Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-12
VANDERBILT TRICKED.
Strange Story About the Syndicate's
Sale OF the Nickel-Plate Railroad.
special Dispatches to THE Bgs.

special DlspRtCne3 10 lHk Bkh.
New YORK, January ia Cleve-
land dispatch to the Journal says: ga
remarkable story which has excited
general attention in railroad circles
here, reaches me from excellent au-
thority. One Of the Ssney syndicate
in Cleveland who sold out the Nickel.
Plate road, says that Burke and Dew.
ereaux induced Vanderbilt TO buy the
limo through the control Of shares at z
for the preferred and II for the com
mon stock. The syndicate was on its
last legs. George I. Seney and the
Metropolitan bank had loaned &c..
CSC, 600, which loan was due In
December last. Seney and the
bank gave notice that the loan must
be paid that day, without renewal.
Gould telegraphed from Chicago, after
going over the line, declining to buy
the road, which had been offered him
at s. 5000, 900 for the control of the
stock, but this telegram was kept SO.
cret. 1t was either sell or be sold by
the Seney faction. Burke and Dave.
resux we're told that Gould would
have the line within a week. They
asked for three days time, went on to
New York, saw Vanderbilt and gave
him "a hours to make up his mind.
An arrangement was made and the
bargain closed at a figure netting the
syndicate $500, 900 more than they
had hoped.
To GIT FROM nouJD
when they offered the road to him.
Burke bought for Vanderbilt 1876, 900
shares of the preferred stock and $780,.
600 of the common out of the whole
capital of 500, 600, 900, paying ST.
205, 900 instead of 81, 900, 900, at
which the same amount of stock was
offered to Gould. At the very time
when the sale was made Gould was in
Buffalo on his way home from Chicago.
Vanderbilt has bought the road sub.
ject to $l5, 600, 900 of first mortgage
bonds, "a, 600, 900 of equipment bonds
and a floating debt said to amount to
several millions, so that he paid for a
road costing about $10,O 900, 900 at a
rate of about $50, 600, 600. This Ia
the statement of q very well. known
railroad man, and he declares that
the Seney syndicate in New York,
Mr.. Geo. l. Ssney, president of the
Metropolitan bank, w. H. Brown, as
we'll as railroad men generally, are
laughing in their sleeves at the way In
which
VANDERBILT WAS GULLED
into buying a road for SO, OCO, 0OC
more than the price at which it wst
offered Gould. 1t Is a huge Joke
among Western railroad men, who Soy
that Gould is laughing In his sleeve al
what he considers to be Vanderbilt
foolish bargain, more especially as &
new parallel line to the Lake Shore II
already contemplated.
A morning journal reporter visited
Mr. w. III. Brown, of the Seney syn
dictate for information as to the truth
of the report that the syndicate haG
made $4,000, 900 profit in the sale Of
the Nickel Plate road to Mr.. Wander
blt,
"The story OF this transaction" he
said, sis very simple. Our oompan,
built the road to sell and after IT.
completion we looked about for
purchaser. We never had any inten
ton to operate the road. As tbs
road was ready for buSiness we re
csived an Offer from parties VIII
claimed TO represent Mr.. Gould. TIL,
otfsr was % for the preferred steel
: and % for common. This Cfsr die
not suit us. There were provisions fl
the offer for the preferred stool
without the common. Mr.. Goul'
} wanted only the preferred. Gu
. desire was to make a sale o
the entire property, The offers re
5 oeived from the Gould interests placed
: the preferred stock at 80, $50, 600, an
common at 81, 100, 900, or a total o
%, 900, 900. This offer we were on tn
I point of accepting, when Messrs
1 Burke & Devereaux made rs an oAe