The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1890-10-24

/ sation whatever. That we further
find that the request for the resigna-
ton of Henry Foster as a Director,
was not made in good faith, but with
a view of reducing the number of di-
rectors SO that less number would
share the proceeds received in such
transfer. In the language of Director
! Gilman 1--WE had to draw the line
somewhere" We further find that
when the resignation of Henry Foster
was demanded in bad faith, that Dir
ectors Baker, Gilman, Campbell and
Officer were present, acquiescing in
the pretended reasons given by Direct
or Baker as to the necessity of said re-
signation; although they all promised
to resign simultaneously with the said
Foster, it appears they did not so re-
sign, but remained vigorously on deck
as Directors for long time afterward,
and until the proceeds of said transfer
had been distributed.
From the evidence before the COM
mittee it appears that Directors Camp
bell and Officer publicly expressed
their anxiety that there would be a
devil of kick when the people came
to know along the line of the road
about the sale they had made"
If everything was legitimate about
this transfer, we can see no good rea-
son why the said Directors should de-
cline to make this statement in de-
tail to the original stockholders of the
whole matter of this transfer, setting
forth among other things the amount
! of money received on this transfer,
the disposition of the same, and the
guarantee eXacted, if any, that said
road should be built. So far the only
report received is, in effect ''the fool
and his money are soon parted" We
further find that the minority re-
port of said Legislative committee
IcOncluSiyely shows that Director
Campbell declined to answer the ques-
tiOns put to him by the chairman of
the committee as to the amount re-
ceived at the time of said transfer,
and your committee are informed that
at recent meeting held by the Citiz-
ems of Austin, Mimi, this matter of
the transfer that Directors Officer and
Page both refused to disclose how
much they received on this transfer
we are at a loss to understand this
sudden diffidence. From an eXamina-
tion of all the evidence before us, we
are forced to the conclusion that a
cloud of huge proportions, almost a
cyclone, rests on the reputation of
Directors Campbell, Baker, Gilman
and Officer in the matter of this trans
fer. How far Director Page should
share in the above condemnation, we
are not prepared to state. We think
that the purity of the public service
requires that VIM. M. Campbell should
not be confirmed by the United States
Senate for this State until he salts
factorily clears up his connection with
the questionable transaction of this
! transfer, that your committee are of
| the opinion that in case it can be
proved that the Railway improvement
Company knew that Directors Camp
bell, Baker, Gilman, Officer and Page
held said stock solely in a tiduciary
capacity, that suit can be properly
maintained against said company for
the surrender of said stock and fran
chise of said road to the original stock
holders. That if said Railway I'm
provement Company were ignorant of
the relationship which said Directors
bore to the stockholders in this trans
fer, but bought the stock in good faith,
that then suit can be properly main
tanned against said Directors for the
consideration received on said trans
1 fer: but with the limited light we
have now on the subject, we do not, at
the present time, recommend any leg
al proceedings in this matter, but may
hereafter. All of which is respectful
ly submitted.
Mankato, April 10th, 1886.
JOHN N. HALL,
Chairman of Special Committee of In
vestigation of Mankato Board of
Trade in the matter of ST. Cloud,
Austin and Mankato Railroad.
j. A. WILLARDs STATEMENT.
The following is statement of j.
A. Willard, former director of the
ST. Cloud, Mankato & Austin Rail-
road: II hear he (Campbell) claims the
directors had enough stock to control
They did not, of stock they took and
paid in like the rest of us, all COM
| bined, have One-tenth of the stock.
He must count that they held it be-
cause they got the stock of the owners
into their names by some hocus pocus
unbeknown to me, or, as | believe, to
any of the owners, and voted it
| through all the stages of the iniquity
| ana U0e0, dlUoT III Was contaminated,
came very graciously and paid us the
ten dollars per share. If they owned
it, why did they do that? Baker had
in his name, and the certificate in our
bank, something like 100 shares Of
stock, when he took and paid for only
| four or five shares. 1t embraced all
| that was subscribed for at or about
Mankato, as / believe, except q shares
he had put in G. G. Burt's and my
name, for what reason [ never knew,
unless it was to take the curse off, put
ting the big amount in his own name.
! [ don't think any of the stockholders
consented to this. l hear all the di-
rectors did the same, and, no doubt,
Campbell did. 1t was the boldeSt and
most outrageous proceeding | ever
heard of, not excepting and of the
same line, and perhaps adopted from
Fisk 81 Gould's first rape of Erie stock
though that was largely valid, while
this. if tested, could not be. That was
issuing stock to themselves that be-
longed to nobody, because they had
! the books and the power; while this
was issuing your and my stock to
| themselves"
| The above statement was made to
NJ IIoJ1 oI,oir poan of tho inupCtina-