Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-03-18
LATE EASTERN NEWS.
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC.

Bunsby and the VerbOsity of Uncle
Dick Reporter who has Evidently
Ignored the short Methods.
New YORK, March 12.-It has been
limited about for some time past that
there were very quiet and important
negotiations pending, or it might
more properly be stated secret NAH
euvers in progress of development re-
Iative to tho transfeH of the control
ling interest in the Northern Pacific
Railroad company. Report has al
lied the name of Mr.. Henry Willard
President of the Oregon Railway and
Navigation Company with the scheme,
but despite the efforts to unearth the
actual condition Of affairs they have
been batlied at every turn. Some
thirty days ago there was a slight
advance made i'll the common stock,
then ranging about 80, and within
five days it took an upward bound
of five points, from which it has
gone on until it is now ten points
beyond where it stood on the 10th Of
February. Those who saw in this q
scheme of some kind, pretending big
results, found whcn they came to
look into the ;ilair that it was up
parently ~. clear on its face. For
thore was no unusual excitement in
stock circles, and there was appar-
emily no desperate effort in progress
to obtain controlling block of the
stock, as was the case in the Chat
sanooga fight of Il year ago; but there
has been something back of all ru-
mors, beyond all question, in the
connection of the name of Willard
with the new Northern Pacific deal
for deal it would now appear to have
been, and one of the largest, most
quiet and successful ones on record.
| Willard is President of the Oregon
Railway and Navigation Company, a
railway manager of excellent ability
and tinancier of recognized stand
ing. The syndicate he represents is
composed of the Western or Pacific
element in the Northern Pacific d.
rectory, which has for some time past
antagonized tho New England por-
ton of directory who, under Govern
or Smith, of the Vermont Central
Hugh Allen, of Montreal and others
identified with New England, par
ticularly Boston railway interests,
have sought to make a complete UNI
broken system from Boston and
Portland to the Pacific Coast. So
Willard, for the Oregon company,
which saw here q possible chance to
push itself III importance and intiu-
ence and secure power that would
be great advantage, set about to
get hold of the common stock of the
company with view to defeating
the eastern representative and wrest-
ing from their hands such power as
they had i'll the manage ,ent of the
; companys affairs. Whether this
has been actually done is what can
not be stated with positiveness that
would be necessary to establish fact
in court of law, but all indications
and general gossip point that way
Willard was asked yesterday if lie
} was buying Northern Pacific common
and he replied he was not; but this
was beyond question guarded re-
ply to leading question and calcu-
lated to deceive, as the subioined
statement will show. A letter from
, Philadelphia to-day, written to a
prominent gentleman in New York
by Il party well versed in financial
matters, and with most reliable chan
nels of information, says that Willard
himself stated within the past two
days that he had secured enough to
give him q majority of the common
stock Of the Northern Pacific Com
pany. He says that the amount is
over $27 900, 600 and that he is in a
position to make q successful opera
ton On the market and distribute
new stock on basis of so or IS.
Now this comes from what the wri-
ter Of the letter says is a straight
channel, and the only inference that
can be CLEANED from it is that If Mr..
Willard says he is not buying lie had
already bought all that he wanted of
the stock in question and is now sim
ply lying low for further develop
ments of his plans. Furthermore,
to show how successful the Willard
party have unquestionably been, it
might be stated that one of the Off
GERS of the Northern Pacific Com
pany, in this city, said only yester-
day that he was convinced that a ma
jority of the common stock had been
secured by Willard for the company.
He could not of course say that this
was fact, but various things, which
he did not think it proper or timely
to explain at this juncture, had led
him to form this belief. 1t is impos-
sible to ascertain whether the stock
has been sold in quantities believed
to have characterized recent transac.
tons, for no large transactions had
been made on the books.
Gov. Smith Mr.. Noble. the attor.
ney, and other parties connected with
the Vermont Central, together with
nr f,yn ~ hor