, 1873-02-13
ZD/2OH
Credit MobiIier of the Northern
Pacific Railroad.

We clip the following from late num-
Der of the Duluth Herald:
"A special disparch to the St. Paul
Pioneer, dated Washington. Jan. 3. says
the publication of the contract of the
Union with the Wyoming Coal Company
has called ont information in regard to
she Northern Pacific Railroad, by which
that company has disposed OF all the
town sites on the entire line of the road
TO ihe Lake Superior and Puget Sound
land Company The terms OF tie con-
tract are not definitely known. The
President of the Land Company is one
of the Directors If the road-Thomas
H. Garfield, of Burlington, Vt The
contract was made under the former
management of the DAD, and it is said
that the present officers are much oppns-
ed to its terms, but are powerless to nd
themselves Of it.
This is full explanation of the re-
ports which are credited by the leading
commercial papers of the East IN regard
to the financial embarrassments of this
company, and accounts for the fact that
with the most ample security and a lib
eral rate of interest, the bonds of the
company meet with no sales i'll Europe,
and with very little encouragement from
responsible class Of bankers in this
country. Bankers who do only legiti-
mate business, will not invest in any
securities of company notoriously di-
raeted and controlled by an insi le ring
of irresponsible spectators. And now,
with the facts before them developed by
the investigation of the Credit Mobilier
; scheme Of the managers of the Union Pa
cifc Railroad, in which it is conclusive
ly and indisputibly proven that ruol e
than the aggregate cost of the road was
filched by the managers from the re-
sources of the company, to enrich them
selves and corrupt the legislation Of
Congress, who will buy bond in the
Northern Pacific company. which is rid
den by like incubus. In its practical
bearings and moral character, there is no
material difference between the Credit
Nobilier Of the Union Pacific and the
Lake Superior and Puget Sound Land
Company. Their designs and the means
employed, were identical; each sought
to appropriate to private use the means
entrusted to them for the public benefit.
The Directors of the Union Pacific, like
Bill Tweed, gave the contracts for build
ing the road to one of their own tools,
aud after paying the cost of the work.
passed the balance of the contract price
to the credit Of the Credit Mobilier, un-
der the same direction. A majority of
the Directors of the N. P. Railroad Co..
convey to themselves as the L. S. and
P. S. Land Co., a mo valuable portion
of the grant to the former-the town
sites on the entire line and control
not only the route and points, but the
entire resources of the compahy to make
their own properly available. What
discreet capitalist would ever think of
investing the money of himself Or eli
ents in any project, however promising.
which was manifestly being used by its
managers in the interest Of ring exclu-
sively for private speculation.
The people of Puget Sound have OBJ
served the workings of this incubus up
on the magnificent project of Northern
Pacific railroad for the past two years
The agents of the land company--iden-
teal with the directors Of the railroad
eompany-preceded the railroad survey
ors and entered all the available public
lanos in market. When work was COM
menced upon the road. it was not upon
railroad lands, but lands bought for that
purpose by the land company. and upon
these lands now q town site--large
sums have been expended by the rail-
road company, all for the benefit OF the
land company. The surveys since,
which have cost the railroad compan,
vast sums of money, all Seem to be dl-
rected with reference to the land COM
nanv's possessions rather than to the
routes and connections which na
tnre and engineering skill both demon-
str ,te to be the most practicable. For
two years the people of Puget Sound
have been kept in Il state OF anxiety; en-
terprise paralyzed and capital driven to
other fields of investment; because OF
the uncertainty attending the fihal route
and terminus of the road; where engi-
neering long since determined these
questions, SO far us the interests OF the
railroad is concerned; but then the i'll
terests of the land ring must be served
whoever suffers.
In our sensitive anxiety to serve the
interests of the road i'll every possible
way, we have heretofore cautiously ab-
stained from any comments calculated
+. embarrass or discredit the railroad
company; but the time has now come
when the only salvation of the railroad
company, and the building Of the road
within the time limited by its charter, Is
the utter dlsconnec,ion of the company
from this land ring, which the present
managers of the road are now earnestly
striving to accomplish.
Library Association.
The regular monthly meeting of the