Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1872-11-08

State through some OF lis public men but
We cannot see now paper of the standing
of the .Joarnal. can undertake 10 pooh
pooh such matter ont OF the way In
saving 50 much. We Of course, do not
assume that there lssno possible EXPLAIN
non Of these charges, consistent with honor
and integrity in the gentlemen named
We earnestly trust that there l. such ez-
PLANTATION. and that il viii be forthcoming
II certainly seems 10 be called for
The Vermont CsHtral.
Editor Free Press and Tunes
The absorbing topic at Montpelier. j. the
Vermont Central Railroad and the proposed
Central Vermont charter Inc amount Of
capital involved Is greater than the whole
capiral OF the National Banks and incorp0-
-afed manufacturing interest IL the state
Hence 10 legislation should be hau IL re-
card 10 such IN important interest e. tins
road. without endeav0rIng 10 IND out the
whole truth IN regard 10 management or
acknowledgement OF the present trustee !
wish 10 point out a few glarIng defects IL
RMS hill The capiral stock Is unlimited
the size Of the SHARES was probably Inten-
tionallv omitted. The vested rights OF the
stockholders OF the Vt i Canada and the
bondhoiders of the Vt. Central l. L. are
disposed 0i ID 3 summary manHeF-WIihOut
right of appeal But Alr. hdiior- 1, ID
common with many other citizens OF en-
mont. feel thar TINS Is not the chief objection
o. this bill / wish o. state few iacts
1 The passumpsic Road. as q local road opera
riur only from 81 Johnsbury L. hlte
Z River paid seven per cent. on IL stock
/ The Vermont tenfra-- a through route ana
I doing much larger local business 10 day
I finds IL stock worthless. Its bonds deprecia-
ret. and having ~ interest. and instead OF
/ paving running expenses the present mana
gers nave within the past seven years run
the road in debt % the amount OF $1,000
Oe0 tten millions How is that Tor man
aEemeut
The men vino are designated as receivers
OF subscriptions n the present bill and ais
are most active N urging IL passa ge- are me
{ known paid agents and attorneys OF the
! present managers. and IhIs IN NY opinion D.
! the most Objectionable feature Of the whole
I bill lr Is an insult % the people Of YER
mont % suppose that any honestly managed
/ matter OF sucn importance would re- ulre
any bribery Of auv OF the members Of the
assembly To secure ali necessary ana useful
{ legislation required % protect Its Interest
Z \ ~ the books oi the managers SHOW tiat
+ Tor wears there mas been carried on system
I OF petty nrIuerv of business men or LAWYERS
. win political aspirations winch might lead
! 10 their election as members OF our iegis-2-
! 1ure and - affect the interest OF mnEager-.
! / say bribery and IL amounts 70 H. II con
/ sits Of uas-as. and OF sums OF money ranging
/ from So o. so. dignIiier by the name Of
4 reIalnCrs. These are glarluE indications OF
the entire r0ttenness ana corruption % the
whole thing The people OF Vermont are
willing anu anxious 20 Do lnstlee 10 an m
teresI of such vial importance a. the Z.
Central Railroad. but they do object 70 IT.
management By q set OF men VINO seek by
bribery and corruption 10 retain tnls great
interest II their own hands tor tneIr Own
personal agran1Izement InsIea1 OF tie best
Interest Of the bondh0iders and the public
T.
The shove was handed in hT tine winter,
with an expression Of doubt whether be-
ing written IN opposition to the present
management Of the VI Central. II would be
printed in the FREE Pass d TIKI. We
give space IL IL without the slightest hest
alton. both because We are IN the habit OF
giving FAR hearing 10 both sides Oi public
questions and because q communication So
mistaken ID lis facts and preiudiced IN Its
conclusions. cannot possibly damage any
BODY unless II be the writer tie vii allow
Us. for We do II in friendly spirit. to point
out some ofthe inaccuracies IN ms article
T SAYS the size of the shares WIS IN
tentionaliy omitted We have before this
said that We understood the omission to be
accidental. We now add that We have been
informed by one Of fas ararers ef the biA {
that the omission was purely inadver1ent
and accidental, and il mas been corrected
by an amendment III Committee Again
We do not see how " 7 80 can say the vested Z
rights O! the Stockholders Of the VI and
Canada. 6c-. are disposed Of IN q summary
manner without right OF appeal On the !
contrary it is purely voluntary with the |
stockholders 10 accept the bill or any of its /
provisions: and all vested rights Of all I
parties are expressly reserved. - Z
cannot have read the bill
He talks somewhat al random. also, as il I
seems TO Us. on some other points The /
Passumpsie road did Tor while pay SIX per /
cent on lis stock we do not remember |
any seven per cent. diyidends-but that was
a good while ago. When it began TO ex-
tend and 20 IN for through connections and 4
business. the dividends stopped Nor have
the managers Of the Central made q deficit
as Is 7 would imply, Of ten millions on
running expense. For the ten millions Of
debt, they have immense additions Of prop
erty ofau kinds-roads. rolling stock. &c.
70 show We DO not say that the manage
ment has been IN all respects economical
and wise. We nave not the means Of ac-
curate Judgment on that point but il has
clearly moi been a. exrravaeani as 50 -
would intimate
Inc receiving OF subscriptions Of stock l.
a purely periunctory duty. and the receiv-
ers are James E. Langdon, capitalist Of
Montpelier. Ex-Governor John " Stewart.
gentleman of unblemished character for
integrity. and Hon 10 D. Hatch. the we'll
known saiaried agent Of the present Trns-
tees. What impropriety, pray, Is there, IN
their receiving subscriptions Of stock. and
holding them I'LL the new corporation or
ganizes, when their duties cease?
How, also. does t. know that the
books Of the managers show a system Of
petty bribery for years Doe be know
anything more than that list Of iawyers
retained in one year. mas been published,
which inclnded some members Of the iegis-
iature for that years What We think Of
that transaction. we nave indicated else
where. In these and other respects. the com
communication Of - 7 50 does not seem TO II.
fair OF altogether candid and there Is
plenty Of such effort to carry points by
arOusing prejudice, IN tins matter. rather
than BY open, far and candid discussion.
Looking al this matter as II regards the
public interest-lhe only light in which we
wish 20 consider tive see nothing 10 be
gained by the success of tine present raid
upon the management and credit Of the Cen
fral. the object Of which Is 10 put out the
present managers and put In their place
Gen Stark, Gov stearns and Others, mana
gers of the lower roads and Representatives
Of Boston interests. The Rutland Road was
once in effect run for some time by the
Cheshire and tine result Of tine experiment
was not such as to lead Fermontels TO de-
sire TO see any Vermont road reduced to the