The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-09-14
SOME DARK THINGS BROUGHT
OUT
~ The NINETY-NINE YEAR
LEASE CASE.

Victory for the SCaCe""lG Is Legal
Fraud.
Cspecisl to the Charlotte Observer
SALISBURY, Sept. Hon. Kerr
craige. special master to hear and re-
Oort evidence as to the issue of fraud
= the lease of the North Carolina Rail
rosd. to Judge Simonton, heard further
testimony in the case, in the court
bouse here, this morning.
The following attorneys were present:
q p Bason and r. q. Busbee, repre-
oontinp the Southern Railway Com.
nanv. R. Fl. Battle, representing the
Hantral Trust Company, OF New York;
Arristeed Burwell and Us. Manning,
for thu old board Of directors OF the
North Carolina Railroad; A. @. Avery,
w. Fl. Day, P. W. Averitt and w. @.
Douglss. for Russell, the new board,
and Walser.
Besides these eminent attorneys,
there were present Hon. Elias Carr, ex
qovernor of this State; s. B. Alexsn-
der. President Of the old Board OF Di-
rectors of the North Carolina Railroad;
Dr. N. Norment, Presidentof thenew
BOARD: Mr.. D. A. Tompkins, of Char
lotte, and a number of witnesses sum
moned by the master.
No written or other deposition of
President Hoffman, Of the Seabosrd
Air Line, or Of A. B. Andrews was
offered.
The first witness introduced this
morning was Mr.. 81. E Norris, for the
defendants, Russell ct al.
Mr.. Manning and counsel for the
Southern R ilway objected to the wit
ness giving any conversation between
himself and anyone else in regard to
the lease Of the Atlantic & North Caro-
lima Railroad. Q Question as to such a
conversation was admitted subject to
exception. MIR. Norris stated that he
and Mr.. B. Q. Beckwith, constituting
the Board of Internal improvements,
made an inspection of the Atlantic &
North Carolina Railroad last fall, and
upon their retur made a report to the
Governor. It was then that the wit
ness had an important interview with
Gov. Carr. The Governor presented
Mr.. Beckwith and myself with a paper,
purporting to be the lease of the Allan
tic & North Carolina Railroad to GER
tain parties and asked US as the Board
OF Internal Improvements, to endorse
the lease. / took the position that the
board had nothing to do with endorsing
the lease. The Governor said that it
was almost an exact copy Of the lease
of the North Carolina Railroad, and
that it was a good thing for the State.
asked the Governor to satisfy me that
it was the duty OF the board to endorse
the lease, if it met u approval. He
failed to find any section of the Code
which made this our duty, but Mr..
B8Ckwith construed a certain section
as possibly making it Il duty to en-
dorse this lease. / told the Governor
that I couldn't endorse any paper until
l had been allowed time to inspect it.
He said that he wanted our endorse
ment at once. Mr.. Beckwith asked
that we have a paper copy Of the docu
ment, and that all of the parties inter
ested in the lease Ease be brought tx
Raleigh before the board. We tooh
the lease document from the Governor
and began reading it over. The Gov
M said that it wasn't practicable tc
bring the interested parties before the
board. During the time We were read
ing, Col. Andrews came into the Gov
ernor's Office and took Governor Carr
into the next room. Mr.. Beckwith and
l told the Governor when he returned
that we could not endorse the lease
though we found nothing wrong witt
it, until he satisfied US that it was oul
duty to do 80, and we had had time tx
consider the matter.
Just as the meeting was a~djourninE
or about to adjourn, Governor Car
said that it vas probably u duty tx
endorse his appointees for directors o.
the North Carolina Railroad, and hi
action in leasing that road. Mr. Beck
with and / told him that we we're per
tectly willing to endorse his appointees
and the lease, for it wes a good invest
ment.
AS we went out of the Capitol l re
marked to Mr.. Beckw with that we hat
done something we ought not to havr
done, to wit, endorsing the lease OF thu
North Carolina Railroad. That nigh
Ar. Telfair, the Private Secretary o
the Governor, came to me in the hote
aud asked me not to remark to anyon
what had been done that day by tn