The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-03-10
Letter From Col. w. C. Falkner.
RIPLEY. Mss, March 4. 1880.

RIPLEY, Miss, March f. 1880.
EDITORS CLARION;-When l left Jack
son on Friday last my mind was full
of bright hopes for the early completion Of
my railroad to the Gulf; but, alas, how
soon were those bright hopes smothered. 1t
IS my candid opinion that if joint Select
Committee had been appointed by the
Legislature with instructions to invent a
scheme to prevent the construction of the
road to the Cult, that committee could not
have invented a more complete and success
tuI plan to prevent the building of the road
4 than was invented by the Senate, by an
amendment which was introduced and
adopted, to my bill, entitled, an act to
amend the charter of the Ripley Railroad
! Company and for other purposes. l re-
spectfully invite the attention of the hon-
orable members to the following reasons
which have led me TO the conclusions above
stated: My road has outstanding bonds to
the amount of $250,000, secured by mort
gage on the road. We wanted to have the
road sold under that mortgage, and buy it
in, and then issue bonds on the entire line
to the Gulf, at the rate of $1,000 per mile,
which would, of course be a first
mortgage on the road constituting a prefer
ence lien on the road. In order to accom-
plish this purpose | had a bill introduced
into the Senate providing that when our
road should be sold under the present mort
gage, the purchasers should have the right
to organize themselves into a new company
with the power to adopt the Ripley Railroad |
charter, as the charter of the new company.
The Senate amended the bill so that iudg- |
ments for damages to stock or any other |
thing should have a preference lien over
any mortgage which the company might /
make. A capitalist would laugh in my face
if | were to ask him to buy my bonds when |
any judgment creditor could levy on and
sell the road, and thus defeat his bond
whilst he was in New York or some other
city, liable at any day to find that his money
was lost by the sale of the road, and his
bond worthless. This road cannot be built
unless we can sell bonds, and this we GER
tainly cannot do, unless those bonds are Sc
cured by first mortgage on the road
which conveys to the purchaser
a preference lien on all the prop
erty of the road. If the people along
the line of this contemplated road are not
willing to take the risk of collecting dam
ages for the killing of stock, by all means
let them prevent the road from being built
We have never failed to pay all damages
for killing stock, Notwithstanding the bond
holders have preference lien on the road.
| knew a man once who would not plant
corn because his children took the belly
ache in roasting-ear time. Mississippi imi-
tates him by refusing to build railroads be-
cause some mans calf might get killed. |
hpl loH
animal Intentionally, because he takes too
much risk in doing SO. If one railroad COM
oany does wrong it seems that hue and cry
IS raised against all other roads. l should
ike to build this road to the Gulf, but it is
absolutely certain that no bonds could be
'old if the bill passes the House as amend
ID by the Senate. l trust that the Legis-
AZURE will reconsider this bill and strike }
'ut the Objectionable part.
Respectfully,
w. G.. FALKNER,
President Ripley Railroad.