The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-10-01
SOUTHERN RAILWAY.

A Letter from X. q. Huston Il Co.
The Trustees of the Southern Railroad
held regular meeting. yesterday evening,
at which the following was read:
CINCINNATI, Sept "a, 1873
Miles Greenwood Esq, President of Trustees Gin
cinnati Southern Railroad:
DEAR SIR-Will you be so kind as to lay
before your Board this communication and
ask their early attention to its contents;
Mr.. Bouscaren has said to us that unless
some arrangement be made with your
Board, or he receive orders to the contrary
from your Board, he shall feel it his duty
to suggest to you to refuse us to proceed
with the construction of the iron bridges at
the south end of the road, so that they may
be finished within the twelve months re-
auired by our contract. This brings us
face to face with the following state of facts:
We have contracted absolutely with the
Keystone Bridge Company for the six iron
trestles between Somerset and the coal
fields, to be finished and erected on or be-
fore Feb. Goth, 1879, and the road will then
be completed to the coal-felds. We have also
contracted with that Company for the other
twenty-eight iron bridges, but in the un-
certainty as to the provision of funds to
make such large payments, it has been stip-
ulated with them that this part of the work
| is not to be begun until notice from u.s.
The completion of these bridges will require
nearly, if not quite, twelve months from
the beginning of work upon them. The
Keystone Bridge Company are not willing
to bind themselves to have the work fin
ished any sooner. The attack upon the va
lidity of the bonds made by Messrs. Long
and Glidden, as the attorneys of what ap-
pears to be an organization of considerable
power and numbers, renders it not only
impossible to negotiate the city bonds now
but also unjust to you and ourselves to en-
| bark in large contracts for which the only
provision for payment can be made through
the sale or hypothecation of these bonds
Were we able and willing to proceed with
the work at once, Notwithstanding this liti-
cation, you would have a just right to COM
plain, for your ability to meet our esti-
mates depends, we suppose we may take it
for granted, upon the validity of the bonds,
and it would certainly greatly embarrass
you as we'll as ourselves were we to be met
by decision against the bonds requiring
us to look to other resources to meet our
liabilities while unable to realize from you.
The provision in our contract for extern
sion of the twelve months in case of our in
ability to sell city bonds after receiving
them from you, does not relieve us from
this difficulty. If we are to finish the road
within twelve months from its date, as our
contract requires, notice ought to be given
to us by the Keystone Bridge Company to
begin work. Should we do this our esti-
mates would be largely increased and
should the decision upon the validity of
the bonds be delayed or be adverse, and if
there should thus be delay or difficulty in
procuring legislation necessary to the issue
of good bond, your Board and our firm
would both be exposed to great embarrass-
ment. We ought not to be required to
start this part of the work until it is certain
you will have good bond to pay our esti-
mates
We therefore respectfully request your
Board so to modify our contract that the
twelve months within which that part of
the road south of the coal fields must be
finished shall not begin to run until the
Supreme Court shall have decided in favor
of the validity of the proposed issue of $2,-
900, 900 of bonds. r. G. Huston q Co,
P. S.-Of course, if it be held by the Su-
preme Court that the present issue is in.
valid and by subseauentlegis newand
valid issue is authorized, we should be quite
content to have our twelve months begin
from the date of the issuing of such valid
bonds. r. G. Huston & Co.
Huston & Co. yesterday completed and
signed their contract with the Edgar
Thompson Steel Works, of Pittsburg, fol
5000 tons of steel rails. conditional upon
the favorable decision of the Courts in ref
erence to the bonds.