Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-02-04
MINERAL HOME.

, Vile Journals by keeping us in the
dark, are rapidly building up an i'm
mense circulation in the State, for
this great paper at Louisville. Here
is the account by this correspondent
of the great East Tennessee myste-
ry. lft &
| What time his Majesty Hon. w. G.,
Brownlow ruled in this domain as
Governor, to wit: December IA, 1867, q
General Assembly of the Radical per-
suasion passed an act Incorporating
the
MINERAL HOME RAILROAD COMPANY,
which company was authorized to re-
ceive, hold, buy, grant, sue, and to
have and use a common seal, 1.-The
same to be destroyed at pleasure
with a succession of ninety-nine years
of members. Books for the subscrip-
ton of ten thousand shares of the cap
ital stock of said company, of twenty
i've dollars each, were to be opened
January l, 1868. at Taylorsville, East
Tennessee, by commissioners NJ. M.
Wagner, Thos. S. Smith, r.. i. Will
son, J. d. Donnelly, r. r. Butler
Random Roderick), w. e. johnson,
r. B. Mills, John w. Smith, A.
Ward, mot Artemus). Daniel Wag-
ner, r. +. Berry, r. Donnely and II.
81. Murphy. On subscription of five
hundred shares the Board of Com mis-
sioners were to begin the survey of
the route-its location to be, cemmen-
cling ON the Tennessee and North Car
Gina line, in the direction of Char
lotte, and running through Johnson
| county, Tennessee, at or near TayiOrs-
vile, the nearest and most practicable
way to the Virginia line, in the direc-
tion of the Virginia and Tennessee
railroad.
Tie act further prorides that when
ever it shall be satisfactorialIy shown to
the Governor that ten miles of said road
is bridged and graded ready for the irCn
rails and superstructure, he shall be
authorized TO issue and deliver up, OH
application of the president of said
| company, 100000 i'll bonds; and as
| fast as every additional ten miles of
road is prepared, as above stated, a
| like amount. This under the regula-
tions of the internal improvement law
| of Tennessee.
Thus this swindling scheme was
| put upon the country" on its own
sweet merits, and the sequel will show
| that the State will escape heavy loss
| Cf, indeed, it escapes at all) ''by the
skin of its teeth" On the 2nd day of
| October, 1869, Senter then being Gov
| ernor, the president of the company
reported that ten miles of the road had
been bridged and graded, ready for the
| iron rails and uperstrueture, and
| thereup0n the Governor issued one
| hundred bonds of the State $50. 900
| each) to the Home Mineral Railroad
Company. This was doing very well.
The entire length of the road was only
| about forty miles, and but for little
inadvertence of the company the State
might soon have issued the entile
amount of $400.G00 in aid of ''internal
| improvement" and nobody the wiser
or happier. The little inadvertence
referred to was this: The company had
not in fact, however it might have
been in law, bridged and graded the
ten miles aforesaid-nor nine miles
even, nor eight. nor five, nor one, nor
single foot. Nay, verify, in spite
of the presidents report to the contra
ry,
NOT ONE BLADE OF GRASS HAD BEEN
DISTURBED
nor one inch of ground broken on the |
line of the Home Mineral railroad. |
Nevertheless, the company received |
the $l00.000 in bonds bearing the |
broad seal of the State of Tennessee, |
and sold them at forty cents on the |
dollar, Notwithstanding they were not |
to be disposed of, according to law, be-
low par value. 1t must have been |
that the directors supposed their road |
so far away in the mountains that the |
story of its non existence could never
reach Nashville, or that they thought |
the Legislature likely to continue
loyal" But however this may lie,
instead of fleeing with their ill-gotten |
gains into Arkansas. they deposited |
the whole amount, $4,000, in Baxter's
bank at Knoxville, and were prepar-
ing another.ten miles of the road, with
the same kind of tools, when the Gen
eral Assembly put a stop to this little
game of high moral ideas. And right
here comes the strange part of the
story, showing thatthe directors were
not counting ON concealment, or SYM
pathy, in vain, for. though they re-
ceived these. bonds on a fraudulent
representation, October 2, 1869, it was
not till December 6, 1870, thirteen
months afterward, that Gov. Senter
approved an act of the General Assem-
bly, to protectsath interests of the
State. This act states that
WHEREAs: On the I'd day of octo-
Der, 1869, the Governor of the State
issued one hundred bonds of the State
to the President of the Mineral Home
Railroad Company and
WHEREAS, Doubts are entertained
as to whether said bonds were legally
issued or not; whether or not the State
is bound for the payment, therefore be
il enacted that The payment of said
bonds or the coupons clipped there
from be suspended until it shall be de-
eided by court of competentautheri-l
ty as to the obligation Of the State.
The Comptroller and Treasurer were
also, by the same act, prohibited from
paying the bonds or their coupons.
and the Attorney General was directed
to take steps to secure the money for
which the bonds were sold. and also !
the stock of the company, and to in
stltute civil and criminal proceedings | !
against its officers and agents. The /.
INTRODUCTION of a resolution by Hon.
IL. III. Denny. of the House, calling
upon the Attorney General to report
Wnat progress he has made in these
suits, has awakened fresh interest in T
this matter. Before the road was :
: completed, or rather before the
State had been bled to the tune of
s400e00. the Democratic. party came a
into power in Pennessee, and caught fl
he seoundreis of the Home Mineral i,
n trap. IT is evident they presum- +,
ID that Radical rule would continue. Z
Use where the shrewdness in perpetra-
ing fraud without moving Off with ~