The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-02-06
WOULD RUN DOWN, WHEN THEY COULD Buy AT A

LOWER RATE.
Colonel Taylor: VIII you tell us the offer
you made to Mr.. Scott?
Mr.. Ragland : had a telegram from Mr..
Bridges to meet Mr.. Walters in Richmond
I came here, and would have sold Mr.. Wal
tiers the road If lie had wanted it, because i
have always believed that it was better for
Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and
Alexandria that there should be one united
line from Weldon.
Colonel Taylor: Has Mr.. Walters any in
tercst in the Petersburg road2
Mr.. Ragland: Not dollar, sir. think
any man who knows his business can tell
very readily that if the Petersburg road,
and the Richmond and Petersburg railroad,
aud the ltichmond, Fredericksburg and Po-
tomac road were under one management n
great expense could be sayed. /. I met MIR,
Walters in the hotel. He invited INC to bis
room, and said, 3" You have bought the city's
interest in the Petersburg road 2" I an
swercd," Yes" He asked INC what wanted
for it. l told him I wanted one hundred
dollars share. lie asked me if l would
come back again. / did not go back.
went to my room, and staid there until 81
Or 10 O'clock. | was in the Exchange and
then walked over to the Ballard House.
Mr.. Walters was standing In the gangway
ia king, and after l passed him he remark
cd, Mr.. Ragland gave too much for the
stock in that road" l walked on without
paying any attention, but thought he said
il Intentionally In loud voice so that
could hear it. When l came. back he
said, q decline haying anything to do
with that stock" Every WELL" says |;
"I thought it was to your Interest
that the road ought to be under one manage.
mcnt. reckon it is the last opportunity
you will ever have" never said anything
to Mr.. Walters about railroads since, nor to
| Mr.. Scott. Mr.. Scott was with him. l was
introduced to him, but never exchanged
more than four words with him.
talked to Mr.. Newcomer and Mr.. Bridges,
and tried to get the management OF the
| Petersburg and Richmond road, because ]
| thought to have the two roads under one
| management would save expenses. told
them / would take the management and
charge 10 salary, but they declined to do that,
! Colonel TAYLOR: What is the total number
Of shares in the Petersburg road?
| Mr. Ragland: 13,242.
| Colonel Taylor: OF which you own and
control how much?
Mr.. Ragland: Well, think it is about ten
or eleven thousand shares.
Colonel Taylor The balance is held by
individuals?
Mr. Ragland: don't own that much. ]
represent it,.
Colonel Taylor: No corporation owns any
portion Of it?
Mr. Ragland: No, sir except Mr.. Paul.
Savings Bank, which owns some 200 and
odd shares.
Judge Crump: When you made this ofel
to sell to Mr.. Robinson at SS5 would the
city's stock and your individual stock have
given Mr.. Robinson controlling interest ir
the read.
iIr RagIand: don't rccollcct how mucl
had. know I had controlling interest
| Judge CrlliHp: understand Mr. Lyon tc
say that you offered him more stock at the
same price.
Mr. Lyon: Mr.. Ragland offered him about
25G0 private shares, and Mr.. Robinson
spoke OF the pretty large profit at $50 per
share.
Judge Crllmp: I understand that Mr.
Walters had controlling interest in The
Wilmington and Weldon road and in the
Richmond and Petersburg road.
MIR. Ra"!and: Yes.
Judge Cr,lmp: If he had sold out the
| Wilmington and Weldon road to either OF
those parties would it not have given them
4 controlling interest over all these lines? ?
Mr. Ragland 1t would have given them
the same control that we ask for now. II
freight is carried over the Scajoard road,
then the Petersburg road is cut of entirely.
a very large freight goes over the Seaboard
road. II could readily spare some to 60 over
the inland line. This is SO especially in re.
gard to curly fruit, because it cannot be ship
ped on the Seahoard road as rapidly as on
the inland lines. II Mr.. Walters had got
lhi; Petersburg road it would have given him
a through line, provided he could have got
further than Richmond. When get to Pc
ter>burg-Gencral Malone owns nine miles
between that and City Point-and then am
compelled to pay whatever he charges and
within the last week | have been notified
that he is going to charge five cents wharf
age for bale Of cotton. We have TO pay
thirty cents bale on cotton over this road,
when we get only about Il dollar from Wei
don TO Petersburg. When we get there it is
optional with MIR. MCCREADY, WHO is VERY
MUCH TIED UP WITH Mr.. ROBINSON AND GENE
RAJ MALONE, whether he will carry Il bale of
it. Then | am at my ronc's end. We i'll
tended to build branch road down TO City
Point, but finding THAT McCREADY IAD
BOUGHT GIFT THE OPPOSITION LINE was again
ut the end OF my rope.
Colonel Taylor: You pay twenty-five cents
on a bale to City Point; is That without re-
| ference TO size?
Mr.. Rasland: General Malone charges
twenty-five cents bale, and now five cents
more for Wharfage. He don't charge it on
any other road; he seems to make our line
an exception.
Colonel Taylor: You pay thirty Gents on
| every bale, irrespective OF size?
Mr.. Ragland: Yes.
Colonel Taylor: What do you get on that
bale from Weldon to City Point?
Mr.. Ragland: We get about dollar and
two cents.
Colonel Taylor What do you charge on
local cotton from Weldon to Petersburg2
Mr.. Rasland: We charge 2S cents hun
| dred-maybe 2S4.
Colonel Taylor: What does bale average ?
Mr.. Ragand: Perhaps Mr.. Robinson can
answer that better than can. -.e-.
Mr.. Robinson: 4 bale Of cotton will run
from four to six hundred pounds, and the
excess in proportion. 1t is usual on south
ern railroads 10 rpte them ut four hundred
pounds. Cotton from North Carolina will
| frequently run up to six hundred pounds.
Colonel Taylor: At four hundred pounds
| the charge would amount to $1.l2.
Mr.. Ragland: II don't average over s1.o2
to 81 .fS O bale. ......
Colonel Taylor: That would make the
local tariff about the same as that to City
Point, including these extra charges.
Judge Crump: would like the commit
tee to hear what Mr.. Robinson has to say in
reference to the application made by Mr..
Rnvland to Dir. Robinson