The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1873-03-07
From the Springfield tMass.1 Rcpuhlcan.l
THE CREDIT MOBILIER.
Its Birth, History, Death and Re.ur-
recttOn

Persons who wish to go to the bot
tom of the Credit Mobilier scandal,
now so much talked about, will do
we'll to read the report of Ames and
Alleys lawsuit with the State of
Pennsylvania, in the fifty-seventh
volume of the Pennsylvania State
Reports-the last (and seventeenth)
volume issued by p. Fraser Smith,
the present State reporter. 1t be-
gins on the 233d page of the volume,
and
COVERS NEARLY SEVENTY PAGES,
containing the proceedings of two
jury trials and two hearings under
writ of error before the Supreme
Court of the State. The first trial
was November 23d, 1860, before
Judge Pearson, who 80 charged the
jury that they gave verdict OF S407 :
4S3 against the Credit Mobilier for q
State tax on the fat dividends for that
Company in 1S67-GS, when Oakes
Ames was placing the stock. "where
it will do ns the most good" At
that time. rs shown in the trial, the
capital stock of the Credit Mobilier
was 50 ,750. 100. and it had declared
two dividends, December 18th, 1867,
in bonds Of the Union Pacific road
valued at s2,7d0. 900; one dividend
January 3d, 1868, lin bonds). of
sG37 500;
TWO DIVIDENDS
Zone cash and one bonds), June IT,
1865. of S3.250.000 (cash). aud
s5o5 900 (bonds,; one dividend
(bonds). June 3. 1868, afterwards
proved to be bogus, of 81, 800 ,G25,
and finally one cash dividend. July
8. 1868, of 81. .125. 900. This makes
total Of 1875 900, in cash, $3,-
sG2 1916 in good bonds, two-thirds Of
which were valued ut S5, and the
rest at So. at the time Of dividend.
Here then, was an aggregate of divi-
dends amounting to ITO per cent. in
seven months, not counting the
spurious 1880 ,625; and upon this
the State claims n tax "of one-half a
mill on the capital stock for each one
per cent. of dividends" about 6 per
cent. a year. amounting to SiS1 ,4OG,
and ten per cent. penalty for fail
ure to report dividends, of S4S, ,l4l
SO that
THE WHOLE AMOUNT CLAIMED
by Mr.. Benjamin II. Brewster, the
Attorney General, was $500 .547 =.
The jury gave him as above stated.
s497 .4e3. making the reductions for
the bogus dividend of June 3, 1868.
But Messrs. Ames il Alley excepted
TO errors in the judges ruling. and
got new trial. December 0. 1870
two years ago-before the same Judge
Pearson, who laid down the law as
he had been instructed from the Su-
preme Court. and jury again gave a
verdict from the State of s636 sos;
which in November. 1871. was again
set aside. Justice Agnew dissenting.
aud another trial has been granted.
N THE COURSE OF THESE TRIALS
which, we presume, are still going
on--for no Pennsylvania jury, we
take it. will ever give a verdict for
Ames & Alley-a host of interesting
revelations were made, and there are
more yet to be made. II seems that
the Credit Mobilier of America
ESQ baptized by George Francis
Train in 1864. was first incorporated
at the pennsylvania Fiscal Agency"
by the State Legislature. in 1859.
The charter may be found in The
acts of 1859 mot 1s69) page 500, and
the original corporators were Samuel
J. Reloes. Ellis Lewis. Carrie NAL
lory, Duff Green, David r. Porter,
Jacob Zeigler, Charles NJ. Hall,
Horn r. Kneass, Robert J. Ross,
William I. Dougherty. Isaac Hugus,
C. II. Reed, William Workman. Asd
Packer, Jesse Lazaer, G.. S. Kauff.
man, q. L. Ward, and Henry III.
Fuller.
DUFF GREEN,
the oldest Jacksonian editor and
politician, procured the charter and
became President of the company,
which was exempted from individual
liability in its stockholders, was al
lowed to buy and sell railroad bonds
advance money to railroads and con.
tractors, make contracts, ETC.; ir
short. to do almost everything but
banking aud issuing of bills.
| THE CAPITAL STOCK
was fixed at s5 900, 900, but business
might begin when s50U, 900 were
subscribed and $25 900 paid in
The agency organized. but, the wal
coming on, and its projected opera
ton being at the South, it did yer,
little business. In 1864, by char
acteristic fraud on the part of Duf
Green's associate, who had beer
chosen Secretary, the charter wa'
sold out to
TRAIN, DURANT, ETC.
Green being supposed to be dead
and by act of March 26, 1864, tn.
Pennsylvania Legislature changed it
name to 1.-THE Credit Mobilier o
America. In 1864 O contract wal
made with one Hoxie to build "a
miles OF the Union Pacific road
and this contract was assigned Il
the Credit Mobilier, and taxes du,
from dividends thus accruing wer'
paid to the State OF Pennsylvania
But on August 16, 1867,
CAKES AMES
made a contract with the railroad, il
which he was q large owner, to built
667 miles and this was assigned, DC
tober 15, 1867, to certain trustees
for their own benefit and that o
the Credit Mobilier. of which the,
Il xun,.n kbn nl,snf nkoolxb al Inxn nln.,.