Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-03-12
" Gould to be Arrested.
The Downfall of the Erie Ring.
A New Board of Directors
Elected and the Old Board
Thrown out.

New York, II. The Erie Railroad direc-
tors have been in close consultatihn all day,
but the result of their deliberations is not
public.
The meeting of the Erie directors resulted
in Jay Gould and eight directors being voted
out, and they were torciby elected from the
premises. The Presidents room and the
Erie building are in charge of several hun
dred police.
revolution was accomplished to-day in
the Erie direction. Until l2 o'clock the Erie
Office was as silent as grave. Jay Gould
was in earnest conversation with Mr.. Shear
man and ID avid Dudley Field. DR.. Eldridge
walked nervously up and down the room,
and Henry Smith, Of Smith, Gould & Mar
tin, showed great anxiety. At ten minutes
past II o'clock there was hustle at the
outer door, and party of ten men pushed
away The sentries and were received by f.
A. Lane, an old bosom friend of Fisk. at the
head of the grand staircase. This party of
gentlemen were as follows: General John
A. Dix, Gen. G. B. Mcclellan, Attorney
General S. NJ. Barlow, VIM. B. Travers, II.
s. Stebbins, Chas. Day, w. W. Sherman, of
Duncan, Sherman & Co., and Justin White.
These gentlemen advanced directly through
the hall to President Gould's room, and then
passed into the directors apartment, leaving
Gen. Dix, Gen. Mcclellan and others in the
an,i-room The following nine who COM
pose the majority of the old directors. or.
dered the room cleared and commenced vot-
ing for new directors: Messrs. Hilton, Sim
mons, Geo. C. Hail. Thompson, II. w. Otis,
Archer, Ramsdell, J. d. White and f. Lane.
They sent for Gould, Sherwood, Eldridge
and Drake, who refused to join the board.
Mr.. Garrison of the old board was absent and
MIR. Sissons sick.
AS the directors were about to ballot for
Gen. Dix as a new director, Mr.. Sherman,
attorney for Erie. presented an injunction
against further action. He was pushed vio-
lently out of the room and the injunction
torn into tatters. In few moments Mr.
Sherman appeared, headed by Capt. Petty
and forty policemen.
"By what authority does Mr.. Sherman
appear in this room with crowd of police
men," exclaimed Mr.. Barlow, greatly ex-
cited?
IL am here by order Of Jay Gould, to pre-
serve the peace, but am ordered not to rec
ognise you gentlemen"
You, Mr.. Shearman, have no right here,
you nor your secretary" exclaimed Mr.. Lane,
so take up your traps and leave.
Mr.. Shearman did not stir, but ordered
Capt. Petty to dissolve the board as illegal.
Capt. Petty demurred, and in few moments
Mr.. Sherman left the room.
was elected director, then Gen. Mcclellan,
then w. X. Travers, then H. G. Stebbins,
then Gen. Devin, then w. w. Sherman, and
after that the board had everything their own
way.
Gen. Dix was elected president of the
board of directors, in place of Jay Gould.
o. II. Archer was elected vice president, w.
w. Sherman treasurer, Ii. n. Otis secretary,
and John w. Hilton was reelected transport
tation.
Mr.. Barlow now offered a resolution that
Mr.. Field and Mr.. Shearman be dismissed as
counsel for the Erie Railroad. This was
carried. and S. M. Barlow was. elected in
their place both for the company and the
directors.
A resolution was passed that the treasurer
pay no orders for money, and that all the EN-
ployees of the Erie Railroad are to pay no
attention to any one but President Dix and
Vice President Archer. 1t was then ordered
that every sub-officer of the Erie Railroad
should be notified of the resolution and in
structed to disobey Gould or all Of the old
officers.
Adjourned.
Gould says that their action is ilegitiHate
and that the new officers will not be obeyed.
As Mr. Barlow went out he remarked to
Capt. Petty and hisforty policemen Gentle
luton has taken place, and that you are not
wanted"
1t appears that a meeting was called to fill
two vacancies in. the board, and that Freder-
lex A. Lane sent in his resignation as a d.
rector, and the places of several others were
declared vacant. Late in the day nothing
else was talked of in Wall Street but this
Erie matter, and among the late reports was
one that the English stockholders had agreed
to advance to the company any money neces-
sary up to five million pounds sterling. 1t
was also rumored that Jay Gould would be
arrested this evening.
the former board of directors not having re-
signed, and who are members of the new
board:
Dr. Eldrdge, Mr.. Archer, John Garrison,
Jay Gould, Homer Ramsdell, ii. NJ. Smith,
NJ. C. Sherwood, and Mr.. Drake.
During the proceedings Judge Barrett
made his appearance, and was warmly greet
ed by Gould and Field. 1t is alleged that the
members of the board of directors who re-
tired one by one. did so in the interest of the
English stockholders aud Great Western
Railroad Company. The president of the
board alone has power to call meet
ing, except in case OF his absence, when the
vice president may call meeting at the re-
day the vice president called a meeting of the
board, stating that the president was absent.
News of this leaked out and an application
stating that the president was not absent, and
that he had not received request to call a
meeting was made to Judge Ingraham for an
injunction restraining the meeting, which
was granted, the only notice he had received
being to attend as director. Gould also
stated on information and belief that money
was being freely scattered as brides.
Geo. Crouch, journalist, who formerly
represented the English stockholders IN the
interest of Fisk & Gould, and who now ap'
parently is on the other side, gives the fol-
lowing to the press:
Gould and party say this is all con-
spiracy and combination in the interest OF
McHenry, and a short time ago if we got the
chance we would put in all Englishmen,
which is contradcted by our putting in all
Americans. The talk that the interests Of
the road are to be subservient to those of the
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, is
merely a weak invention of the enemy. As
to the alleged conspiracy, the names of the
men on the new board are those of men not
likely to go into any underhand conspiracy.
1t would not pay to do it, and they would not