The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1874-06-27
New Orleans. Mobile and Texas
Rnalrnna.

Railroad.
The Railroad Committee Of The
Chamber Of Commerce Of New
Orleans, composed Of G. ~. +.
Hayley, III. e. ssixas, j. e. Morris
and T. II. Joseph, have made an
exhaustive report on tie present
status Of this road, leaving 70 Che
chamber Is decide whether il IS
better to sen The road west to the
old boDdholders, under a decree
IL the United States Circuit Court,
or a cash sale, FREQ to all bidders,
under The bankruptcy act. AS the
report is one Of interest 70 the
people Of Texas and Louisiana,
wo giye IL ID extenso
10 the President and Members Of the
New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.
GENTLEMEN In respose to your
call for information respecting the
history and present status to the
New Orleans, Mobile and Texas
RAILROAD Company, the prospect
Of said compahy's building q road
to Texas, and what action, if any,
il needed on our part to expedite
the construction of q railway to
Texas, your committee on railroads
respectfully submit The following
report
Said companY was chartered
under the name Of the New Or
leans, Mobile and Chattanooga
RAILROAD Company By the Legis-
lature Of Alabama, November -,
1866, to construct and operate a
railroad from New Orleans, via
Mobile. to Chattanooga, Ten
nessee.
AT the FIRST meeting Of the cor
porate directors in New York city
Oakes Ames, Peter Butler, JAS
Al. Raynor, q. wv. Durant and
William 5. Williams being present
the capital stock was fixed at
sos, 100000. The Legislature of
Louisiana, by act No. rs, approved
August 10, 1868, recognized the
company as corporation in Louis
lana, and authorized ii to extend
its proposed road westward 10
Texas. About this time, probably,
the. company reconsidercd its pro-
iect Of building the road to Ten
nessee, and began to appreciate
the facilities offering for the OBJ
tainment, on a grand scale, of
State aid from Louisiana.
The statement that this COM
pany, being composed OF several
IL the most wealthy men ia Amer
lea, wanted nothing but right Of
way and no subscription ml, nor
State aid from Louisiana, was
generally circulated in New Or
leans, bat, before the commence
ment Of construction on the Mobile
divisions State aid had been APP
piled for and obtained, per act No.
rs, approved February III, 1869,
providing for the endorsement by
tha State az The company's west
ern division second mortgage
bonds.
The estimated cost, based upon
surveys aud location a. the Mobile
division, was about 1000, 900, and
this amount was obtained, not by
stock subscriptions. bat by an is
sue of sS,000,000 81 eight per
cent. mortgage bonds, four Of first
and four of second mortgage, with
Sf000O00 IF nominally full paid
stock certificates thrown i'd. This
was equivalent to allowing sixteen
per cent. interest tar money to be
used il the construction 81 the
road, aud ii necessitaled early
completion and generous dividends
afternard but ii was soon found
that the actual cost would very
largely exceed the estimate,
Construction began III February
1869, and lac road vas opened fol
public traffic between New Orleans
ind Mobile. November Il, 1870
fphstsae fyst.ttaNI 8flf Haaay,skees 80