The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-31
GEORGIA SOUTHERN & FLORIDA
A Statement by the Secretary OF the
Majority of the B ondhoIders.

A Statement by the Secretary OF the
Majority of the B ondhoIders.
Mr.. William Checkley Shaw, secretary
of the bondholder's committee of the
Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad
Company, makes the following statement
in regard to the efforts of Mr.. W. B,
Sparks, the president and receiver of the
road. to create discomfort among Tn e
bondholders, as foreshadowed in an inter
view published in the Atlanta Constit u
ton of Dec. 21 1898.
THE bondholders' committee has met
with obstruction in it's efforts to obtain a
decree of foreclosure in the interest of the
bondholders ever since IL was created,
and the strongest opposition has come
from the gentleman who now desires to
pose as their friend and protector. AL
though acting as receiver of the Geor-
cia Southern and Florida railroad, he has
been reported more than once as boasting
that he would be able 10 keep this prop
erty from the bondholderS for years, and
as receiver of the Macon Construction
Company he has done everything he could
to make that threat good. His
efforts in that direction having been
unsuccessful for the reason that, on Nov.
IS. we secured an order of court to sell
the railroad early in March, 1894, this
present action on his part simply contem-
plates the transfer of his policy OF OBJ
struction and delay from the Macon Con-
struction Company to those bondholders
Of the Georgia Southern and hIorlda
Railroad Company who have not depos-
tied their bonds with the Mercantile Irust
and Deposit Company, of Baltimore, with
the evident purpose of delaying the exc
cution of the plans formulated by our COM
mittee, and in order to endeavor TO extend
his tenure as receiver. His invita-
ton TO the holders of the Mercantile
Trust and Deposit CompanY's trust re-
CENTS. to deposit said receipts with
trust company in New York is so absurd
that it hardly deserves notice, and nave
no fear that any bondholder will allow
himself to be deceived or influenced by 1t
outside of the few, who, from selfish mo
tiyes. are allied with Mr.. Sparks in his eff
forts to obtain control. 1t is not reasonable
to suppose that the bondholders will volun-
tarily put themselves in the power OF the
very people, but for whose opposition they
would have been in possession or TINS
property at least a year ago. Judging
from the past, it is quite natural that Mr..
Sparks and his associates, having ex-
hausted all other methods OF obstruction,
should now attempt to create olssenslon
among the bondholders.
"t'rom the beginning, we realized that
the Macon Construction Company had no
equity whatever in the Georgia Southern
and Florida railroad, but, in view Of the
Endorsement by the latter Of the bonds OF
the Macon and Birmingham railroad, we
recognized that the holders of these Sc
curities were the only people entitled 70
receive whatever balance the property
might Weld over and above the claims OF
the first mortgage bondholders. Being
bitterly opposed by Mr.. Sparks and the
Macon Construction Company in our
efforts to obtain foreclosure, and know
ing that they were counting upon the aid
of the bondholders of the Macon and Biz