Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-02-24

deal OF immense advantage to the Read
! ing.
The price of coal having been raised
there was widespread questioning as to the
! legality of the combination. Congress ap-
pointed a committee to investigate the sub
| ject, and so did the New York and New
Jersey legislatures. The New jersey leg
isature passed resolution legalizing the
lease of the Jersey Central, and the public
Indignation was so great that Gov. Albeit
vetoed the bill. The attorney-general of
New Jersey brought suit to annul the
| lease, and on Sept. |, 1892, Chancellor
! McGill decided that the combination. so
far as it affected the Jersey Central, was
illegal Jan. 8, 1893, the Central railroad
of New Jersey, in compliance with Chan
cellor McGills decision and to prevent the
appointment of a receiver for the property,
abrogated the lease and announced its with
drawal from the "coal combine"
Meanwhile Mr.. Mcleod had been active
in other directions. He had secured the
control of the Poughkeepse bridge, and
made an alliance with the Boston & Maine
under the terms of which he was elected
president of the latter corporation on Oct.
26, 1892, and he claimed to have secured
the control of the New York & New Eng
land. His object in entering this field was
to enable the anthracite combine to deliver
their coal throughout New England over
| lines under their own control and to Sc
| cure the business of transporting the prod
ucts of New England factories to the West
and South, traffic which had not hereto
fore figured in the business of the coal
roads. In furtherance of this ambitious
scheme, Mr.. Mcleod virtually wrested the
Connecticut River road from the Consol-
idated company after lease to the latter
had been agreed upon, and made every eff
fort to buy up the Old Colony, and thus
partly shut the New York, New Haven 65
Hartford out of Boston.
Mr.. Mcleod success in carrying out his
plans was great at first, but reverses quick
ly followed, and now less than 13 months
after the formation of the combine"
complete failure has overtaken him. Drex-
ell, Morgan & Co.. disapproved of his policy
in branching out to control the Pough-
keepsie bridge line and the New England
traffic, and refused to back him in these
ventures. A member of the firm is quoted
as saying: "In brief, Mr. Mcleod has dis
| played tremendous energy, but less discre-
| tion great enterprise, but little sound
financial skill; marvellous audacity in the
conception and execution of his vast
schemes, but deplorable lack of business
prudence and conservatism. Had he sue
ceeded Philadelphia would have been i'm
mensely benefited, so that now that he has
failed, there is a disposition to condole
with him and to forget the defects and
dement's of his schemes. His coal combi-
nation was grievOus mistake. 1t aroused
public feeling against him from one end of
the country to the other
The Money IL Took.
The following estimate is made of the
amount of money which it required to carry
on the great Reading deals which preceded
the collapse: In the first place the $4,000
shares of Boston & Maine which they are
reputed to have bought at $50 called for
S7,500,000. They also bought 10000
shares of New England at about so, max
ing S5,350,000 more. In addition to this
they also bought 81, ,5S0,000 of Connecticut
River railroad stock, which represents
$5,500, ,000 or a grand total of SIS, ,250,0 ,000
This money was mostly borrowed and
carried in loans.
President McLeOd's History.
Authentic facts about President Nc
LeOd's history are very meagre. Nobody
seems to know very much about him except
that he is of obscure origin and suddenly
famed up into meteoric prominence in rail
road circles only year or two ago. He has
two cousins, at work as domestics in Spring
field, Mass, families, who have told the Re-
publican something of the family history,
though neither of them ever saw the Reading
president, or had anything to do with him
or his family His full name is Archibald
Angus Mcleod. His grandfather, Donald
Mcleod, emigrated from the Scottish High
lands to Canada. The old farm is located
in the county of Compton and there old
Donald died years ago. One of his sons
was Angus Mcleod, and Angus was the
father of Archibald. Archibald Angus
was the first of - children and he was born
on the farm in Compton county Al years
ago. The boys mother died when he was
young and for time he lived with Donald,
his grandfather. His book education was
such as the country afforded at that time
and no more.
Before he became of age, he left home
for the United States and obtained employ
ment upon some Vermont railroad. 1t is
, the impression of his cousins that he finally
T became locomotive engineer. Concerning
his career since then these cousins are ig-
, norant. except as he has become conspic-
uous during the past few years. In some
of the newspaper accounts, Archibald An
!, gus Mcleod is said to have been rodman
o in the survey of the Northern Pacific rail
road. Then he returned East and one day
was heard of as the general manager of the
. Elmira, Cortland and Northern railroad in
: New York state In 1886 Mr.. Mcleod
f left northern New York for a field com
9 mensurate with his abilities, and soon he
8 became general manager of the bankrupt
7 Reading railroad company. What has hap
a pened since then we have already told.
President McLeod's brothers and sister:
3 are quite numerous, for only three of the
s 10 have died. The father, Angus Mcleod
p is still living. As late as four years ago he
lived with son at Barre, this state, who
!. was employed as a stone-cutter in the gran
ite quarries there.
s The Springfield cousins pronounce the
n name as if spelled McCloud but by the
J. railroad men it is pronounced McIeed.
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