, 1874-02-26

| bond holders will unite to take some ac-
ton. and to use their rights for a fore
closure of the mortgage in the same way
as the bond-holders of the St. Paul and
Pacific are doing. the SAME thing i'll
| happen with great many railroads un-
| able to meet their engagements through
bad and reckless management, extension
of their lines in uninhabited countries,
and bonding these lines at twice their
cost. Holland and Germany have sunk
a great deal of moneyin American rail-
road enterprises, and confidence is gen.
orally far below par"
In introducing this paragraph, the Ar
gus says: "That even Mr.. Brown, cf
the DISPATCH, has gone so far as to ia
vor the scheme of the N. P. Road to get
further assistance from the Government,
well knowing, as he does, the immense
frauds that have been perpetrated by
this corrupt incorporation.
We have said and done las mnch as
any one newspaper in the country to-.
wards exposing, derouncing and break
ing up the corrupt ring under the NAL
agement of which immense frauds have
been committed in the name of the N. P.
Railroad Company, but have never lost
faith in the legitimate character of the
original project, or said anything to
hrow any obstacle in the way of its ul-
innate success under proper manage
meut. We have ever held to the doc
trine that we may, in the line of duty,
expose and denounce wrong and corrup-
ton in the management of publicaffairs,
without disloyalty or want of fidelity to
the government, Our efforts have been
directed to the reform of manifest abus-
es il the Management of the Northern
Pacific Tailroad, with no hostile mo
tive towards the Company; and not un
til we had good reason to believe that
the needed reform vas in a reasonable
state of progress; that the management
of the affairs of the Company was pass
ing out of the hands of the corrupt ring
which had brought public odium upon
it, and into the hands of men of higher
character and more honest purposes did
we favor any further Government aid or
endorsement of it. B.
Heretofore majority of the Directors
h1,l0 fo al Of o{ Il,
little or no capital or reputation of
their own, who formed themselves into
ting combination to use the munifcent
subsidy of the Government for their
own personal purposes. The only men
of character or capital whose names
were associated with the Board-Ogden,
Fargo, Billings, Howard, and perhaps
one or two others--were merely nominal
Directors, without any control, and
hence with very little personal interest
in the management. II was not Until
the affairs Of the Company were nearly
bankrupt through coIiupt mismanage
ment, that these men came to the front,
and by their personal influence, backed
by their financial credit, placed General
G. w. Cass, man with a reputation as
railroad manager second to no one in
the United States, and character for
incorruptible honesty which had never
been questioned at the head of the Board.
General Cass accepted this position with
the distinct understanding that the af
fairs of the Company were to be separ-
ated from any ring combination. The
complications and engagements were
uch that they could not be at once ac-
complished, but We believe it has been
finally consumated by the purchase CT
the Lake Superior and Puget Sound
Company. which had heretofore been
the 1uling interest in the management.
One of ths first acts of General Cass was
to extend the road from Duluth, where
the eastern terminus lad been located
in the interest of the Land Ring, to Su-
peiior City, where the interest of the
road demanded it should be. His last
notable movement is, to open negotia-
tons for the extension of the road from
Tacoma, where the western terminus
was located in the interests of the Land
Ring, to Seattle, where every disinter-
ested person would say it ought to be, if
the public interests and the interest of
the road were to determine it. rnq
We have an abiding faith that under
General Cass the management of the
road Will hereafter be conducted hon.
estly to the stock k-holders and faithfully
to the public, and that is the only con-
sideration upon which we would assent
to. Government endorsement of its
bonds. .s.-
<~RT TS<k