Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-08-26

The same parties and others who afterwards
came in to furnish money on the bonds sub
scribed" the balance of this 800, 900, a
portion of which was to be issued as the road
was built. As there were in all about two
thousand stockholders, it is not very clear that
Mr.. Welshs statement that there were none is
quite as accurate as that upon which Mr. De-
lano based his report
| Mr.. Welsh says that Mr.. Delanos report
'stended to mislead thousands of people who
were induced to purchase more than $50, ,000,-
900 of than loan" We believe that Mr.. Welsh
is wholly in error on this point. 1t was not
| departmental reports that led people into
Northern Pacific investments. 1t was the tes-
timony of men high in the church and in the
State, who saw or believed that they saw in
this great national enterprise safe and profit
able enterprise. And among those who ''mis-
led thousands of people," if they were thus
''misled, none did more efficient service than
Mr.. William Welsh. For it is fact that in
one of the most popular religious newspapers,
| the Episcopal Register, Mr.. Welsh published,
under date of July 8, 1872, double-column
and very lengthy report of his trip to the Indi-
an country, and among other interesting
things we find him giving his views on the
Northern Pacific Railroad. The report is ad-
dressed to the very dreadful Secretary Delano
whom he now accuses of misleading people in
their railroad investments. And Mr.. Welsh
says to his Episcopal friends, under the con-
spicuous sub-head Of Northern Pacific Rail-
road:
Gas desire to speak without restraint,
will state that no member of my family or Of
my mercantile firm, has either directly or in
directly any interest in the Northern Pacific
Railroad. 1 do not refer to the road as con-
tinuance of the great natural highway through
the Northern lakes, or of its Importance in
developing the mineral and agricultural re-
sources of vast country otherwise valueless,
or of its value as a highway to the territories
on the northwestern extremity of this country,
great as these are; | desire now to consider
this railway military necessity, enabling
the War Department to bring lawless Indians
of the North into subsection, and thus to aid
effectively the religious bodies charged with
bringing Christian civilization to bear upon
the Northern Indians. This gives the road
national importance, and should induce all
who will be assisted by it in the great work of
civilizing the aborigines, to aid in removing
difficulties which may otherwise retard its
progress"
We are under the impression that among
the heavy bondholders of Northern Pacific is
Senator Rice of Minnesota, who, we belive, is
dstantly relatedto Mr.. Welsh, but this is i'm
Il DIT: - 4l,at NJ
Welsh should have given such strong en-
dorsement,- only part Of which we have
quoted,-to the Northern Pacific Railroad
that his words were published far and wide
by the agents of the Company, and undoubt-
edly had great weight in inducing many to
subscribe who would not otherwise have done
so. 1t is extraordinary that Mr.. Welsh should
assail Mr.. Delano as person unworthy of
Office or confidence, on the ground that he
misled people into subscribing for stock to-
ward whose success MIR. Welsh contributed
very much and Mr.. Delano nothing at all.
With all due re4pect to Mr.. Welsh, we are
bound fin honesty to say that if the rest of his
late ''open letter" has no better bottom than
the North Pacific chapter Of it, it is most I'm
fortunate that he should have written it.
Mr.. Welsh has published a third letter be-
fore there has been time to give more than the
most hasty examination to his first or second.
We shall ''catch up" within day or two.
Meantime, we beg to suggest that in the pres
ence of so much clamor, wisdom should wait
a little before it pronounces its judgment.
-PHiL1 Ereutu0 Bulletin