Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-09-22
I Philadelphia Press.l

NEW YORK, Sept. Is.
Alexander Mcdonald, capitalist residing
in this city. was former United States
senator from Arkansas. He occupied that
position at the time of the renewal by Con-
gress OF the land grant given to the Little
Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, and is thor
oughly familiar with the history of that leg
islation. He has given to the correspondent
Of the Press clear. succinct story Of the
now celebrated grant. This recital makes
more clear than anything hitherto published
how baseless have been the ISLANDERS heaped
up against Mr.. Blaine in connection with the
case. Senator Mcdonald made fortune at
Fort Scott, Kansas, as a post trader. After
the war the spectators in Arkansas saw in
Mcdonald capitalist near at hand, and so
invited him to come into Arkansas and set
tie. They seized upon the lapsed land grant
of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad
as good subject for their first experiment
The grant was originally made four or
five years before the war. 1t was part of the
original land grant scheme of Stephen A.
Douglas, who originated the giving by Con-
gress of such gifts to railroads in order to
help the Illinois Central Railroad, which
began building in 1855. A number of the
Southern States were brought into the
scheme at that time by being given these
grants. None of them availed themselves of
their privileges before the war. The war
and its attendant events caused them to
lapse. The spectators who took up the
Fort Smith and Little Rock scheme found
the original grant was for 1,0O0.000 acres of
land. They thought there would be no
trouble in getting it restored, particularly if
the Southern States should unite upon the
other grants. The States to which they
were granted were impoverished by the war,
and some sort of aid was needed to stimulate
their depressed commercial interests.
CREATING MONEY INTEREST.
Mr.. Mcdonald was, soon after his removal
to Arkansas, elected to the United States
Senate. The party working up the plan to
revive the Fort Smith grant, although it had
no money, was influential enough to push
the matter into favorable notice. The
Arkansas delegation in Congress was solidly
pledged to it. while the Southern men were
naturally for a project which would help
their section. The bill to renew the grant
came up in 1871, two years after Mr.. Blaine
was first elected speaker. At that time
there was not one dollar invested in the
enterprise The Little Rock and Fort
Smith Railroad Company was not organized.
and, as a matter of course, not single bond
or share of the stock had been issued. Mr..
Mcdonald says no one ever spoke a word to
Mr. Blaine about the bill There was no
need Mr.. Blaine might have been able to
delay it, but he could not have defeated it.
The bill was passed by both Houses without
any opposition from any one. Mr.. Blaines
decision upon a point of order raised in
connection with the bill, was one that any
speaker would have been obliged to make if
he had followed the rules.
After the bill was passed its Arkansas
projectors, who were unable to raise any
money in their own State to avail themselves
Of the land grant, visited Boston to see what
could be done there. In Boston they met
banker by the name of Bates. He was the
president of the Bank of Commerce, man
of high character and standing. He took
charge of the enterprise. and brought into it
spectators by the name of Caldwell and
Harrington.
THE HAND OF CALDWELL.
Caldwell soon became the master spirit OF
the scheme. 1t was he who organized the
original company and who fioated the original
bonds and stock Caldwell was very ex-
travagant, visionary man. and he bonded the
road tor much more than it could have borne
if it had been conducted as legitimate, in
stead of speculative enterprise.
Caldwell, in pushing about for a market for
his bonds, sought the support of Adams, the
founder of the express company bearing his
name. Warren Fisher was then quite init
mate with Adams and it was for the sole
purpose of getting at Adams that Warren
Fisher was put into the road. 1t was soon
after the organization of the company that
Caldwell made Mr. Blaine the agent for
the sale of the securities of the road for the
State of Maine. He promised him handsome
commission, as usual in such enterprises. Mr..
Caldwell had known Mr., Blaine, and knew
that he had the confidence of the capitalists
of his State. Caldwell made such representa-
tons of the value of the road that Mr..
Blaine was induced to place some
of the bonds, and from this dates all his
troubles In selling these bonds he gave what
is unususl-a personal pledge of security
Caldwell so overloaded the road that it was
impossible to meet its interest, and the first
Mr.. Blaine knew of this was the notification
from Lot M. Morrill, that the interest upon
his investment was not being paid. Then it
was that Mr.. Blaine put his hand in his own
pocket and began to make good the losses
which were threatened.
Mr.. BLAINE's SACRIFICES.
This drain upon his private resources to
HlhlnlaIu WuAL ONLY tue Must sCrupulOuS nom
or could have dictated soon embarrassed Mr..
Blaine to an extraordinary degree. At that
time his means were limited and this failure
on the part of the road to meet its liabilities
meant to him simply financial ruin. His
letters to Warren Fisher were not not there
fore to Fisher rs an individual. but to Fisher
as the chief officer of the defsulting road How
much Mr.. Blaine actually lost at the hands of
the spectators who handled the affairs
of this road is not officially known to
Mr.. Mcdonald, but he says he understood
the loss to have been in all in the neighbor-
hood of $40, 900. Caldwell afterward made
large sums of money out of the enterprise
He constructed 20 miles of the road and then
sold control of it to, Allen & Marquand, of
St. Louis, so as to clear for himself $3.50. 900.
Allen and Marquand sold the same property
in London for FL 900 900.
Warren Fisher was thrown over by Cald-
we'll in the end, and he found himself with
nothing in the way of assets of the road ex-
cept MIR. Blaine's letters, begging for justice
from the men who had imposed upon him.
Fisher rightly judged that mslevolent con-
struction might be placed upon them, and so
he has held them for sale to Mr.. Blaine's en-
emies when they could injure him most Part
of them were used in 1876, with the object OF
defeating Mr.. Blaine's nomination at that