Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-24

by Minneapolis and other places were dis
posed of, and remember that speak facts,
which Mr.. Washburn dare not deny, or
will prove my case from the records of the
company, and from the mouths of his own
political household.
Every dollar of those bonds were, by a
species of financial legerdemain,d distributed
between the goody goodies. That is to say.
under rule of the company, man who
had ten shares of stock, of the par value of
81 900, was entitled to purchase ten more
shares by paying $1,000 therefor, and in
consideration of his doing SO, the company
gave him $4,000 in city or township bonds.
The result was, that he got his stock for
nothing, and had margin.
the difference between first cost of ten
shares and their par value. Oh, the love of
these men for Minneapolis passeth COM
prehension!
Then when the road was in a condition
to speculate on what did Mr.. Washburn
do with 1.-THE immaculate Mr.. Washburn
who SO dearly loves the people? Why,
long before it was completed he entered
into a contract with the Northern Pacific
to lease it the road on terms that would net
himself and few others at least $1,000
OO0 free of all responsibility. Dare he
deny it? I am prepared to prove that he
carried the lease, drawn up by his direc-
tors, to Chicago for signatures. And the
lease was perpetual one, or practically so
it was for 999 years.
1t so happened that Jay Cooke failed,
the Northern Pacific got in hot water and
negotiations fell through.
Then Washburn, Langdon and others
organized a syndicate, and endorsed the
paper of the company securing loans
which were duly paid-and for the use Of
their names voted themselves immense ad-
ditional amounts of stock. But then they
didn't want to make money. Of course
not.
Here let me assert that the coun-
try cannot produce a lot of men who accu-
mulated money so rapidly without want
ing to do so. Why, they watered the stock
and rewatered it and then watered it again.
Then they snapped stock and watered
some more. Let me give an instance
and this was after many good chances had
gone by: A man owned ten thousand dol
lars in stock, and by resolution was emit
tied to take ten thousand dollars in second
mortgage income bonds worth in the
market 80 to 95c) at seventy-five cents on
the dollar. For doing this the company
donated him $4,000 in preferred stock.
Then it resolved (the bosses did)to give all
who then held stock, 'one-ffth more in pre-
ferred stock, and not satisfied with that,
resolved to issue five shares OF common
stock for each share of preferred stock
surrendered. Doesn't it make your hearts
ache to think how these poor men robbed
themselves for the good of our beautiful
g.. ~ anl l.
they knew something about manufacturing
themselves?
But must hurry on. have mentioned
Washburn crowd were interested in
your behalf how much they labored
to promote your welfare, and how chart
table they were-to themselves.
Well, time passed on, and Washburn
leased the Minneapolis 81 Duluth road to
the st. Paul &c Duluth company, for which
we should be duly grateful. And then
well then he waited for a good chance to
help us again.
In the early part of last year W. D.
Washburn owned about $1,000.0O0 worth
of stock, which had cost him nothing or
practically nothing, Gov. G. G. Washburn
owned another million, and other parties
still another. While w. D. Washburn was
at Washington in December, 1880, several
of the other owners placed their stock in
Gov. Washburn's hands, gazing him con-
trolling interest, independent of w. D., and
he entered into negotiations with the Chi
cago and Northwestern railroad, to give
it control, part of the consideration being
that branch should be at once built from
New Ulm to Minneapolis, giving US a new
road, and the wheat traffic of the Winona
& st. Peter road was to be diverted here
and -four carried away. Then the COVER
nor wrote to w. D., who in return wrote a
most outrageous personal letter to him,
and said it would be an outrage to
sell the road to any Chicago
feeder. The governor didn't care to
displease William and the transfer fell
through-a sale which would have been
infinitely better than the one made by
William to the Rock Island.
Some time afterward VIM. D.wrote let.
ter by telegraph. You can find the latter in
the dailies of Jan. 29, 1881. in which he said:
Il declined most positively to have any
thing to do with it, because it would be a
violation of faith to the city OF Minneapo-
lis, voting as it did S25O,OOO in aid of the
construction of this line on the distinct
understanding that it was to be kept under
the control of citizens of Minneapolis.
X x Transfer the management to the
Northwestern and the line will then run as
naturally to Chicago as water from tun-
mel. x x I entered upon this enterprise
ten year ago, not for the purpose or with
the expectation of making money, but
simply to do what could for the protec-
ton and development of the interests of
our cities and state"
Most noble Washburn Cant you see the
water in his eyes as we'll as. in the stock?
mot for the purpose of making money"
he soon afterwards bought out his brothers
stock at about hall, what the Northwestern
had offered him, and ''Presto, change - in
the morning papers of April Is. 1882, there
appeared telegram from Des Moines an
nouncing that sit is rumored on good au-
thority that the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railroad company has purchased
the ..Des Moines g. Fort Dodge and
Minneapolis & st. Louis railroads." while
the Erening Journal of the same date said
This morning an Erening Journal re-
porter Was it Charley Johnson? called
on President Washburn to confirm the
report, but was most emphatically in
formed that there was not particle
of truth in the rumor"
NJ