The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-29
MR. GLEED oN sANTA FE.
He Makes some Things Clear About tn,
Protective Committee

Protective Committee.
Charles S. Gleed. one Of the Topeka
directors of the Santa Fe, makes a COM
prehensive statement of the position of
all the parties ia the present Santa Fe
controversy from directors standpoint
Nr. Gleed goes after the Protective Reor-
ganizatlon committee fully as hard as
that committee ever roasted the directors.
Ia the Interview which is published to-
day in the Chicago Tribune, Mr Gleed
says in part:
s.Ihe matter seems to me to be verv
simple. The old directors Of the Atchl-
son came to be very depleted and dis
organized board The death Of Messrs.
George G. Magoun, Robert Harris and
Allen III anvel left three vacancies. The
permanent illness of b. +. Cheney made
virtually another vacancy. The retire
menI of 81 r. Reinhart made another va
cancy. General Solicitor PECK resigned
at the time lie was elected director.
Col. John J. McC0ok was embarrassed by
his duties as receiver it being Judge
CaIdweiI's desire that his receiver should
not mix in the work of reorganization.
Thomas Barring had returned 10 Eng
land. The company was bankrupt and
its property IN the hands Of re-
ceivers. It was clear to every com petent
observer that in the work of ra0rgan-
ization the stockholders of the company
were without proper representation.
Recognizing this situation, mum ber Of
gentlemen in New York concluded they
would like to be the representatives Of
the 1900 or 600 shareholders in the
AtchisOn company. The only limitation
on their right to desire this relation and
to work 10 obtain il was the obligation
which should be on the gentlemen to do
business honestly and honorably. The
record Of the protective committee for
the first several weeks of its active ex-
istence was not d brilliant one Benja-
min Harrison Brewster declined to be
associated with ii. President N ole of one
Of the largest New York trust companies
withdrew from il, and their internal dis
sensi0ns destroyed the peace and har-
mony which should characterize every
well-regulated committee. | do not think
I overstate the case when / say every
circular ever issued by the committee
was promptly dIsowned and denounced
bv part of the committee. Nothing was
more characteristic of the committee
than its incident of the circular making
certain charges against Col. J. J. McCook,
which circular was promptly Withdrawn
and ap0Iogized for on Col. McCook's ap-
peal or proposed appeal to the courts.
The committee was derided from one
end of Wall street to the other for that
incident, and for mum berIess other blum
ders While the protective committee
was making this sort Of a record there
were standing about a good many very
heavy shareholders, who were anxious to
nave SOnCtA4u8 0On6 l0E the protection
Of their stock.
Immediately on the organization Of
the board the protective committee turn
ed its engines Of viIlItication for the time
away from the old board and directed
them at the new board. 1t alleged that
the new directors were mere dummies OF
the old board Tt alleged that AIr. Rein
hart had practically nothing to do with
the misfortuues of the Atchison system.
but that the author or authors of these
misfortunes were either on the new board
or directly represented there. The com
mittee did not tell the public who il would
elect directors if it got the proxies. In the
meantime the directors of the company
issued only two circulars. the first Of these
two being hardly more than an announce
Inent of the existence Of the new board.
In their second and last circular they stat
ed cleorly their platform, what they in
tended to try to accom- plish. and what
their general plan Of work would be. The
directors. without villificati0n Of any one
and without the use Of questionable
mean of any kind. procured an over
whelming maj FIty of the proxies
when the voting day arrived. here
fore, the directors were in this positions
They had taken the field after the pro-
ectIve committee had demonstrated its
neon potency; they had secured 4 mag
niticent majority of the proxies. they
had promised their Constituents to elect