Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1873-03-01

1861, my father went to Georgia, hoping to
find her sufficiently recovered to return to
Washington; but us she could not be re-
moved, he decided to remain with her and
postpone his visit to Europe and the
further prosecution of his great enterprise
until the settlement Of the political difficult
ties.
The Union Pacific Railroad Company
was chartered BY act of Congress, APP
proved 1st of July, 1862. That act fixed
the capital stock of the company at $780,
GOO, 600, and limited the amount of stock
TO be held by any one person to 500, 900,
thereby holding out the idea that it was to
be great national enterprise, which could
not be "gobbled up'' by few individuals.
But it was also provided that the company
could be organized ON a subscription of
S2,00O,0O0 and the payment of ten per
cent thereof, whereby it was placed in the
power of S1OO, 100 to control the enter
prise. The idea was also held out to the
public that the management was to be en-
trusted TO men of high character. such as
Erastus Corning, WIN. b. Ogden and 9TH
ers Of like standing. Those gentlemen,
however, relying on this general under
standing, stood back on tie dignity of their
characters, waiting in be elected by the
spontaneous action of the stockholders.
But DIR. T. G. Durant had managed to Sc
cure the requisite proxies to elect himself
as Vice President, with board to suit his
purposes; and, to give some character to
the organization, a large sum was paid to
John A. Dix for the use OF his name as
President of the company. Durant's next
step WAS to open II negotiation through
George Francis Train and Charles NJ. Hall
for the purchase of the charter of the Penn
! sylvania Fiscal Agency from Messrs. Hal
stead, Brooks and Barnes. But that could
not be done legally, because neither OF the
last mentioned had any authority to trans
fer my fathers interest, and Mr.. Halstead
refused to listen to any arrangement that
did not protect my fathers Just rights.
Failing in the attempt to purchase that
charter, efforts were made to obtain n SINH
lar one in New \ Iork and New Jersey. L
know nothing, except from hearsay, of
| S3OO,UOO having been offered at Albany,
and Sl50,U0O at Trenton, as stated by Mr.
/ Boyd, although | have reason to believe
that in that Mr. Boyd's statement is cor
rect; but he is altogether mistaken in say
ing that it was afterwards obtained from
the Pennsylvania Legislature for $4,000.
! That sum was paid to Oliver w. Barnes
and Charles NJ. Hall, and not to any mem
Der of the Pennsylvania legislature. 1t
was not paid as purchase money for the
charter, but as 4 bribe to Barnes and Hall
| for their aid in an attempt to "steal' the
charter, as hereinafter explained.
| In the spring Of 1863 my father was lying
! i'll in one room of my house in Georgia and
my mother in another. About that time
| the death of my cousin, Mr.. Duff Green, OF
| Paramount, Virginia, was announced, and
it was generally supposed that my father
was dead. Tempted by an offer Of $50, 900,
and perhaps embOldened by the idea OF my
fathers death, Barnes and Hall were in
duced, OH May 90, 1868, 10 fabricate false
and fraudulent papers purporting to be
minutes of the proceedings of the com
missioncrs named in the act to incorporate
the Pennsylvania Fiscal Agency" and a
certificate" of pretended subscriptions
| to the capital stock Of the Pennsylvania
Fiscal Agency.
On the 1st Of June, 1863 Barr es ''af-
! firmed'' before James McCahen, an Alder
man of Philadelphia, that these fraudulent
minutes" were correct" On these
| fabricated papers and false affirmation, by
| decet!ully concealng the previous bona tide
| organization of the company by the COM
missiouers in November. 1859, letters pa
/ tent, dated June l, 1868, were obtained
! from Governor A. q. Curtin, purportng
to create and erect the subscribers ii. o.,
those named in said fabricated papers) into
one body politie .aud corporate, by the
name, style and title Of the Pennsylvania
Fiscal Agency"
These pretended letters patent were then
turned over by Barnes aud Hall to the
Durant-DiX party in New York. They
were obtained by fraud practiced On Gov
elnor Curtin, who doubtless signed them
inadvertently, in the usual course of busi-
/ m IA "a
Governor of state must necessarily re-
pose in his official subordinates, whose bus
mess it is to prepare papers for his sigma
turc. But they were mere nulllty, there
being no law authorizing their issue. They
| could have no effect whatever on the pre-
viously vested rights OF the stockholders
under the organization OF 1859.
BY a subsequent act of the Legislature.
approved Goth March, 1864, tho name OF
the pennsylvania Fiscal Agency was
changed to the Credit Mobilier Of Amer
ica." My suppositon is that the chlef-ii
not the only--object of this change OF name
was to prevent inquiries being made by
Messrs. lIalstesd, Brooks, Stephen Colwell
and others, who, if they should happen to
hear of the operations of the Pennsylvania
Fiscal Agency, would ask awkward qucs-
tons, but would never suspect that the
. Sltdl NECulJ MODllleI VI AlhtllSdN Nbltll
was building the Union Pacific Railroad,
claimed the franchises, powers, rights,
privileges" Of their old Pennsylvania Fis-
cal Agency.
am happy to inform you that my father
is not dead, as you stated few days since.
At the age of eighty-two his mind is as
clear, his eye as bright and his hand writ
ing rs steady AS they were forty years ago.
He is now President of the lawful and gen.
une Credit Mobilier of America, whose of
ficers are William Halstead, Treasurer
Beniam +. Green, Secretary; Samuel X.
Brooks, Jacob Zeigler and John Rice, Di-
rectors, with one vacancy, caused by the
death of Stephen Colwell
The Durant-Ames-Alley Credit MoblieI
is bogus concern, originating in fraud
aud based on fabricated papers, falsely
affirmed" to be correct, by which the
charter was not stolen, as stated by Mr..
Smith, but only attempted to be stolen.
BENJAMIN L. GREEN,
Sec'y Of the Credit MObilior of America.
A FELLOW, on being asked to write q