Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-20

~s ~"HNN ~ pNtooho VI N~'f
tions, which shall be deemed necessary
for the operation Of the Government
lines. In case Of dispute as to the
value of such property the Court OF
Claims is to srbitratc on the question.
Employees in the postal-telegraph ser
vice are to be appointed according to
the provisions of the civil-service act.
Nothing, according to Mr.. Edmunds's
plan, done by the Government in the
matter is to interfere with OF prohibit
individuals or corporations from carry
ing on the business of operating tele-
graph lines.
TIE ALLEGED NAROONING.
Further Abeut the ncsdor.Isiand Incident
New York Times.l
The claim made to Secretary Bayard
by j. W. Jennett that he and others
were marooued on Roncador Island, a
barren rock in the Caribbean sea, as
published in Sundays Times, was read
with much interest by Samuel c. Sloan
and Samuel X. Schwenk, of this city,
against whom the charge is laid. Jen-
nett alleges that be made contract
with Sloan and Schwenk and E. Lucien
Richie. of Philadelphia, to mine and
ship guano from Roncador Island to the
United States, and that, having loaded
two vessels with guano, they sailed and
did not return. and that he and his men
were left to starye on the island.
Samuel G. Sloan, of No. 202 Broad
way. tells a story that differs materially
from Jennett's tale: :" met Jennett
in this city in 1888. He claimed to
have leased ROncador Island, in the Ca
ribbean sea, and said it contained rich
deposits Of guanO. ! found that the
Petrel Guano Company owned contigu-
Gus islands. and that the development
of Roncador Island would benefit this
company. Samuel X. Schwenk, of No.
Is Wall street f. Lucien Richie. Of
; Philadelphia, connected with ex-Attor-
ney-G -General Brewster's office, and my
self obtained half the stock Of
the company, which was reOrgan-
lied with a million dollars capital
stock. There was no one with
a knowledge of the island we could
employ except Jennett. in whom we
had little confidence. lie was engaged
as superintendent, and, ss a check upon
him, Victor Frank was hired as fore
man. In October, 1888. we chartered
the bark David \. Preston, Captain
Jones. She took q cargo at Norfolk,
and sailed to Jamaica for hands who
were to work on Roncador Island. a
son sf Mr.. Richie sailed on her as
cashier. lie was to pay the men.
Captain Robinson was selected by Jen-
nett as his assistant. The vessel was
burned at Montigo bay, Jamaica, in
December, 1883. Jennett says the fire
was started by the Oyerturning of a
lamp in the cabin. The men escaped
in their night-clothes. Jennett saved
his trunk. The vessel was loaded
with tools, lumber, and proyl-
sions. The stock was insured for g., 600.
This has not been paid yet. We brought
the men back to New York. On May
%, 1884, the brig Havana, Captain
Sterling, which we had chartered, sail
ed for Roncador Island. | have already
said that the Pretrel Guano Company
owned several islands in the Caribbean
sea. In examining the records Of the
/ State Department we found that Jen.
nett had sold one to Moro Phillips, OF
Philadelphia, but as the provisions OF
/ the act Of 1856 had not been complied
with the sale did not hold good. We
had copies made Of the original papers
relating to the ownership of Roncador
and other islands. Jennett obtained
the original papers from the typewriter
who made the copies, but We did not
discover this for some time.
The Havana was stocked with six
months provisions and lumber for
houses, tools. &c. She was furnished
with yawl ana three cat-rigged boats
capable Of crossing the Atlantic. Soor
after the arrival of the Havana at Ron
cador Island Jennett exhibited the
papers he had taken to the men whom
he had hired. lie told them he owncC
! the island and other islands, and the
company had no claim to them or OF
him. lie drove Victor Frank on boarc
the Havana, which sailed for New
/ York and arrived here with a cargo o.
sand. He had shown us a sample Oi
the guano on the island, and it was
worth Sl6.50 per ton. The cargo oi
sand was sold for between g and 81 a
ton. We chartered two other vessels
( the Ida Francis and another whose name
| forget. We furnished them with provi.
sions. In due time they arrived in New
York from Roncador Island, and their
cargOes consisted Of sand. Early this
year | ascertained that Jennett had
sailed from Roncador Island to Aspin-
wall in one of our cat-rigged boats
and that he had chartered three vessel,
with a capacity Of l,704 tons, and had
sent them to Wilmington, n. c., loaded
with guano, which brought over sl9 q
ton there. We learned that he haC
drawn against these cargoes, or at
| tempted to do so. We sent an agen
to Wilmington with instructions tC
fight our case in the United State.
court. Our counsel had Jennett i'm
prisoned. Jennett made a claim o
$1,000 against the cargOes. The court
allowed him s400. We settled witt
the men at Wilmington and seized thu
guano.
"We were not aware that there were
any men on Roncador Island until after
November lth, when | was presented
with a complaint by James Cook. HI
claims to have been employed by Jen
nett at $40 per month. lie states tina
he sailed in the Havana on May %
1884, and remained on the island unit
September 9th. His claim for services
amounts to s662.67. The matter vii
come up in the City Court. We CLAIM
that if any marooning was done it wa
done by Jennett, who hired the mel
whom he left on the island. But tn
charge of marooning is foolish one a
| -. 49, IL ,oo n & t,,rtla- n,