The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-16
ST. JOHN RAPS THE SOUTHERN.
HE ATTACKS THE LEGALITY OF
ITS HOLDINGS.

Quotes Speeches by President spen-
Ger in an Effort 10 Prove the own
ership of the Central of Georgia
and Georgia Southern and Flori-
MISREPRESENTATION McBee and the
Roads Atlanta Attorneys Help
Him Evolve the Letter.
Atlanta. Ga. Sept. l5.-Vice President
ST. John of the Seaboard Air Line, arr'v-
ed here tonight in his private car and
at once proceeded TO prepare reply to
the open letter Of President Spencer of the
Southern Mr. St. John had his car side
tracked two miles out Of town. and then
in company with Supt McBee and Attor-
neys King and Spalding, the letter, which
is a long one was evolved. large part
of the reply is devoted to the claim THAI
the Southern is defying the state consti-
tuition. which prohibits consolidation OF
competing lines, by owning the Central,
the Georgia Southern and Florida, and
the Macon and Birmingham, ownership
of which President Spencer denied. In
part Mr. St. John says; LAS I understand
your letter, you challenge the accusation
way Company that it is owning stock in
railroad companies, and is owning and
operating railroad lines in the state of
Georgia in violation of the constitution
and bylaws of that state. AS to whether
or not the Southern Railway Company
owns the stock of the Central of Georgia
railway, l have stated the same upon au-
thority which l deem to be sufficient, the
authority being none other than your own
utterances. I have before me the speech
of Mr.. Samuel Spencer, made at the pub
lie banquet in the city of Savannah m
the same night the Central of Georgia
was taken possession of by its new own
ers. This speech is in reply to a speech
made by Mr.. Conner in your presence At
ter stating the phenomenal rise which you
had made from the humblest position in
railroad service to that of president of the
Southern Railroad Company and paying
tribute to you as a railroad men (Which
will receive the assent of all who know
YOU, after INDUCING in laudation of the
persons who had given the financial back
ing to the reorganization of the South
ern railway. he said as follows: These
are the people who own the corporation
OF which our guest is the executive head,
and to him will pass tonight the control
of the Georgia railway and its allied prop
critics.
In response to these remarks you stat
ed, among other things: The Central rail-
road has had a great history-the com
pany has had a sad end since then. 1t now
passes legally under the control of the
company with which am connected, and
] understand that there is circulating in
the atmosphere all around the question as
TO what is to be the future history of that
property The leading apprehension on
that subject l think is. that being legally
under the control of the Southern rail-
way, it may be made so subordinate to
that as to be detrimental to its interest
and detrimental to yours If these quota
lions are not a direct statement upon your
part that the Southern, at the time when
the present Central of Georgia Railway
Company took possession of the Central
railroad, was the owner of all of the cap
ital stock of that railroad, fail to under
stand the English language. If the Cen
trail railway is controlled by
the Southern Railway Company through
a complete stock ownership, l presume
that you will not deny that the Southern
has an interest in this way in the Georgia
railroad, the Atlanta and West Point rail-
road, and the Western Railway of Ala
bama. l understand from your letter you
admit the ownership by the Southern
railway of the Atlanta and Florida rail-
way, also of the old East Tennessee line.
If l am correct in this assertion, that
of the capital stock of the Central rail-
road rests with the Southern, and If you
were correct in your statements in SaVan-
nah that the Central had passed under
the control of the Southern as such stock
holder then I am unquestionably correct
in my statement that the Southern rail-
way owns and controls three competing
lines between Atlanta and Macon, Ga.
and I submit that l am not only correct
in the statement that such ownership is
in violation of the constitution and laws
of the state above quoted but it is espe-
cially in violation of the law under which
YOU operate the main line of the South
ern.
80 far as the Georgia Southern and
Florida and Macon and Birmingham rail-
roads are concerned, in regard to the for
mer / simply desire TO quote from your
con Chamber of Commerce, in which you
say: AS regards the Georgia Southern
and Florida, the Southern Railway Com
pany and its friends control not all, but
only majority of those securities When
and how have the Southern railway and
its friends ceased to control the ma
jority of these securities? Is 1t not true
that you are the president of the COM
pany, and is it not true that you control
its operations?
I'm regard to the Macon and Birming-
ham railroad it Is well-known fact that
shortly before the sale of that railroad
bonds were sold and purchased in the
interest of the Southern Railway Com
pany. 1t is alao known that those same
bonds were rendered by the purchasers,
Edwards & Parsons, in part payment OF
the Macon and Birmingham railroad"