLLARS SALARY.
" Besides all this, he receives q salary Of
5000 per snnum.
This is the contract in all its bold au-
dacity with which this exemplary Presi-
dent has attempted to swallow the Mis-
sissipLl River railway.
Most Presidents are content with sal
ary Of 5000 q year and their Legitimate
expenses paid. General Forrest receives
$1,000 per sunum, and two and half per
cent. commissions on bona fde stock, not
on borrowed money, and pays all his own
expenses. 1t is a part of the legitimate
duty of a President to raise subscriptions
of stock, to negotiate loans, to purchase
rails and outfit. But Mr.. Mitchell is not
content with this. Hs demands 5000 sal /
sry for his duties as President, and then
for performing those very duties he de-
mands ten per cent. on stock subscrip-
tiOus in Tennessee and Kentucky; fifteen
per cent. on subscriptions out Of these
States; fifteen per cent. on all loans ne
gOtiated out Of the State, compounded by
the addition Of the usual commissions on
top of that, and, still not satisfied, he de-
msnds commissions as factor for pur-
chasing rails, rolling stock, etc, etc. It /
was this contract, outraging all deCsncy,
void, and Mr. Mitchell's threat Of legal
penalties will not deter them from test |
ing its validity"
What does Mr.. Mitchell say to this? He
does not deny it is "fesrfully rapscious."
he admits it is, but saws "tgkeIl he made 10 |
he did NOS inse1d to hold tke company to its
terms" What a business man make q /
contract and set down figures, ss the chill /
dren say, ''just for fun"S A business man
make a contract and not rely on its speei- /
fcsriOns?
POETIC PEOPLE
may understand such contracts, but prac
ticsl men like Colonel MeriWethsr viii
never understand anything except what
is set down in plain black and white As
evidence that ne never intended TO hold
the company TO the terms of the contract,
Mr.. Mitchell says sat the request Of the
company be reliBqUished all those COM
missions, and settled at about three per
cent"
So It seems even that generous old board
had got their eyes little opened to the
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