The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-04-07
VANCOUVER INDEPENDENT.
THURSDAY, APRIL !. 1881.

n. Co., it seems to be finally settled1
that the bold move of Mr. Willard and
his associates to get control of the n.
p. r. r. has failed, as we had pre-
dlcted. 1t failed for no want of deter
mination on the part of Mr.. Willard,
who really supposed few weeks ago,
that he had succeeded in getting more
than one half the stock in the market.
But, like many others before him, he
had reckoned without his host, and
had crowed before he was fairly out of
the woods. Had he kept silent, had
he continued to buy quietly all the
Northern Pacific shares asthey floated
upon the market, and kept his own
counsel, there seems to be no reasona-
BILE doubt but that he might have sue
ceeded in his designs. But he was too
eager to proclaim his supposed victory
to the world. BY so doing, he woke
up Frederick w. Billings and the
present direction Of the Northern Pa
cific to their danger. Like skillful
general, Billings thought that the
time had arrived when energetic meas
ures were in order and he accordingly
moved his reserve upon the contiding
enemy. This reserve is in the shape
of 1900 of authorized, but hereto I'M
issued shares; representing a capital
of 100000. This is too much of
dose for the Willard party exhausted,
as they are ly their vast investments
and, capacous as their purse is, they
are not able to digest so much. Con-
sequently it appears that the n. p. r..
r. management will continue to re-
main as it is at present, and Willard is
check OF course his party are
indignant; their disappointment leads
them into ridiculous acts, even to the
extent of applying for and obtaining
an injunction to restrain the directors
of the n. p r. Il. from issuing the re-
naming SlS,000 900 of stock which
they are by law authorized to issue!
OF course also this last move will
prove failure; the injunction will he
dissolved, and the issue Of the balance
of stock will be declared, rs it undoubt-
edly is, lawful aud legitimate. And
this, for the present, ends in fiasco a plot
which had been designed for the evil
dent purpose of making all the COM
mercial and industrial interestsof this
coast, the fairest, the most desirable
portion of the United States, subserv-
lent to the will and to the greed of a
stupendous monopoly. Had the
scheme succeeded, the people of this
coast would have been practically en-
shaved, without any hope of redress
by any legal means. So long as the
Northern Pacific Company remains
disconnected from all other similar
undertakings; so long as it continues
to pursue in good faith the beneficient
object, for the attainment of which it
received an imperial land grant from
the people; so long as it remains in
the management of men of sterling
ability and integrity like Frederick
w. DiIilISS, 81 ioiiS W III VIC tViitiuuc
to breathe freely and to feel that this
coast is comparatively secure to de-
velop its wonderful resources of the
mine, the forest and the soil, to the
utmost. For this purpose, we want
competing transportation interests.
We want the transportation giants to
remain antagoni>tic, each striving to
succeed through popular favorand lib
eral rates. Should those great corpor-
ations come to be controlled by one
man, the people will be deprived of
their rights and commercially en-
shaved by means of the millions of
public wealth lavished upon the mo-
nopoly. The people demand the
shortest, the most available route be
tween the coast and the east, regard
less of the interests of spectators in
town sites and corner lots. The Lin
coin motto: ''The greatest good to the
greatest number" will be found to be
the most polite for the companies, as
well as the public. So mote it be.
In connection with the above, we
would recommend to our readers to
read the noble letter OF President Bill
ings which we unfortunately have
uaithor room, NOR Tina IN cot in tvpo