The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-22
MR.. PAT CALaoUN's DENIAL
OF Statements Made by Richmond
Terminals Committee of Seventeen.

Calhoun In which he denied that he had
drawn money from the treasury OF the
Terminal company without leaving proper
vouchers for the same He also denies that
his brother, John c. Calhoun, had made a
claim for so, 900 for negotiating the Speyer
loan. These denials were called out by the
publication Of a statement OF the committee
Of seventeen that is now looking into Rich
mond Terminal affairs. The statement
published in Saturdays Herald Is a
lengthy one. The following is an extract
from it,:
The present advisory committee of seventeen
found your company not only in the condition
| of helpless dIscredit in which it was publicly
declared to be by its president and directors IN
| November last. but result of the total
| failure of both the Norton and Olcott commit
tees, for reasons not necessary to specify here,
to afford it the expected relief, threatened with
! immediate and irretrieVable ruin through the
| foreclosure of the Richmond and Danville f1oat-
ing debt OF 81 4o4 900, for which purpose numer-
GUS suits had already been entered. and the
| total sacrifice Of the cOllAtera's on which such
debt was being carried, which were fairly worth
! $4,000, COO to $4,000. 900.
The result of such foreclosure and sale
| would have been, il allowed to go on, not only
the total sacrifice of the entire equity belonging
| TO your own and the Danville company 10 these
collaterals, this equity ing fairly worth from
S4,00OOO0 to S. 600 O00 and leave still unliqui-
| dated an amount of floating debt OF from S2,OOJ,-
900 to S}00O,000, and for this remaining floating
debt, as neither your company nor the Danvllle
would have any collateral left the holders or TINS
debt would have also taken from your company
the Danville road and system, by far the most
valuable Of all its properties and the mainstay
Of your hopes for the financial rehabilitation OF
your company, as with the Danville road lost
| all hope OF recovering the Tennessee and the
Georgia Central properties would have been also
| lost
In this desperate situation, and in the face OF
the bitter, though covert opposition OF all those
secretly or openly opposed TO the rehabilitation
of this property on an economical isis by the
exertlon OF its owners our committee, through
its subcommittee, made successful negotia-
ton for the extention for two years of this
floating debt within which time the past his
tory OF the Danvile company. whenever under
efficient management, together with the report
of every expert who has ever been over the
road all so to show that it will he practicable
under proper management and with
| the consequent restored credit, to
SELL say, one-half the collateral under
this floating debt tor a sufficient amount to
| lquidate the entire floating debt If thts is
| done, it would leave in your treasury and that
| of the Danvllls company securities intrils.caily
| worth 8 100000 to S50OO 600 and at the same
| time preventing the otherwise unavoidable dis
ruption and destruction of the system which
| must otherwise have Immediately ensued.
Your committee also, through the action OF
its members, defeated tho conspiracy TO place
| the Danve road in the hands of hostile re-
| ceivers and have secured for 1t the protection
of an unparalleled court and honest, tried and
| capable receivers, and by this, together with
| the extension Of the floating debt, have rem
dered possible reorganization and rehabilita-
tion or the Terminal company, which but for
| the success Of your committee in these matters,
would nave been impossible.
| Your advisory committee Of seventeen hav-
| ing as will be- seen by its action, thus made re-
| organization possible, and DESTROYS OF promOt-
ing it in every possible way, has placed that
matter in the hands of a Competent
has made its preliminary report to-day,
from which it will appear that
| this subcommittee found 1t impossible to form
| any intelligent opinion or to make any reliable
| estimate as TO the earning power of this prop
| erty in the future upon which earning power
| alone any plan OF reorganization, no matter by
whom it shall be attempted must ultimately be
| based, without hrst determining how much or
| the present embarrassment OF the company is
| due to inherent defects weakness in the
| property itself, and how much ia due to vicious
or bad management, and in order to estimate
correctly what financial provisions it will be
necessary to make for the future, 1t was neces-
sary for the sui committee first to ascertain
what, il anything could be recovered from any
| person or persons who may have wronRed the
| company 10 the past
| 1t will further appear by the report OF the sub
committee that it has already found matter of
such magnitude and Importance as to compel II
| to suspend negotiations for reorganization
until it can more fully investigate the past, and
it is, therefore, temporarily. at the request OF
the chairman and committee OF seventeen, act
ing also as COMMITTEES of investigation pre-
| liminary to reorganization.
The simple statement that the subcommittee
have found evidence that certain trustees of
your company have proflted largely, with their
friends, to the extent of three or four millions
| by the purchase of the stock OF the Georgia
company purchased by themselves from them
| selves and friends for your company, and that
| the amount OF money also advanced to the
| Georgia Central Railroad Company, in addition
to the amount lost Ia its operation by your
| company, added to the aforesaid profits, ag-
| gregate more than the entire floating debt of
| your own and the Danvlle company.
Also that they find evidence that your COM
| pany, although unable at any time to borrow
money at less than per cent has been made
TO purchase from or through it's owners and
directors from the state of Georgia 81 900 900 of
its bonds az par and interest paying but per
cent, and that this purchase was made not.
withstanding the fact that your company has
no right under its charter TO make any such
= purchase. This purchase was placed by the
public press of Georgia entirely to the personal
credit of your officials and not to that OF your
company. 1t is also stated that the said com
mittee further finds evidence that drafts of one
| of your directors, for large sums, have been
| made on the treasurer of your company and
| that no vouchers whatever or explanations APP
pear on the books to have been furnished for
such sums.
Also that claims for compensation for finan-
cial services rendered TO the Georgia Central
company after it was purchased, as above de-
scribed, by your company were paid to another
| director Of your company to the amount OF
S2j 900. and that further claims for alleged
financial service to the same company were
made by the same director for the further sum
of $4,000
1t appears, further, that all the moneys Dor.
| rowed by the Georgia Central Railroad Com
| pany through this director have notwithstand
ing the above claims for services, been Dor
rowed on terms exceedingly advantageous &C
the lenders, and upon collateral claimed to be
worth at least double the amount of the loan.
| 1t further appears that this Georgia Central
Railroad Company, although alleged to be
earning ~ per cent. on its stock when so pur'
chased by your company, aud although it has
remained in the management of the trustees
, who at the time sold it for themselves anc
bought it for you, has, under this manage
ment since become bankrupt
The following is from Saturdays New
York Times:
There has been talk for some time il
, Richmond Terminal circles about the prob
able prosecution of certain men closely
identified with the company to compel them
10 restore large sums of money which they
obtained Improperly. Definite character
! was given to this sort OF talk by the official
, action of the advisory committeeof seven
, teen yesterday.
/, There was full attendance of the mem
, bers Of that committee at the meeting in
|, Work, Strong & Co.'s office in the after
, noon. A carefully prepared statement set
, ting forth the purposes Of she committees
was read and unanimously approved.
, This statement asserts that the Investiga
tions of the subcommittee show that Ger.