The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1876-07-28
He Sells His Name For
GreenbackS.
A HISTORY OF HISTRUSTEESIIP OF
THEINDIAYAS SOUTHERN RAILROAD
How lie Betrayed His Trust and Joined
Hands with Its Enemies---Til-
den's Attorney, in His
Interest, COrruptS
Judge.

been led to this conclusion of late by
the exposure of incidents in the career
of the favorite son Of York, which
have come to the light of day, and the
story we are about to relate more
than confirms it. The facts in the case
have been carefully collected by a rep
resentative of the Enquirer, sent to
Indiana for the especial purpose, and
they will be found to be backed up by
documentary evidence of the most cor
roboratiye character.
THF STORY OF A RAILWAY.
In 1549, the Legislature of Indiana,
by special act, chartered the Fort
Wayne s. Southern Railway Company,
a road designed to run between Fort
Wayne and Jeffersonville, Indiana
1t was also designed to extend the road
into Louisville, by means of a tunnel
under the Ohio River, and charter
for that purpose was obtained from the
Legislature of Kentucky. A special
clause in its charter from the State of
Indiana permitted stock subscriptions
to be paid in real estate, and the farm
ers of Allen, Wells, Blackford, Delaware
Henry, Rush, Decatur, Jennings, JefTer-
son, Scott and Clark counties, under
this provision, took stock in the road
to the amount of third of million of
dollars. The land thus subscribed was
conveyed in trust to Hon. John ID. De-
frees, to be by him held for the benefit
and security of the original bondhold-
ers. In 1858 work was commenced on
the road, and the hearts of the farmers
beat high in anticipation or the time
when the iron horse wonld go snorting
by their doors. The work of negotiae-
ing the bonds was slow one, and the
trustees of the road found friend in
the person of John G. Parker, who as
sisted them with loans, and also in
dorsed their paper. In 1855 Mr.. Par
ker was elected Pesident of the road,
much against his will, and he at once
set about <aising the means to COM
plete the road. With this end in view
he visited the East, and made an ar
rangement with Il well-known New
York Custom House broker, named
Herman Livingstone, who took Sc, $780,
900 of the eompany's bonds TO Europe
to endeavor to raise the means on them
to purchase rails TO iron the road. In
London, Livingston met q certain VIM
Racster WagstaiT, who had been q
banker in England, and WHO was rep
resented to him to be immensely rich,
and well versed in railroads, he having
been concerned with Sir Morton Peto
in several of his speculations. Living
stone and Wagstaf made a contract,
by which tie latter agreed to come to
this country, to bring a civil engineer
with him and assess the value of the
work on the bed of the road already
made, and then, if all was satisfactory,
to complete the road. Mr.. Bolt, the
President of the Liverpool, London x
Globe Insurance Company OF England
furnished WagstafT with an order on
the branch Office of his company in
New York, for S775, 900, and soon after,
Mr.. Wagstaf, accompanied by pri-
vate secretary aud a civil engineer, ar
rived in the Empire City:
HoYoRs TO wAGsTAFF.
= On his arrival in this country he was
feted by Mr.. Pell, the American man
ager of the Liverpool: London & Globe
and all the "nobs" of New York were
invited to meet him. Prominent
among those who attended was her
Brittanic Majest's Consul at New York
and the Hon. Samuel j. Tilden. Mr.
Parker, who had gone East for that
especial purpose, was also present, and
met the distinguished Britisher The
day after the fete Mr.. Pell, so Mr. Par
ker says, informed him (Parker) that
Livingstone was not a man of sufficient
standing financially or otherwise, to be
associated in a large enterprise ike the
construction of railroad, or to be asso-
eiated with such a gentleman as Mr.
WagstaF. This information, coupled
with the fact that Livingstone had not
given entire satisfaction to SIR. Parker,
and the glamour of the fete, to Wagstaf
blinded Mr.. Parker, and he at once
dismissed Livingston and made fresh
contract without any further inquiry
into his financial standing.
A LITTLE sPECK OF TROUBLE.
Mr.. Wagstaff's engineer found that
the Fort Wayne and Southern Road
had graded its road bed from Fort
Wayne to Muncie, and from North
Vernon to Jacksonville, and he esti-
mated that the value of the work done
at about 81, ,250, 600. This was satisfac-
tory, but upon making an inventory of
the bonds of the company, handed
down from the regular officers Of the
road, il was discoved that 100 of them
each of the value of 81, 600, were miss
ing. In this dilemma it was resolved
to foreclose the martgages on the road,
and TO facilitate matters the company
(Which was in reality JOHN G. Parker
failed. BY the use Of little crooked
swearing an order of Court was OBJ
tanned in January, 1866, and the road
was sold after seven days notice, and
said notice only PUBLISHED in a Louis
vile paper at that. The road was bid
in by WagstafIs attorney, and in ae-
cordance with the laws Of the State Of
Indiana, a new company, known as
the Indiana Southern Railroad Com
pany, was formed, with VIM. Powell,
jr., as President, and August TregeDt;
Secretary, and board OF five trustees.
These men were but the figureheads of
Parker l. Wagstaff. The effect of the
sale was TO trasfer all improvements,
rights, and franchises of the old road
to the new, excepting the control Of
rha raaI estate suhl.riha1 for tha orforf