Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-05-22
A SUIT FOR SEVENTEEN MILLIONS.

| Il
Credit Mobilier Again-Allegations of
Gigantic Frauds Against the Represen-
tatives of the Original Union Pacific.
New York Star.
When the end Of the gigantic exposure
| of the frauds known as the Credit Mo-
bilier, 1871, had been reached, and
Cakes Ames, then a congressman from
Massachusetts,, returned to his home
broken in spirit and ruined in prospects,
the country at large, the pulpit and the
press gradually dropped the subject,
until it ceased altogether to provoke any
comment. Once or twice ghost has
arisen, in q legal shape, from the ashes
of the buried fraud, but these have occu-
pied but little of the time or attention
of the public. trf4 .
Yesterday, however, q ghost, of i'm
mense proportions doomed up in the
circuit court of the United States in this
city, in. the shape of suit for $17 ,OOO,-
600 damages brought by Judge, John
Leisenring, Of Mauch Chunk, Pa, against
the representatives of the original Union
Pacific Railway company. The ground
for the action is stated by Judge Lessen
ring to be the revoking of a contract be-
tween himself and the Union Pacific
company, under which he was to build
the road, and that being thus defrauded
out of his legal right to construct said
road, he suffered to the extent of the
amount claimed. - A. Tgiiam
There are forty-two defendants in the
wv bx,o
by Messrs. Starr q Ruggles.. RI Gen. Ben
jamin F. Butler, Hon. Cnauncey Shat
fer, and Charles A. Albright are counsel
for Mr.. Leisenring When the case was
first brought into the courts, a partial
hearing was obtained before Judge
Johnston, in the February (1S77) term
of the supreme court, but the death of
Judge Johnston stopped the proceedings.
Judge Blatchford is now the sitting JUS
tlce, before whom, yesterday, an import
ant argument was made, after the read
ing of the complaint. which covers near
ly one hundred and fifty pages. -.....
Counsel for the defendants entered
general demurrer, the decision on which, ?
by Judge Biatchford, is looked forward
ITO with great interest, as it is a. vital
point in the legal controversy, and if
granted, may postpone active measures
for three years. '.'''1'- -ilig -fa..
No little curiosity was manifested
among the spectators in toe courtroom
as to who the "forty-two" defendants
are, but the nominal defendants are
said to be the Land Grant Railway and
Trust company and others. It was
known by few, however, that the
names of some of our most prominent
citizens, one or two bankers and several
steamship men, and members of lead
ing clubs are enrolled as defendants to
piece of business which Is denominated
in Judge Leisenring's complaints as "a
corrupt agreeme nt and conspiracy to
defraud plaintiff, their just creditors,
the government, and the state Of Kan
sas." s5.an-g.
To ascertain the truth in the matter,
a Star reporter called last evening on
Mr.. Chauncey Shaffer and found the
lawyer at home Mr. Shaffer," asked
the reporter, care you at liberty, as
solicitor and counsel for the plaintiff in
this case, to give the names of the forty
two gentlemen whom YOU are proceed.
ing against .l;,. atsyla 81 '''''
"They are not all individuals" D. re-
piled the lawyer; II don't mind giving
the corporations, but you can't have the
private parties to this case. Why, sir,
this will make the biggest sensation you
ever heard of when it all comes out. 1t
was justas my client says, corrupt bar
gain for these parties to enrich them
selves upon the railroad property which
they took the contract for the building
away from Leisenring. Gen. Butler
had his eyes opened on the true inward
ness of the Credit Mobilier rottenness
when he took hold Of this case; and ne
proposes to make things lively in con-
gress about it, too "'''@.'H
What are the names Of the corpora
tions?" ,s
"They are the Missouri, Kansas and
Texas Railroad Company, formerly the
Union Pacific railroad, southern branch,
the New York Warehouse and Security
company, the New York and California
Vineyard company, a pretended rail-
road organization in Pennsylvania, and
several branch roads connecting with
the present Pacific road 10 3-'.-.
- For an answer to further inquiries,
Mr.. Shaffcr handed the reporter copy
of Judge Leisenring's complaint bill,
from which the following history of the
contract given to the plaintiff is taken:
By gifts of government lands from
cons ress in 1867, over $25, 100000 worth
of bonds and stocks were issued or were
to be issued for the building of railroad
to the Pacific ocean. H. a,,t.
Many Of these were received by coun-
ties of Kansas, while the entire franchise
and property Of the Union Pacific South
ern branch were estimated to be worth
not less than $100,OO0,O0O. On Aug. 3,
1867, this railroad entered into con-
tract with Albert F. Beach and several
associates to construct the road through
Kansas, Indian territory, and Texas.
Subsequently by an agreement with
Beach, cam plainant and others were sub
stituted for Beach's associates and agreed
to flush the road conformity with him.
He worked one month and spent $15,-
900, but just as he, was getting under
way, indications Of trouble with Beach