The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-06-02
THE SOUTHERN VULTURES.
HOW THE UECLLAN BIRDS PICK
THE BONES OF The TAXPAYERS.
A Healthy Corpse Discovered in South
Carolina-Uncle Joe Crews, Parker,
Neagle, Patterson. and Other Bare
Necked Buzzards Go for It-TIAe Men
who Wanted Grants Ku-KIux Eill.
Correspondence o. The New FORK SUM-

Correspondence O.. Tie New FORK SUM-
COLUMBIA, May %.
The whole political atmosphere IN South
Carolina is go. surcharged with fraud and cor
ruplion that it would be a little singularit now
and then the sky did not darken and burst
forth in electric flashes Of elimination and re-
elimination. These flashes always reveal the
pathway TO a den OF thieves. and your cores
pondenr. ever on the alert. has avalled him.
self of the last of these outbreaks, and is now
prepared to give to the world a brief sketch OF
one of the many swindles by which tine people
OF this State are bein~ impoverished.
THE CARCASS.
The Columbia and Greenville Railroad leads
from Columbia to GreenVille, and Is 10 miles
in length. The financial condition OF the road
has from its completion been bad. and It's
stock, the par value of which was $50 a share,
almost ralueless. Dividends of course were
out of the question, and the bondholders
groane6 in spirit as they looked at their I'M
prot Give securities. Dead carcesses always
attract v~u!tures, and the deiunct railroad COM
pany formed no exception TO ms RUE: IN Inc
summer Of 1869, when. the corporation was
seemingly in Its death throes. the air became
blackened with these birds Of prey. Hover
inc about eager Tor the final dissolution were
Parker, the Stale treasurer, who is a bird OF
most ravenous propens!ties; honest John Fat
terson. whose talons are deep in everything
foul; the Hon. Timothy Hurley, a vulture @!
hue the blacklist; the Hon. CO. Leslie, q pro
whose plumage has Oltlimes been oesmeared
with public filth; DR.. j. L. Neasle, The comp
troller-ceueral Of the State. who has the Keen
est scent tor prey OF any OF the voracious
birds. and Uncle Joseph Crews, the great
poker player, who Is always among the very
first to light on a carcass, and who smiles COM
placently as ne picks its bones.
THE FEAST OF THE vULTUREs.
Besides these birds there were others who
came to the feast and watched eagerly for an
opportunity 10 gorge their maws from the sui
lures to obtain possession Of the railway car
cass was made in September, 1869. Agents
were appointed throughout the State 10 buy
ND from the discouraged and impoverished
widow and orphan the few shares OF the depre-
clated stock each might hold. To avoid a sud
den rise in the shares, which might prevent
the consummation Of the vullures' schemes,
these agents were selected with a view to their
respectability and position in the community
in which they resided. Fo- the northern part
of the state were chosen Ex-Governor NOW
judge) James L.. Orr and the Hon Jacob P.
Reed. and as the greater portion OF LIE stock
was held in that section, the geDtlemen,named
WCIC mQuC lllS PAAbSAPeh
of a month every available share Of the Green
vile stock was In the hands OF the Statehouse
Ring, ut prices varying from IS cents 10 So a
share. The stock so purchased was paid FOR
with funds raised by the hypothecatlon Of
South Carolina bonds in the New York banks,
and the amount paid in the purchase was
about s240, 900. The floating stock thus pur-
chased, the vultures began 10 think OF q diVi-
sion ofthe prey, and q turning over OF the car.
cass for q new feast, l. e., the reorganlzatlon Oh
the Greenville Company with the darkest oil
the birds In the directory Of the road. To their
CONSERVATION they found thai
THEY HADN'T EATEN ENOUGH
OF the available side to enable them 10 turn it
over. They had not secured a controlling In.
terest in the stock. What was to De done !
The money already borrowed from the Slate
must be made good or exposure was sure to
follow. This could not be done without the
contamination OF their plans. In this juno
ture q happy thought struck the Hon. Niles u.
Parker. Mr.. Parker croaked and the other
vultures tapped their wings and gathered
around to hear it. The State owned 10000
shares OF the stock. which oy existing law 1t
was not empowered TO sell.
.sThe State must sell her stock, and she
must, OF course. sell it to us" said The Hon.
Niles G., to which The other vultures again
tapped their wings in token ofassent.
''But,' said an innocentlooking bird IN the
background, "bow are We 10 make the State
sell the stock when she Is forbidden by law to
do it -
s'rshaw you're green" said the Hon. Niles
G. k"Don't we own the Legislature, and can't
we bride it 10 pass a law for orr benefit p
The birds again tapped their wings and
croaked their delight OF this strategy. Before
going further, however, the new company
each. OF which Parker took q. $50, o00; Les
lie, %; Uncle Joseph Crews, /; heagle, i; and
others in like proportion. Some uf the vul-
lures came near being
LEFT OUT IN TIE COLD
by the rapacity of the others, and had to be
content with flhs and tenths of shares. or
course this organization was but informal, and
was only put forth as the basis upon which the
final divvy should be made:
And now for the Legislature. Leslie and
Whittemore, the cadetship bird. took charge
oil this part OF the programme. They drew ny
what they called a Funding bilr' TO enable
the State 10 dispose Of certain Securities held
as a kind of collateral for advances made years
ago to different corporations. Ofcourse 10 the
pie Gamble the comparative worthleSSnesS OF
these stocks was duly set forth. and the great
advantages 10 accrue from their sale were ex-
patiated upon by the sleek Whittemore, and
were received by the myslifed negroes with
open and eyes rolling. Broad black
palms were rubbed on biacher knees In token
the legislative approval. as the n0tle sena-
tor from Darlington resumed his seat, and the
bill went to its second reading without a muir
muir. Alas! when 1t cam up Tor its tnal pas
sage it was discovered that
SOMEBODY HAD cache
The legislative negro had discovered some
thing akin 10 himselfin the lence. He straight
way resolved that the bill must be killed I'M
he was seep-althongil ry whom he was
to be looked at was q mys cry.
There was money in the bill. and it couldn't
20 through-unless he had his stake, anC l!
lbNn't 60 through that day at least. That
ufSbt The vultures gathered il their nest and
in solemn conclave. The A. D. Barber
(who, by the way, is a negro,) ofthe South
Legislature was sent Tor.
..Mr. PurViS,n said the Hon. Stale Treasurer,
'sthis bill must 60 through"
$50 l suppose, said the anlitype OF the great
show much will it cost - said Niles.
Don't know was the response; haven't
canyaSsed YET. Guess they'll want u lhousahu
apiece though"
ssFind out, will you q said the great Parker,
and the fuglelnan withdrew.
~PEATHERING THE LEGISLATIVE NEST.
This was near the close oil The session OF
1910. The legislative NAV hadn't been well
Tiled. 1t craved spoils, and the nav offered
itself cheap. "Forty.iYe thousand dollars
secure the passage OF the law" said the
sub-canvassers of The two houses, and so C.
ported the Lobby King 10 the v%ul,ures.
Next day the Hon. Niles G.. Parker started
for New York. kilograms We're sent from New
York to this place asking delay in the adjourn
ment. Every effort was made 10 raise the
money, and finally, after weeks OF doubt and
the cash was secured and safely iods-
= =. lo,. A,f MR. this hnNV- |