Arizona republican., 1896-12-04
THE BOND QUESTION.

The remarks of some of our cOntem- poraries on the Yavapai bond question indicate that there is much misinfor- nation abroad concerning the merits of the case. In order that our readers may get correct insight into the mat ter, and thus make the proposed repudiation of the bond debt more ob- jectionable, we print the following from the Journal-Miner of Prescott, which bears the caption "A Confusion of Bonds:,,
 "The proof asked for by the Journal Miner recently, in regard to the Yava- pal railroad and redemption bonds having been sold in New York for ten or fifteen cents on the dollar, and that certain parties who now favor the pay ment of these bonds were the purchas CTS, has not been forthcoming. While as previously stated, if this transaction has taken place, it would make no diff ference as to the legal status of the question, yet, so far as the moral obli gation is concerned, there is no doubt that many might be influenced by it. It would eliminate the innocent pur- chaser" from the transaction. Inves- tigation of the question leads us to the honest conviction that no speculation has taken place, as charged. That the bonds are still held by the original pur- chasers. That no sale of them, or any part of them, ever took place at ten or | fifteen cents on the dollar. Now, if any one is in possession of any facts contrary to this statement, we would
 like to see them. It is fact that very
 many people here do not know the diff
 ference between the real, genuine P.
 & A. C. bonds and the so-called P. & A.
 c. bonds, but which in reality are
 known as the Yavapai county redemp-
 tion and railroad bonds, the words
 Prescott and Arizona Central Railway
 not appearing on them at all. Good
 evidence of this assertion will appear later in this article.
 When MT Bullock built his road,
 he received $40,000 in bonds on the
 completion of each ten miles of it, or,
 at the rate of $4,OOO per mile When
 the road was completed, he bonded the
 road for $1 ,550, ,000, or little over $20,- 900 per mile. Of this, SITS, ,0OO was is
 sued as first mortgage bonds and S775,- 900 in second mortgage bonds.
 "It will be remembered that after
 building several miles of the road, he
 practically forced upon the people of
 Prescott about $50,000 of these bonds
 by representing that he was unable to , meet his obligations, and this sum ot 1 fo t1 hi f< complete it. A subscription was taken up and something less than the above amount was paid and the subscribers ; afterwards received the bonds in ex-
 change. A few years later, MT. Bull
 lock had one of his agents purchase al the bonds he could, the price ranging , from forty cents upwards. One man who is keen and shrewd business man, too, remarked only few days
 ago, when the question of the P. & A , c. bonds selling for ten or fifteen cents on the dollar was being dis cussed that he had received seventy five cents on the dollar for his. Wha he had was genuine P. & A. c. bond t whereas the bonds now uppermost il r the minds of the public are the Yava , pal county R. & R. bonds. The P & A
 c. bonds did sell at one time, and were
 so quoted in financial papers, at ter
 cents on the dollar, and the entire is 3 sue of them, amounting to $1,550, ,O00 l is not now worth ten cents
 r Tt can be readily seen how the quo tation of the P. & A. c. bonds ha been confounded with the Yavapa county R. & R. bonds and how the ten cent story was started"
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