The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1893-06-01

. tsThe third case is that the man
agement of the Company is wasting
the funds of the Company in high
saleries to officers. There are no
paid officers of the Company except
Mr.. Harrington, who gets $125.0O
per month, and Gen. Ayers who gets
IS, 900 year. Gen. Ayers has given
great deal of time and attention to
the affairs of the Company, and had
his whole heart and soul in the work,
and has even gone so far as to en-
dorse notes for the Company on nu-
merous occasions when it had to have
money or go to the wall. No one
who has been hero on the ground, and
who knows what he has done FOR the
Improvement Company will doubt
for moment that his services have
been worth this amount. But MIR.
McGeorge should be the last one to
complain of Gen. Ayers salary, tot 1t
aoos he ,cho offered the resolution at
the May meeting, 1890, increasing
his salary from $4,000 to $4,000
90, and neither he (although he is a
director of the Company nor anyone
else has ever even suggested that 1t
should be reduced.
"There is one other charge in the
bill which perhaps deserves notice.
It is that the trust fund. in the hands
of Mr.. Thruston, has been misappro-
priated by the management of the
Company. Mr.. Thruston is Trustee
for the bond-holdcrs and as such is
entitled to, and has been collecting,
seventy-fve per cent Of the purchase
price of all sales of lots. The man.
agement of the Company have moth
ing whatever to do with the money
which goes into Mr. Thruston's hands,
know nothing about it, and have new
or had one cent Off to eXpend for the
Company's purposes. Mr.. Thruston
is not made party to the bill, and
why they should alleye misappropria-
ton of funds by him without making
him party to the bill is more than
can understand. If they desire to
investigate his accounts there is a
way to do it, and if they undertake it,
I have no doubt they will find Mr..
Thruston ready to speak for himself,
for there never was more consclen-
tious, careful and pains taking trus-
tee than r. G. Ballard Thruston.
These allegations about misappropri-
alton of the trust fund show pain
full ignorance on the part of the franz
ers of the bill, and also show a rcck-
less Willingness of the compliments
to make charges of fraud and cor
ruption against honest men simply
for the purpose accomplishing their
ends
"What about the affidavit of Bal
ley that one-half of the stockholders
desire the appointment of u receiver"
"This is false. None of the stock
holders knew anything about the ap-
plication for receivers, except Mr..
MeGeorge and the people whom he
represents, and these people do not
own one-tenth of the stock of the I'M
povemcnt Company. DIR. Bailey,
however, will probably ease his con-
science by making the qubblc that he
is receiver of the V, T. G. S. d |. Co.,
although the Court of Appeals decided
otherwise, and that this company, to-
gether with the people represented by
Mr.. McGeorgc, do own about one-half
of the stock of the improvement Co.,
and that he, as receiver of the V. I. G.
S. g. l. Co. desires the appointment of
the said receivers of the improvement
Go. This might be valid defense on
an indictment for perjury, but it is
none the less a falschood"
elf these are the facts in the
suit why is it that men, such at
John G.. Bullitt Sam'l Dickson, and
JOS. l. Doran would lend their support
to to-
"My opinion is that none of these
gentlemen know anything about the
facts in the case. The way they be-
came interested in the matter is this:
They and others in Philadelphia,
loaned to w. D. Jones large amount
of money, to secure which, Mr.. Jones
made deed of trust to Mr.. McGeorge,
including large amount of land i'll
this and other counties, and also TWEEN
ty-six bonds of the Big Stone Gap
Improvement Go. These gentlemen
have left the whole thing to Mr.. Nc
George, and they doubtless know moth
ing whatever concerning the facts in
she case. Mr.. McGeorgc has con-
ceived violent dislike to Col. Haskell
and has allowed DR.. Bailey to make
of him an easy tool to accomplish his
own unworthy ends. The directors
Of the Improvement Go. are Gen. r.
A. Ayers, James w. Fox, j. X. Tag
CART, Maj. H. c. Mcdowell, Chas. I.
Ballard, VIM. McGcorge, Jr., Il. B.
Whitridge. Col. John G. Haskell and
myself. Not breath of suspicion
was ever before brcathed against them
and cannot account for the present