Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-04-20

Asoshsr e~omuunlcaslSn 10 Regard to he
Risslsslppl River Rallrsad-A Rlsh
Do0amsut.
Tire BE aiIvs slhsorIpiloas Of Steak Of the
OId and the New soaFd Of Directors.

Tire BE silvs sahsOrIpilsas Of Steak Of the
Old and TIE New soaFd Of Directors.
TO Gs Pabhe-I feel deeply Indebted
to the Memphis public for the u~ndisguised
and manly sympathy they have manifest
ed for my rights,s so E~naceOuutsblY sssailed
by the recent published resolution Of the
new Board Of Directors Of the Mississippi
River railroad And while I thus thank
thems perhaps they viii permit me 70 add
a few words in close Of the controversy.
The ground o. which the new Board
attempt 10 repudiate the contract with
me, and thus, by demanding back the
money and stock paid me, get three years
of mV labor for nothing, is, that the old
Board, elected in C~OviusbOD In 1866, was
not qualified to serve, It's members not
being stockholders OF the company. Of
course, they argue, II the Board was not
qualified TO serve, its contracts are not
binding. snd cannot be enforced
The attitude, morally, in which
TIKI BOARD OF REPUDIATORs
place themselves is this: We viii accept
the organization and 81. 009, 600 Of assets
obtained for our road BY Mr.. Mitchell and
his board: but we viii assume none Of
the costs or Liabilities by which the prop
srty was Createdi Tn heather Chiuee"
MUIAA 4nHo A4LMA lEbbGL A4au 70 EEN 10
play g tricks liz that, and call it claw"
The attitude, legally, Of the Board OF
Repudiators Is this, Is I stated in my
previous letter: If the contract with me
is void, then all the county subscriptions
are void, tor all were made by the same
Board OF Directors that made the contract
with mel
But the premises are wholly false. The
Board elected At CovingtOn in 1865 were
q all legally qualified, and all their con-
tracts are consequently binding, not only
their contract with me but also those
with the County Courts. When I went
to C0vingtOn in 1855 to
REoRGANIZE THE COMPANY,
I took with me a copy Of the charter and
q little blank book in which to record
subscriptions Of those that might be
Lacey before I left the city if E.might use
his name In organizing the Board.
He readily ~assented, adding: "If the
stockholders think proper to elect me, set
my name down for the requisite stock to
| qualify me to serve" When the Board
was elected at CovingtOu, composed Of
Rev. Dr.. Kerr, JnO. T. Douglas, Dr.. Hill,
VIM. Mcintosh, VIM Conner, A Harris,
W. D Ferguson. and myself, all who
we're present, and not stockholders before
the war, Immediately subscribed, either
signing their names Tor shares or direct
] Ing me 70 10 50 IDE EIdLua 4 EuLlk EQL8
was dOn u on the mOtign Of DR.. Kerr, who
Is ever careful to have authority before he
sets.
The following recent letter from Colonel
/ Douglas shows that these facts do not de-
pend on my memory and Dr.. Kerr's alone,
but are most fully c-orrObOratsd by him
/ self and DR.. Hill. IN. B.-I wish il borne
ia mind that in speaking Of Colonel
Douglas" I always mesh Colonel John 7.
I Douglas. Of Upton county,
C~ovINGToN, TENN, April Is, 1871.
! Colonel A. 8. Mitchell:
Dear Sir-Yours Of the 18th and 18th
both came to hand this evening, and I
hasten to reply.
L remember well the organization Of
the Board in 1856, and remember that the
/ subject Of qualification was particularly
cauvsssed, and that each person whose
name was placed on the ticket agreed to
become q s~t0CkhOlder TO the extent Of one
share, except Captain Lacey, who Was not
present. and 1 also remember that YOU
stated tina he had authorized you to sub
scribe one share for him, sndit was with
thai understanding that he wss elected.
/ am oertsin that l subscribed my stock
on that day, and that all the rest who
were present did the same.
Submitted your letters 20 DR.. Hill, and
he remembers the little book and the
shares of stock subscribed, but says he
can't remember whether or not it was on
that identical day. He also remembers
the subject Of qualification to hold Office
being fully discussed and agreed upon
that day. 1 remember PeytOn j. Smith
represented the stock of his deceased
father, So 900, which bad been subscribed
prior to the war. / had nothing to do
with the road prior to tbs war; neither
did Or. Hill. But the re-Organizing Board
we're certainly every z stockholders, if
I know Whist ittakes TO constitute a stock
holder. =
Respectfully,
JOHN 7. DOUGLAS.
OF course. Does any one think I was
such a fool as to Organizs q Board OF IN
qualified Directors when I was to have
such important dealings with them, and
went prepared TO do my work right2
Tbs "little book" of subscriptions here
spoken OF, has bssn
LOST OR MIsLAID;
for during the days of small things"
when We were bearing our own expenses
and toiling for the Mississippi River Rail-
road Company, We had no offices, and no
iron safes. and salaried secretaries TO take
care of our papers. But the facts are all
that is necessary; and the regulators
could a got the facts by simply speak
ing 70 any one of the old Board who was
present at Covington In 1866. They have
been led into their grievous blunGer by
following the lead Of cheap Law in their
own ~body-One Of their number being an
ex-Engineer recently bloOmed out into
an attOrney-at-laWl He VIII learn, If he
lives long enough and has rea- enable ca
pacity TO learn anything, that facts sre as
important Is lQV IN making a case that
win hold water,
Ihave
NOW DISPOSED OF
ALn u--~GenHaa. n-g~a h-~A - ---.-a -
the moral snd the legal merits If their po-
sitiOn. But their action has also its tran
sc~endently farcical and ridiculous phase
that I must show up in conclusion. One
would naturally think IL the old Board
OF 1863 could be r~epudisted, as not having
held stock In the company " in their own
right," Notwithstanding they had all sub
scribed, and not only fairly paid in full
Tor their shares by years Of zsalOus SER
vice as Directors, but hsd, a part Of them.
several hundred dollars additional in
cash due them, by evidence Of the re-
corded minutes Of the company, that the
new Board thus repudiating the old and
stigmatizing them publicly as persons
claiming 20 represent the Board of Direc-
tors of the Mississippi River railroad"
must be holders Of enormous amounts Of
stock 'in their own right" which they
could not allow to be touched OF con-
trolled by unhsllowed hands, Wouldn't
the public think so7 Let US
LOOK AT H RECORD.
The repudisting resolutions, I learn, were
passed by four vJtes-twO Of the Board
present, A. 7. Lacey and Dr.. HenninE,
silent and scquiesCing. The four votes
cast we're by Minor Meriwetber, John
L. Norton, +. M. White and John Over
ton, ir. Three Of these persons are fresh
In the Board, and never rode q mile or
worked an hour for she road. Bat they
must be stockholders, Of counsel The
recent report Of the joint investigating
COMMITTEES Of Shelby and Upton coun- Z
ties tells the story, as follows: {
STOCKHOLDERS OF SAID COMPANY.
MerriwetheE ,one shsre(S O0l paid
one per cent......... ............, ....-.- ISL 90
John S, Norton, one share $500, paid
one per eut............... ............... 1 90
7. NJ White, one share (SlO0L paid
q per c6nt...s...a ,........ .................. 1 90 =
John Overton, jr, One share (SlO0) 4
paid one per cent ....... ..........1 90
oAAA-ssssf'ss's 'ss'ssss' sss.ssssssssss...ue % a
-Four dollars, by Jupiteri A ~four-douar :
of Directors repudiating contracts I
insulting DR.. Kerr, Colonel Douglass, DR.. \