The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-26
Mr.. MILLS GAINS TIME.
His Response to the Agreement
Submitted by the



Submitted by the .
Miners.
W. II. Mills, land agent of the Central
Pacific Railroad Company, yesterday sent
the following communication to the Cali
fornia Miners Association:
A. II. Ricketts, Esq, Chairman Mineral Lands
Committee, California State Miners Ass0etdtaon-
My DEAR SIR: l have just returned TO the
office after en- absence of eight days, and in the
accumulated mail open yours OF September IL.
In the opening of the communication you
say that your committee has unanimously ac-
cepted the proposition contained In the letter
of mine dated August 20, and addressed to
John NJ. Wright Esq, provided IT be modified
by the incorporation OF provisions whlch are
visions as presented in your communication
beyond the first paragraph, in which find a
definition of the parties to the agreement.
In the first instance you say that upon one
part the party to the proposed agreement shall
be the California Miners Association, ana you
| further advise that "the said association acts
in the premises by this its committee for the
protection of mineral lands" On the. other
part, you declare that the parties shall De sew
eral railroad companies, which you enumerate
as follows: The Southern Paclhc company,
the Central Pacific Railroad Company, the
Western Pacific Railroad Company, the south
ern Pacific Railroad Company and the Califor-
MIA and Oregon Railroad Company.
/ beg respectfully to call your attention 10
the fact that do not represent the southern
Pacific Company, the Western Pacific Railroad
Company nor the Southern PACING Railroad
Company. The Southern Pacific Company has
no land agent that am aware of, and does not
come within the category OF railroad compa-
MES owning or controlling what are known as
Congressional grants OF land situated Wltnln
the State of California"
The Western Pacific Railroad Company has
never been represented in this department:
The lands granted to that corporation dld not
| become the property of the Central Pacific
Railroad Company by the consolidation OF the
companies. The naked legal title to the land
has remained in the Central Pacific Railroad
Company, and certain pro lorna duties nave
been discharged relating to 1t; but the admin
istration of the landed Interests of the Western
Pacific Railroad Company has remained In the
original incorporates OF that corporation ana
| their successors. l sustain no official relation
with the landed interests of that corporation
and am not authorized to speak on It's behalf.
! The Southern Pacific Railroad Company is
very ably represented by its land agent, Mr..
| Jerome Madden. l have no official relation
| whatever with that corporation.
| From this you will perceive that the Central
Pacific Railroad Company, and the California
| and Oregon Railroad Company, to which the
| Central Pacific Railroad Company is successor
| by consolidation, are the only corporations
whose landed interests are represented oy my
self. suppose it is well understood, as IN TACT
| it should have been, that in the inception OF
| these negotiations, the Central Pac1hc Kali
road Company, which, by reason OF It's con-
solidation includes the California and Oregon
Railroad Company, was the only corporation
contemplated by me-
The presentation of these facts will make the
amendment to your definition of the parties so
obvious that no further amplification will be
| necessary. I cannot proceed with negotia-
| ton upon the theory that parties | do not
| represent are bound by it, nor do believe this
would be expected at my hands.
| In returning your communica ton for amend
ment in respect of the matters herein pre-
sented, ! beg to call your attention to the TACT
| that my former communication remained I'M
| answered for twenty-seven days, to wit, from
II - a onf,r
cation to the 18th of September, the date of
your communication. | viii esteem it q very
| great favor if the indispensable amendment
| suggested in this communication can have i'm
mediate consideration at your hands Yours
| very truly, w. ii. MILLS,
| Land Agent Central Pacific Railroad Company.
The answer of the mineral lands COM
| mittee to this is prompt and to the point.
| 1t met during the afternoon in Chairman
| Ricketts, office, and sent back its formu-
lated agreement to Mr.. Mills, with letter
| telling him to make whatever amend
| ments he thinks proper. Following is the
answer the committee made without any
| loss of time:
w. IT. Mills Esq, Land agent c. p r. r. Co.,
! San Francisco-DEAR SIR: Your letter under
date of 24th inst. addressed TO this committee,
has been received and duly considered by the
committee. Ii you will kindly take the trouble
| to re-read the letter addressed to you by this
committee under date of 18th inst. you VIII
| therein reQlSC0Yer the reasons winch caused
the necessary delay i'll the answer made by this
committee to your communication under date
| of the Goth ult. and your attention is now
| called to the fact that Hon. Jacob H. Neff,
president of the California Miners Association,
acting with this committee, returned to the
State of California. after a long absence, on the
18th day of September, 1895, and that the said
answer of this committee was transmitted to
| you on the 18th day of Septem Der, 1895.
| This committee has the honor to return to
you its communication under date of Septem-
Der IL, 1895, with the suggestion to you that
if you desire TO suggest amendments to the
| proposition contained therein, any amend
Inents so suggested by you will be promptly
considered and acted upon by this committed
In this connection, this committee assures you
! that you viii not be asked or expected to act
| for any railroad company which you do not in
| fact represent.
| Inasmuch as you are anxious to expedite
| these negotiations, this COMMITTEE assures
you that the readiest means o. accomplishing
| that result will be to put in all your amend
ments at one and the same time. Yours, very
| truly, A. II. RICKETTS,,
Chairman of the California Miners Associa-
TONS committee for the protection of min
eral lands.
"The logician is bound to win ultimate
| ly," remarked a member of the committee.
Mr.. Mills cannot now avoid committing
himself to some definite course of action. :"