Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-06-22
Decision Of the Valley R. R. Syndicate Suit

Decision of the Valley R. R. Syndicate Suits
In the Circuit Court this week, wha
is known as the Railroad Syndicate
cases was decided by Judge McLaugh
lin. The plaintiffs were Menifee, Mason
Hartman and Shanahan VS.. McMahon ant
Green. These were suits growing out o.
the construction of the Valley Railroad
from this point to Salem. A company O.
six gentlemen, consisting of the plaintiff.
and defendants, ontracted to build The
road, and sub-divided the work among
themselves. The divisions which fell tC
the defendants were handicapped with a
bonus to be paid to the other four divisions
of four and five per cent. on the amount
OF work done, and written contract to
this effect was entered into between the
parties. Before all the work was done on
any of the divisions the r. r. Company Or
dered discontinuance of the work, as it
had the right to do under it's contract with
the six contractors. After paying each
contractor for what he had done, the four
plaintiffs claimed the bonus from the 9th
er two under their contract and suit was
brought to enforce the claim.
The defendants claimed that the con-
tract between the contractors Was made
with view to the compilation of the work,
and that having been stopped by the r. r..
Company before the work was done, they
were not bound to pay the bonus-claiming
that the susper sion of the work had caused
them losses, which would not have occurs
red had they been allowed to complete
their contract. The Court held that While
it was true the contract between the plain
tifs and defendants was made on the
basis of the contract made between them
and the r. r. Company, and no doubt
contemplated the completion Of the work
undertaken to be done for the company );
vet as their contract with the company, ex-
pressly provided for astoppage OF the work
whenever the company saw fit to do SO,
they must also have contracted with view
to this contingencies the contingency
having happened that the defendants were
bound to pay the per centage agreed upon
what work had been done and paid for.
There is about $1,000, involved in the dde
cisiOn.
OPEN AIR MEETING.-The gas in the
City Council room Tuesday night would
not burn, so there could be no meeting in
doors, but it being important to transact a
brief piece Of business, the body went into
session on the porch. President Fultz
took the chair on the railing where he
perched on putting the question. Mr..
Powell took seat on candle box, while
Mr.. Weller appropriated the end of beer
key in the corner, MI. Evans roasted on
the porch steps, Mr.. Bledsoe bumped his
back trying 20 read by the dim moon light
report he had written, Mr.. Burke sat on
the door sill deciphering some papers Mr..
Todd had entrusted him with, Mr.. Patter-
son, the Clerk, brought his roll to the
door and scratched matches SO as to light
up for the roll call and the INDICATOR
man gently sWayeo to and fro on the han
die of a market basket in the corner. The
question was Oh the reduction of the tele-
graph tax. Messrs. Burke and Evans who
were sitting comfortably wanted somedis-
cussion Of it, but the other members who
were all roosting on the ragged edge, cut
the matter short, and after reducing the
telegraph tax the moonlight session
promptly adjourned.