The San Francisco call., 1896-01-16
.SUTRO APPEALS
TO THE PEOPLE.
His Circular Letter to the
Officials of Ken
tucky.
SOME PERTINENT FACTS.
The Proposed Refunding Bill Is
Now Declared to Be a
Farce.
TAKEN FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS
Railroad Revenues Will Fall Far
Short of Meeting Increased
Liabilities.

mayo .ouIro mas not only 3ppealeQ 10
! the Governor and Legislature of Kentucky
to repeal the acJ that granted the Southern
Pacific Company the original charter, but
has called upon the people of the States OF
Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Louisiana and
| Utah, and the Territories of Arizona and
| New Mexico. to join in the prayer to the
authorities of the Blue Grass State for
support in the fight against what he
| terms the monster octopus"
| The appeal to the Kentuckians, bound in
a neat pamphlet and with the title, "The
People of Kentucky disgraced printed on
the cover, was made public yesterday,
| though it was distributed among the State
officials and newspapers of Kentucky sew
eral days ago.
| The arguments set forth are as follows
On the 18th day of March, 1884, C. P. Hunt
! 1ngton procured your Legislature to grant to
Henry D, MeHenny, William q. Duncan, Sam
uel l.. Hill, Samuel Cox, Henry McHenny Jr.
! and their associates, successors and assigns a
! charter incorporating the Southern Pacific
! Company OF kentucky with capital stock of
Sl,O0O00O to have perpetual succession, with
power TO purchase, grant, sell, receive in trust
/ or otherwise. all kinds OF personal and real
property to such amount as the directors of
said company may from time to time deter
mine, and generally to do and exc
cute all acts, matters and things which may be
deemed necessary TO carry into effect the pow
ers and privileges herein granted. provided,
however, that said corporation shall not have
power to make joint stock with lease, own or
operate any railroad within the State OF Ken
lucky.
By the second section OF said charter the said
corporation was, Notwithstanding said proviso,
given power to construct, establish acquire,
own, equip, lease, maintain and operate rail-
roads, telegraph and steamship lines, or any
pubic or private improvements, or any appur-
tenances thereof in any State or Territory OF
3 he nd RAT fnT, aterr1
with other and further powers
Bv the third section of said charter the capi-
/ tai stock Of said corporation was fixed at
81 100000, divided into shares of 500 each,
! and declaring that "no person shall be in any
wise liable stockholder OF said corporation
after said capital stock shall have been paid in
! cash"
! By section OF said charter it is provided
! that ''the capital stock of said corporation
may be increased from time to time 10 such
/ sum as may be determined by the board of
/ directors OF said corporation, provided such
| increase or diminution shall be approved by at
] least two-thirds in interest of the stockholders
/ of said corporation" And in said section 8 it
! was further provided that meetings OF di-
! rectors or stockholders may be held within or
! without the State"
Before said 18th of March. 1884. the said
| &. I. huntington, who was the active man in
| obtaining said charter, which in law is q
fraud upon its face, and Leland Stanford
| Mark Hopkins and his estate and Charles
! Crocker had been for more than twenty years
| engaged In onstructing, owning and operat-
/ Ing TdliTOauS III our Sl6Le OF taltOrnld ana
the States OF Nevada, Oregon, Texas and
/ Louisiana, and in the Territories of Utah,
/ Arizona and New Mexico.
And the said C. P Huntington and his above
| named associates procured said charter from
! the Legislature of your State for the express
purpose OF bringing said charter into our State
OF California and here organizing the COM
pany, and compelling all the railroad corpora
! tions, which they owned and controlled, in
the above named States and Territories to lease
their railroads to your legitimate child for
tV-pin 10 md fhara NV dafx-
nsught, evade and trample upon the laws of
the State of California and the other States
and Territories named.
The said Huntington and his associates did
for the purpose and TO the end that they might
carry into effect their nefarious schemes, bring
said charter TO our State, and did set up said
corporation to rule over US and over our laws
which they have now for over ten years done
IN such an outrageous manner that we appeal
to you, people OF Kentucky, to put the stamp
OF your indignation upon 1t and crush it out Of
existence.
And in support OF our appeal to you we give
you to be informed that no one of your citizens,
so far as we know, ever had or now has any
interest whatever in the Southern Pacific Com
pany
And we further give you to be informed that
Huntington and his associates named a boye
are and always have been and now the real
stockholders, and that they and their agents
and servants are now and always have been
the directors OF said corporation, and that the
principal office of said company is here in San
Francisco. That they have from time to time
increased the capital stock of said corporation
until 1t now amounts to the enormous sum of
$4,000, 600, all OF which, or nearly all of
which, they claim has been subscribed
and paid for by themselves. But how?
that they paid for said stock ty transferring
stock held and owned by them in railroad
corporations owned by them, which railroad
stock so transferred to said corporation is not
worth the paper it is written upon, for the rea-
son that every one of said railroad corpora
tions has mortgaged its road and other works
] I'D do lrrc
to an amount in value at par OF the face of
said bonds, far exceeding the value of the
roads and other property mortgaged, which
roads and property, when sold under fore
closure proceedings, will not rsaize two
thirds of the amount of said bonds Therefore
we tell you that the bantling which your
Legislature inadvertently and without wrong
intention spawned upon US, has grown and de-
veloped into q great octopus, holding to-day
in its eight tentsces five States and Terrific
rieS, excluding your own State, which gave
birth TO the monster.
We do hereby respectfully and earnestly ap-
peal TO the people of Kentucky, to the Legisla-
ture of Kentucky and to the Governor of Ken
tucky to rid us of this horrible monster which
is devouring our substance aud which is de-
bnuching our people, and by lis devillsh in
stinets and criminal methods is every day
more firmly grasping US in its deadly tenta-
cles.
We respectfully appeal to the Legislature of
Kentucky to repeal the chaI ter OF the South
ern Pacific Company, namely: can act to in
corporate the Southern Pacific Company, ap-
proved March II, 1854" and an act entitled,
''An act TO amend 'an act TO incorporate the
Southern Pacific Company, approved March
II, 1884, approved March 21, 1855"
We appeal, end we do hereby appeal to the
people of the States of Oregon, Nevada, Texas,
Louisiana and Utah, and the Territories of
Arizona and New Mexico TO join us in laying
our common grievance before the people, the
Legislature and the Governor of Kentucky
and praying them 10 repeal the charter of the
Southern Pacific Company and thereby release
us from the deadly grasp OF the monster octo-
pus. ADoIPH SUTRo,
CANNOT PAY ITS DEBTS,