Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-02-13
WATER WORKS.
Mr.. meDonough,. side Of the s.or,

| AAF' HhoD~nVsSu's Stue " tue Story.
To the Citizens of KnoruiNe
In justice to myself, and as regards
my position on the question of your
proposed Water Works, I wish to say
few words and, II you think 1 am to
blame In the matter, snail have moth.
ing further to say. On the 28.h OF
September, I signed contract with
your Water Work, Commissioners for
the building of your Water Works for
$64 900 in bonds. AT the time l signed
that contract, was confident that /
had lace for the bonds, which con.
fidence was occasioned by conversa-
tlon | had with prominent banker of
Nashville about six weeks before the
signing of the contract. / went to
Chattanooga the morning of the 9th
of September and closed my contract
for pipe with Giles & Co.. at 1872 90
per ton. / went from there to Nash
vile, and was at once informed by the
parties that had promised to place
the bonds, that they could
not. be soli In that market
at any price. They would give me no
particular reason, but L supposed 1t
was from some ad vices that had been
received from this place. That same
evening L received a dispatch from
Giles & Co., saying that in conse-
quence Of the rise In iron they could
not furnish the pipe at that price, and
would have to withdraw from the
agreement. / Immediately returned
to Chattanooga, and after considerable
trouble, succeeded in making a con-
tract with the Southern States Coal,
Iron and Land Co., for 800 tons of iron.
1 then made new contract. with
Giles g. Co. for making the iron into
pipe, aud went Immediately to Gin
einnati expecting to negotiate the
bonds with parties to whom l had
heretofore sold large amounts Of the
same kind of securities. / was sgain
disappointed, the parties refusing to
have anything TO do with them, on
account OF the way the people voted
on the State debt question. This
was about the 9th of October, ten
days after signed the cIn.
tract. then wrote letter to
Mr.. Staub, stating the circumstances
as given above, and that, as / was dis
appointed in making sale of the bonds,
4 thought that the Com missioners
could dispose OF them to better ad.
vantage than / could ; also stating
that If could not dispose OF them at
fair price, would prefer to be re.
lieyed from the contract. In answer
to this, was telegraphed to come to
Knoxville, which | did, and after an
hours conversation with Mr.. Staub,
In which agreed with him that the
throwing up of the contract would
work serious injury TO me, and after
O meeting with the Commissioners, at
which informed them of my disap-
pOintments, &C., l concluded to 90
East and see what could be done there
In regard to negotiating the bonds.
With what success the public I sup
pose are aware. After this it was not
q question OF prufit with me, and de-
termi ned to build the works IL had
to sell the bonds at 10 cents on the
dollar, and find market for
them In the State. But on the
18th day Of December the Southern
States Coal, Iron and Land Company
informed me through their agent that
they could not let me have the iron at
any price, as they did not have 1t.
Iron was then worth six dollars ton
more than / was paying for it. This
was the hair that broke the camel's
back; for with low-priced bonds and
high priced iron, was $l6 600 wide of
the mark In my calculations. What
could I do? What would anybody |
have done but do as did? Throw up
the contract. When such a high
toned, responsible concern as the
Southern States Coal, Iron and Land
Company can afford to crawfish ON q
contract, I hardly think it generous to
criticise me for not performing an i'm.
possibility. Il
AS to the causes which brought all
this about, the public can form their
own conclusions In the first place, the |
action of the people on the State debt !
question had depressing effect on all
kinds OF securities in the State. Then,
again, your city does not stand first
class Financially in the money GEN.
ters. Mr.. II. r. Swepson told friend
OF mine, that If he could help it [
should never build these water works,
and that himself aud other parties
were then writing East and elsewhere
to see that l did not negotiate the
bonds. l was then on my way to
Baltimore. AS to what Influence he
had (if any) am not aware. built
the water works at Montgomery, Ala, !
and took pay In bonds, $l25 900. At
Danville, Va, built the gas and
water works for 100000 In bonds. L
built the gas works at Huntsville.
Ala. and Paris, ILL.,, and took bonds
In part payment in both places, and
never had the least trouble in dispos-