The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-08-31
TlLDEN AND THE CHANGERS.
Some Mighty Interesting Campaign Read
ing.


the day after his nomination, he said he ex-
pected to- receive the vote of the Changers
This expectation Is in kind with the assurance
Tilden has acquired by the success of life of
false pretenses. Mr.. Tilden was the ringleader
of the gang of railroad pirates, whose plumbers
Of the railroads in the Northwest, and then
considerations of them and increased rates, to
make the inhabitants bear the burden of these
robberies, were the causes of the popular up
rising in that quarter, which was called the
Changers movement, and of the anti railroad
legislation and litigation in the States OF Wis
consin, Iowa and Illinois.
This is no affair that has originated with the
Presidential campaign, or that started from
Republican sources. It is matter which has
long been known to the railroad parties who
were interested. 1t was properly brought out
when Tilden was talked of as candidate and
it was laid before the public in Democratic
journal of New York, the Express, the organ of
the most respectable portion of the Demo
cratic party in that city. We have before pub
lished the statements of the Express in full.
The two portions in which the Cypress pub
lished it, were reprinted in the Weekly Gazette
of the 9Th. The Express published them to
prove that Tilden's personal and professional
character was bad that, in short, he is man
destitute of honesty, in order to prove to
Democrats that his nomination was unfit to be
made. Our statement of some of the points
in that record will be strictly limited by it.
We shall prove by this record that Tilden
was the contriver of, and ringleader in that
system of piracy whose burdens on the inhab
itants caused the Granger uprising. His con
spiracy began with the Chicago, Fond du La
and st. Paul railway, which was a recapltaliza-
ton from the broken down Rockville Valley
Union railway. The President had deeply in
volved himself with the road, but had secured
himself by taking bonds of the road as collat-
eral. He engaged Tilden as his counsel. The
road was wrecked. a reorganization made with
the title of Chicago and Northwestern, with
VIM. P. Ogden as President, and Illden as
Trustee for the bondholders.
Tt is as trustee that Tilden has enriched
himself out of the property of others. First
the g watering process was applied, and the
road saddled with bonds and stock equivalent
to $40 900 mile. This was more than it could
carry, and Tilden and his associates looked
about for paying road to ''gobble up" and
unload their watered stock and bonds upon.
They found this in the Galena and Chicago
Union railway. This was the first railway in
the West. It was built on a large basis of
subscriptions of stock by the inhabitants it
had 800 miles OF road in running orders a
bonded debt of but $40, 900 a mile d stock
issue Of but $4,000 mile 4; it's net earnings
were over 81, 000.000 it had never failed to
make dividend of from to 10 per cent; 1t
had over 81. 900, 900 in the treasury as working
capital, and its stock was largely held by the
inhabitants along the road and was a favorite
investment for trust funds. 1t was in every
respect, what railroad should be- when Tilden
conspired to plumber it, We shall see what
followed:
Working in secret and by indirect means,
Tilder and his CO. conspiratOrs bought and bor-
rowed stock and procured proxies and by these
means, and by open fraud in the election, car
ried an election by which they got control.
They then consolidated it with the Chicago and
Northwestern, making it assume the inflated
and deprecated stock and bonds of that COM
pany on an equality with its own.
In law proceedings growing out of this, the
robbed stockholders averred that the election
was held without due notice. and IN viva
voce manner. The stock Of the Chicago and
Northwestern was before almost worthless.
1t was now consolidated with the Galena
and Chicago Union stock which be-
fore was worth from $40 to $174. Of course
these conspirators got this almost worthless
stock into their hands before they exposed
their conspiracy. This is the way Tilden got
rich. Is there scoundrel in the penitentiary,
for laying hands on other peoples goods, who
came by them more dishonesty.
The game worked SO nicely that these pirates
did not stop here. BY the way they laid hands
on the money in the treasury OF the Galena
and Chicago Union Company-a million or
more, and expended it Oh the Chicago and
Northwestern. They then looked about for
broken down railway to buy cheap, and unload
at full prices on the consolidated road. They
found suitable medium in the broken-down
Kenosha and Rockford Railway.
They bought this road for $500, 900, and un-
loaded it on the consolidated road for 81, 400,
900. Tue petition charges that Tllden, as dl-
rector and attorneyfor the Chicago and North
western company, made the transaction on
these terms
"For every share of 300 of the stock of
said Peninsula railroad, the Chicago and North
western Railway Company exchanges or gives
$50 of preferred stock and $50 Of common
stock, which they specially issue for said pur-
pose, thereby watering and diluting the stock
of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway
Company to an extent wholly without prece-
dent"
Mr.. James Parton, in his pamphlet entitled
ga Manual for the Instruction of Railroad
Rings" estimates specifically the profits OF this
ring by the Peninsula railroad operation, and
makes it to be $1.371, 668. He estimates the
immediate losses Of the Galena and Chicago
Union stockholders at 81, sos, 800. This was as
much stolen from them as if TIlden had picked
their pockets of this sum. Besides this, there
was the earning capacity of their road, which
was taken away from them by having these
loads placed upon it
But tbs stealing rom stockholders is not the
principle one All The imitation of stocks and
ana watering and stealing, had to be paid for
by the inhabitants 1ilden and his band OF
pirates had put theprincipal of this false issue
in their pockets but the inhabitants must be
made to pay for ever such rates OF transporta-
ton as would pay an income on the imitation.
The sum of the Whole robbery was to be i'm
posed on the inhabitants in the form of taxes
on their produce and subsistence. The COM
binaton OF so many railroads in one manage
ment enabled the ring to carry this out by the
force of monopoly. Accordingly, a general and
enormous advance was made IN the rates OF
transportation.
The Chicago Board of Trade made the fol-
lowing statement of the advance made by this
consolidated Chicago and Northwestern IN
rates:
Upon wheat, 70 per cent.
Upon coarse grains, 81 per cent.
Upon -four II per cent
Upon lumoer 35 per cent.
Upon live stock, 70 per cent.
TInon merchandise az nar cent