New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-01-04

was not one of tho Directors, and not one Of
tho Executive Committee, who pretended "
understand them. One Director did not eve,
know the names Of the Executive COMMITTEES
with whom he served. All alike concurred
in declaring that the President of the Company
did whatever he pleased with the funds, not only
without the advice of the other officers but
without even their knowledge.
If Mr. Stockwell had been a financer Of ex-
ceDtional ability with a reputation for phenom-
email uprightness there might have been some
excuse for the blind confidence which his as
sociates reposed in him. But the curious fea-
ture of the case is that while the Directors
were playing the part of high-tOned dummies
and the Executive Committee was making 70
ports which it did not understand, the Com
pany was VIGOROUSLY running the most reck-
less financial course, it's stock was estimated
by its own officers to be worth only half lis
market price at the beginning Of the Stock
well administration (and how much less it
came to be worth afterward we do not know.
and there was round sum of million dol
lars or so which the President did not find it
convenient TO account for. 1t was well known
that large sums were " floating aboup some
where, and the bOOkkeepers were bothered
to dispose of them. There was always great
labor in getting up q report" said one OF
the employees, charging things up and get
ting them into shape" Three-quarters Of
million all at one time had been put into the
hands of Mr.. Irwin, to be placed where it
would do most good, and there seem to have
been other large amounts whose destination
was equally uncertain. At one time, says the
"a 10
balance by charging an extra dollar to every
ton of coal purchased by the Company. Agent
John Baby testfies that they wished to charge
5000 900 to him." they wanted to make out
" their accounts sOmehOw,n-but he refused to
carry any such loan. A like sum was fraudu-
leDtly entered upon the books as an addition
to the cost Of the new steamships just built by
john Roach and the rest OF the money chat
vas floating around" seems To have been
boldly charged to the San Francisco agency
without any explanation at all. These things
were so we'll understood in the Office AID
freely discussed that we can hardly suppose
the Directors to have been entirely ignorant
of them. But if tboy did not know what was
patent TO their own clerks, if they were not.
aware of the systematic Justification Of the
books by erasures and dishonest entries, We
may at least inquire how it happened that
such extraordinary transactions as the transfer
of $4,000 in one day to the pockets of Mr..
Stockwell did not stimulate inquiry.
The explanation of these strange things a
to be found we suspect in the fact that the
Directors and all hands understood their bust
ness to be not the management of the steam
ship company but speculation in its stock.
Mr.. StOckwell operated enormously" Mr..
Baxter testified that he presumed the Directors
generally speculated in the stock, as he GER
tainIy did himself. He never inquired into
the large expenditures which are now under
investigation, and it does not appear that no
or his associates cared anything about them.
If matters were going wrong it was the bust
ness of a speculative Director to prevent tho
truth from getting out. The great thing was
to control the price of shares, and while
Stockwell did that to the satisfaction of his
partners, it was of no consequence to the Ring
what finally became of the Company a
president and Board of Directors who would
speculate in the stock of the Company"
inquired the Committee, Z" would not have
"been likely to develop to the world the
frauds that were being committed, because
" it would affect the stock Z" and Mr.. Baxter
replied: "Tbat would have depended on
"whether they were long or short" This
answer gives the whole case in a nutshell.