The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-12-10
COneernIHg that Contract with Wall
St Get Wilson.

St eel "lISO1s
There Il ooe subject Of inquiry CO...
DectA4 si,h The question d Subscribing 70
the " 4 L z Company, igDofed By the
ssoood Braoch o. Council, that oozht no;
to b nEgisetsd By TIE PirIL Il i The
oootrlet mt8s more thGn siT months go
By the Company with peEsOns in New
YWk who cal themsslTa "a. B. WILL
sOS 4 Co" As We then pointed oct,
there were some vsFy singular thing.
ab9ut the making Oi that contract. Il
WA made By skeleton Organization
which had not probably Ss5 90 bouA 6de
sock ssbscdpsjoas st the time, though ii
VA % biod capital, Afterwards to Be
brO1sht In, d EI or seven millions
All this subsequently acquired capital
VA 70 be subjected 70 the terms Of the
ooDtrAet tbns made, without any voice in
determining is provisions. Another Pc.
eaiiEr tsSsure Is TIA; the Company bOGnd
thsntelves 70 pay = Stipulated price
pr mile without = survey Of the line
ADD without information - % the psob-
abe CO.: Of the work. There was
nothing on ihei, part b; mere guess.
work They bound iheir company 70 pay
40 average Of 81, 90 mile fos the whole
line. Now the President Of the Company
reports, upon the careful estinAies Of =
EarTey made By eompessnt engineer,
that while CT miles Of the road viii COS:
between three and four thousand dolIars
I nile more than the contract price, the
o,heT Il4i miles will cost bSteasa eIssea
ard ttos!ps GI0GsaGd GoEI1yt pr HtZE kas
than the eontrSc: p,;ce. That ia, the l7J
nles QGO d line and Is Of siding will
ca s459O6375O, while the Company
have Contracted 70 pay tl,I25OOO. The
difference "a 81 52i,3S3, which Is dad lus
70 The Company ,resulting iron the dioIic
coutse pursued in making 3 contract
Now tAis city Is mixed 70 come in Is Z
E:0ckholder and pot goo go iato the
losing tIde Of that contract, with la
biliiy q $50 90 more. Lns safe, jsdi.
cious invatmenII Can any man show
that 1t Is! We pui it 70 the common
sense Of men in Council or out
What eise may be in this contract that
might Idd 10 the risks Of tAe city as q
party 70 it, We do not know. The people
Of the city do not know. They did 10,
know when they voted discretion 70 cour.
Gil last spring They 50 voted On the
faith q the natural presumption, and Of
pledges, that couacil would inform itseli
tally on al points touching the safety Of
the investment before actually making it
In The six months that has eIspsed, there
has been profound silence shout this con.
tract And nov co2nciI is In the very
acs Of accepting 8 heavy liability under
II, and We ask IN the name Of common
scnse, Of Common decency, and in the
name d the public faith and trust that
are A5O1t 10 be betrayed, whether
gsntleneo in cOuDci! are going 70 pc: the
city II Is the heaviest s;ockhoIde. Of shi:
Company, unde, the present contract,
~EthoatksoTiDg anything or everything
A5T1.i,? hare members OF council er.
Einined the document in secret: Have
they secretly taken legal advice upon il:
Have IasJ satisfied themselves it is iAil
Hnd sale Tor the stockholders? Possibly;
bat NSo it hiss BEEN done very secretly
indeed Bat why should there be sec,eJ
IN such nA:teri WheaeYef there Is se.
crecy about public business, rely on Il
there Is good ground 70 suspect rsscsIity
TIE public business is the business o.
everybody. Every citizen has right t1
know I'll sboat every point it Ismust
be open TO the inspection and criticism o,
all, and II will 10; be honestly done IN.
ltssitA We were told last Spring thHl
the publication Of the contract might e1.
pose the parties 70 annoysnces, such q.
irlunctionL We said then and cay DOW
II there Is anything in this contract which
would constrain our people TO protect
themselves against j. by injunction, it /.
all the more reason why it should be
made public We do not suppose, how.
ever, that the CourciImen have hsd secret
Information about the contract except 10
few instances, or have had private legAl
advice, So far as we can judge IRON sur
face indications, the contract has no. beer
thought OF, and the unconditional support
ers Of this subscription are going to vote
1t I'M utter indifference 10 such trifing mat.
ten a. may be involved in this contract
But We entertain hope that some Of the
gentleman who favor this measure are moi
70 committed TO It as 10 support it if they
can be shown that 1t will seriously inperil
the interests which it Is their duty to pro
tecL
Let members OF Council ask themselves
whether in business, If some party whost
financial resources were unknown Y
them-or known TO DO slender-should
ask them to join in a business contract
where it appeared On the surface there
was an inevitable loss Of twenty-five pei
cent Of the whole sum involved, they
would join him in It and become liable a
q partneri Sui less, would they dc
thsu they were not allowed TO see TIT
eontrActt What member Of Council
would transact his private business in Thu
~Nvt lGAn,o =