Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-07-18
The Report Of the Vermont Central Investigating
Committee.

The report of the legislative committee oil
investigation into the charges against the
Trustees and Managers of the Vermont Cen
trail and Vermont and Canada roads, came
at time when the Ethan Allen celebration
and the exercises of Common cement week
were crowding our columns and absorbing
the attention of many of our readers. We
could, at the time, barely give space to the
report without comment. 1t is, however, a
document of sufficient Importance to war
rant us in recurring to it, and inquiring
what it amounts to.
What were the charges against the man
ayers? 1t was charged that they had cor
rupted the legislature of the State by
brides and secret retainers; that they
maintained "secret service fund " fol-
corrupt purposes; that thirty thousand
dollars had been paid from this fund fol
corrupt purposes at Washington to aid
Gov. Smiths schemes in connection with
the Northern Pacific road that the Man
ayers had paid their private debts will
passes and Communication tickets ; thai
they had stolen quantities of brick, lumber
furniture, etc, from the roads to put into
their private mansions; that they had had
Large amounts of freight carried foi
themselves Individually, without charge
that they corruptly obtained the lease OF
the Ogdensburg road, by bride of S25,
900 paid to the attorney Of that road; that
they had plundered their trust by means OF
leases of other roads and by fraudulent "car
companies; that, IN short, their manage
ment of the roads had been one continuous
system Of fraud. pecalation and embezzle-
ment of trust funds. to the great damage OF
the property in their charge, and to the
enriching of themselves. These charges
were published widely in the papers; were
drawn up in legal petitions; and were re-
hear~ed before the committee by the counsel
OF the committee, who charged the mana
gers in terms with stealing, freely applied
to them the epithets thieves" and rob
bers, and added. as to Gov. Smith, an ex-
plicit charge Of perjury.
Who composed the committee?
The investigating committee was joint
one, appointed by the President Of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House. 1t
was committee satisfactory to the persons
who were circulating the charges against
the managers, and who hoped to see them
broken utterly down in property and repu-
tation. At its head was Hon. D. R. Bailey
of ST. Adams, who. in the fights of factions
in that sometimes inharmonious village.
has often been opposed to the Smiths, who
certainly was not at this time at all under
their nAueLce; and who was pronounce
by the correspondent and reporter Of the
Boston Traueiler-the organ of the 70 iders
against the management, and himS elf as
bitter against the managers as dis charged
employees are apt to be-"in this question
ofcorruption. bribery and peeu lation, the
uery man to lead a movement for thorough
expose.
Second on the committee vs. Hon. Jacob
Esty of Brattleboro, veal thy manufac-
turer. altogether iniepen de Mt of any rail
road, and with no preju1ic Is in favor of the
managers of the Central. Next was Hon.
John NJ. Bartlett of '.slarld Pond. a leading
merchant of Essex county, entirely removed
from connection IF any kind with the Yer
mont Central, md pronounced by all to be
a man OF EN- lnently fair and independent
Judgment. The other members were Gen.
P. P. PIT gin ofMontpelier, manufacturer,
of well known honesty and independence OF
char acter Josiah Grout. Jr., of New
pc IT, and Loyeland Munson of Manchester,
Two young lawyers in good standing, who
have never been in the pay of the Central
or had any particular relations with it or Its
managers. The committee was pronounced
to be made up of good material by the
enemies of the management; and, as oul
readers see, if it had any bias, as commit
tee, it was not in favor of the trustees
1t was not embarrassing committee,
nor capable of being transformed into one.
The committee were in session a number OF
DAYS. took testimony which makes a volume
of 400 or 500 pages, and listened to a long,
malicious and abusive argument from their
counsel, maintaining that the chief charges
against the managers had been amply
proved. The counsel of the managers made
no argument, and submitted the case upon
the testimony taken by the committee.
The committee took two months in which
to make up their report, and it is before
the public. Contrary to general expecta-
ton, it is unanimous report. Our reader:
have had it in full, and we need not recap
itulate its findings Its main feature is its
substantial generation of the trustees and
managers from the charges of personal dis
honesty. The committee found no stealing,
no corrupt bribery, no peculation, no en-
bezzlement of trust funds. If they had
discovered proof Of such practices, they
are men who would have sad so.
But they are not simply silent as to
whether such proof has or has not been
proyed; they say expressly at each point
of the inquiry that they have not found
such corruption, fraud and peculation. In
other words, the main charges against the
managers, those affecting their personal
character as men and citizens, have not
been sustained.
Beyond this, the committee do not ap-
prove several acts and points of policy of
the managers. While not finding that legis-
lation has been corruptly influenced there
by. they pointedly condemn the secret re-
tanning of more attorneys than are strictly
needed for the LEGAL business of the road
They do not like the car companies. They
see no call for a secret service fund. -
They think the attorney of the Ogdensburg
road was paid an unnecessary and extrava-
CANT iee-that it was the latter. it will be
remembered was also Gov Smiths opinion.
They found questions about contracts and
royalties and prices of castings and divisions
of profits from the leased roads, on which.
in the absence Of evidence of fraud. thew
DO not feel called upon to pass, but leave
them to be determined on settlement of the
receivers accounts with the Court of Chan
Gerry. They advise the abolishing of the
whole system of free passes. And. finally.
they condemn the running of the road by
the Court of Chancery, as an anomalous
aRd unfortunate" proceeding-unwise and
impolitie, both for the Court and the road.
Such Is the report. 1t covers fairly the
mattersh insquestion. We do not find in if
the Inconsistencies and contradictory
opinions which seem to have been discovered
by some Of our contemporaries, who appar-
emily think ii was the duty of the commit
tee to bring in report wholly exculpatory
or wholly condemnatory, or else two re-
ports one wholly condemnatory, and the
other wholly e1culpatory. We do not see