The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-02-21

Enormous Frauds : Expose of the
Memphis and Ell Pazo Railroad
Swindle.
New York, Feb. 6.-The Sun to-
morrow has the following facts re-
garding another series of enormous
frauds which are on the eve of in
vestigation:
We have been panied at rumors,
circulated during the past three or
four years, accusing General John
C. Fremont, of dishonesty in the
sale in France of six or eight mil
lions of bonds issued in behalf of the
Memphis and EI Paso, or, as it was
more commonly called. the 'Trans
continental railway" Suit has been
instituted in the French courts,
which will bring the matter to the
test of judicial investigation. The
transactions occurred nine or ten
years ago, when the Government of
Louis Napoleon was still in posses
sion of despotic powers. There were
circumstances of q most remarkable
nature connected with the affair.
The managers of the undertaking,
whoever they were, gained by some
means a surprising hold upon the
French Ministry. They secured for
their bonds admission to the Paris
Bourse, a privilege which cannot be
accorded in France to any foreign
railway securities without express
authority from the Government.
These bonds were put upon the
market, and, under sanction of this
official guarantee, they were adver-
tised in the journals, and special
weekly newspaper, called the Trans
continental, was established to COM
mend them to favor. 1t was even
represented in this paper that the
United States Government had guar
anteed the payment of these bonds.
Another suspicious incident was the
presentation to the Bourse in Paris
of a certificate, signed, sealed and
apparently certified to with every
necessary legal formality, stating
that the Transcontinental bonds
were regularly dealt in and sold in
the New York Stock exchange, this
being contrary of the truth, and all
the signatures, seal and everything
being forgeries.
General Cluseret, at that time a
French citizen, published attacks up.
on the scheme, and he was at once
summoned before the Minister of the
Interior, and by way of punishment,
ordered 10 quit France within
twenty four hours.
The Courier des Etats Unis, a
Journal long established and of high
respectability, likewise ventured to
eriticise the project, and the result
was that it was immediately exclud-
ed from France, and deprived Of the
important benefit of circulating in
the French West India Colonies.
1t cannot be supposed that all this
was accomplished without the pay
ment of bribes to an Administration
SO corrupt as that of the Second
Empire. What these bribes were
have never been precisely ascertained
but it is notorious that the Trans
continental bought large quanti-
ty of iron and supply of locomo-
| tives from Mr.. Schroeder, the great
manufacturer of Creuzot, who was
then President of the French Legis.
latiye body, paying him enormous
| ly. The nominal value of the bonds
sold to the French amounted, We
think, to between seven and eight
millions. How much of this money
was spent in France is not known
but what is certain, is that not mile
of the proposed railway was ever
constructed, and that when the con-
cern went into bankruptcy in this
country, the receiver found TO NOV
able assets, except quantity of iron
and number of French locomotives,
rusted and comparatively worthless
stored at New Orleans. These are
the general outlines of the most re-
markable,in all the list of fraudulent
and unfortunate enterprises. We
presume that the approaching trial
in Paris will develop all the facts in
this strange and romantic story.