The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1876-09-09
THAT BOND BUSINESS.
The Truth Of the Alton and Terre Haute
Matter Clearly Stated.

These charges against Mr.. Tilden de-
serves some attention, because they affect
the character of man who, it is not at all
unlikely, will be for four years President
Of the country. They are supposed to 20
to the root Of his character, and to show.
him to be not merely unit for public life,
but for decent position of any kind.
They are said, in fact, to show his whole
career to be one of chicane, fraud, aud
robbery, and to exhibit him as only differ
ing from man like Fisk, Jr., or Jay
Gould in not having openly thrown off all
restraint. We have carefully examined
the principle one of these charges, in fact,
the only one brought forward in tangi-
bic form, which relates to the St. Louis,
Alton and Tcrre Haute Railroad, and
find that it rests on these facts:
In 1859, some seventeen years ago,
there was Western railroad, called the
Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis Rail-
road, which got into difficulties, and could
not pay the interest on its bonds. The
bondholders determined to foreclose the
mortgages under which the bonds were is
sued and reorganize the road. They ac-
cordingly appointed Mr.. Tilden and sever
al other gentlemen, who were selected on
account of their knowledge Of law or their
skill in railroad matters, to do the business
for them. These gentlemen, forming
what was called the purchasing Commit
tee" Of the road, bought the road in at
foreclosure sale, and sold it again to new
reorganized company, receiving in return
new securities, which they were to distrib-
ute among their principals on the basis of
agreements made with them. They issued
these new securities to the old creditors
as long as any creditors appeared to claim
them. There were at the end Of these
proceedings q number of securities still
undistributed, which the Purchasing Com
mittee divided among themselves, either
for their services or for other reasons sat
isfactory to the parties concerned. 1t
does not appear that there was any conceal
ment of these facts, or any complaint made
by anybody to whom Mr.. Tilden or his
co-purchasers stood in the relation Of trus-
tees.
Indeed, so far from this being the case,
the Purchasing Committee, while having
under their agreements the right to ex-
clude any persons from the benefits Of the
reorganization after June 1861, took no
advantage of this right, but admitted
claimants down to 1868, and have never
excluded any body. Besides this, they
say that, in purchasing the road in their
own name, they assumed heavy liabilities,
some of which are still outstanding; that
they performed many services for which
they could get no remuneration except
from the surplus in their hands that the
whole remuneration arising from this sur.
plus would not pay each member Of this
committee at the outside, three-quartcrs
of one per cent. Of the nominal amount Of
the securities which passed through the
hands of the committee-a small remuner-
alton that the net result of the whole
operation was to greatly benefit the road,
advancing the securities from twice to
eight times as much as they were worth
before.
The present managers Of the road, who
are not the persons who employed Mr..
Tilden, and have, so far as it appears, no
relation with him of any kind, now make
a claim upon him and the members of the
committee for an account, to which he
and the other members reply that it is
none of their business. One of the mem
bers of the committee has very frankly
told the plaintiffs that he does not pretend
to understand the legal rights Of the mat
ter, that he has number Of the bonds,
and is perfectly willing to surrender them
if ordered to do so by any competent au-
thority. The only question apparently
involved in the case is one purely legal,
whether there is any relation Of principal
and agent or trustee and beneficiary exis-
ting between the Purchasing Committee
and the road, as it at present exists, which
authorizes an accounting between them,
and the litigation is Of kind to which
any lawyer might unavoidably become
party. The road says there is; Mr.. I'll
den aud the other members of the COM
mittee say there is not, and naturally de-
cline to give up their books. 1t is obvious
that in doing this they simply act SO as to
guard their own rights, for it must be re-
membered that they admit the existence
Of persons to whom they did stand in the
relation Of agents; and if they have any
property in their possession for which they
owe any account, it may be to these prin-
cipals that they owe it, and IL they do not
want to pay it twice over to two different
sets Of people, they must resist with every
means In their power the claim now made
upon them. There are no iadicia Of fraud
about the case, aud, so far as appears, its
use by Republican organs, in its present
unsettled state, to prove Mr.. Tilden rail-
road "robber" or "shark," is a scandalous
abuse Of the power Of the press
!. We have gone into this charge" at
considerable length, because it illustrates
the straits to which the Republicans have
reduced themselves for campaign powder.
In the pres y campaign all the benefit
that canbe extracted from "ehargesp win
be reaped by the Democrats, who can
prove by undcniable evidence corruption
In the dominant party Of the most gigantic
extent, widespread throughout all the de-
partments Of Government, and practically
encouraged by its head.---M u Nation,
Republican.
Tremendous professional fees, says the
KnrId ,rn.,ld ao.ordinn. 10 IL c.ara .f