The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-12-04
A MILLION DOLLAR SUIT.
American.china Development Company Is
Made the Defendant.
SEVERAL MIllIoSAIREs ARE coPARrNfps
Thuriow Weed Harness secured Thcm
Nest Valuable rrnnciifse aud
They Refuse 10 Pay Him.

New York. December 3.The World viii
say tomorrow Thuriow Weed Barnes has
brought suit in the supreme court against
the American China DEVELOPMENT company
for sl.000Oo0 for services in obtaining rail-
road concessions from The imperial Chinese
government through the Chinese minister
at Washington. These concessions ara
worth in net profits at least sl2 100000 to
the company and they nav be worth S2i,-
100000. They are the most valuable grants
ever made by the Chinese government to
foreign capitalists and the terms are more
i favorable than the CONCESSIONS obtained In
roctnt years by French. ReIGiant English
and Russian syndlcates.
The chief spirit OF the American China
Development company is Gavin $. Blaae.
| His associates are james II Beaedicl.
banker; the Carnegie steel and Iron COM
pany lAudrew CarneXieJ; j. IL. JAWS or
The Arbuckie Sugar and CoIee company
| trecer.uK 4. Oisott. presidtht OF ans osh-
trai Trust company; senator Hsnry r.Ho.-
cot OF ColJrado; Lew n. MORTON. tAo.nas
/ u. fiaut Jalilsss Stiils..an oil lne StIiidaIu
Gil company, represenlins the nocAeteiis-s;
-. h. naIeeti. presiAeA. o. tne oodtlefn
trust company many otii-iS " A''N"
II prominence III the nnanclai world.
All OF these are dsaenuan.s In uie sult, as
they are CO. partners In tae syndicstle WnicD
controls the CONCESSIONS.
/ barnes alleges tnat after Brlce's enVoys
had failed to OBTAIN the CONCESSIONS sousat
i Brica sent Tor Barnes ana asked him TO
undertake the work. Barnes had spent
many years in the. Orient ana mad !naud
| several fricnas among the natives niSh Ia
power, and, moreover. was 4 itlenu 10 W.
4 MAI init
ington. ar. Barnes agreed to do the woTh.
IL is said on the verbal UNDERSTANDING tpat
he would be duly compensated for any val
liable results he might accomplish;
The draft OF the agreement reached pe-
tween Barnes and the Chinese min ster
was drawn I'D by Barles ami wa, acc pea
nv both spaes without u change. eX-Sccrs-
tnry of State John w. Foster acting IN IN
advisory capacity to the Chinese manlstef
TA.s agreement was reached April 10 ana
signed the next day subsequently II Was
4 ra fled by an imperial edict by the SnllSSe
! poy erument The concession oDtainei Dy
J the company provides for the building OF
! a trunk line Of RAILROAD from NaMAow south
| to Canton a distance of about lu0o miles.
1t will run through the most fert4e ana
richest regions OF CHINA. Inc popuioti ~.
OF that section of China is 2JO.Uo0,uVu.
From Har4kow north to Poklng runs pro-
,osed railroad. the concessions for which
. were obtained by "a Belgian syndicate.
From Pekins, northwest runs a ROAD Wh en-
will connect with the great Trsnssiperiah
railroad built by Russia.
Thus the railroad permitted by the Amer
lean concession will have through connec-
ton with the Russian Transslberian ROAD.
The most valuable part OF tns concesSiou
obtained by the Americans is the nnanciai
terms The.e have never been pub1.shsu'
me road, IT. is estimated VIII sos. w.
600 00o Bonds OF 10 per cent more than the
total cost are to be guaranteed by the I'M
nerial Chinese government. The ~ per cent
asd.t ional OF S4.000o00, Is clear proht 10
begin with. The bonds are TO be paid IN
gold, to run fifty years aud to pear 9e'
cent interest. -.
nav the company 5 per cent on tne totd'
cost of the road for suptrintendins the
construction. In addition the hnese 'us
erument agreed TO pay ~ per cent OIL r.a
net profits of the road in the form OF uso
an.irre boBd. bearing psr cent interest
and running forty three years. after paying
ali EXPENSES OF the road, incGullns tbs
redemption Of the bonds. the road Is 70 ~
como ths property of the Chinese sove,ne
memt The Chinese government mas 'pe
riptt 10 redeem the debenture D9nrs ~
mar and the i per cent gold bonus ~ iu- :.
In the first twenty-five years anu az pss
t.ereafter BY the concession the amer,
can company also obtained uhe' TIN. y.
mine Inc rich coal fields which extcni
along p,rts Of the route OF the ROAD
An evan more valuable feature CT tne
CONCESSION H. u-nt in The event oil tho een
tract with the Belgian synnieals pe.ni
| cancelled tine concession TO buAd tbat ,ouu
Vial revert to the American Chna Develcp-
ment company cn the same conditions go
ernlng the Hankow road me Asnst ,',s
ccnnusmy also obtained the right Oh puiin
ing the road under American hia,'. 80,
and free nom the supervisors "
| officials. ,,, ,,
THE company agreed to establish AKA
maintain at its own cost a schUo' ~
instruction of the Chinese IN railway MAJ
agement so that when tins reip itAa 49,.
comes the property OF the chinese govern.
ment n can operate 1t with natives. me
members OF the America CHINA Develop,
ment company got together ana iorlneu
what they called the Chinese rallway syA-
dictate The original subscribers 10 inc p,9-
mltted to the Chinese syndicate by Paying
Slnoo on each share held, the shaIes OF fhs
latter company costing $4,000 Mr; barnes,
Il L. said has had an understanding INA,
his 1000 shares were 10 DO eAcnaussN 80, ~
the $4,000 shares OF the syndlca,e Wisuou'
his paying anything additional
II. In all about $500. 900 was suoscripel 10
| the syndlcatc Mr.. Barnes saw Mr.. Brice
several times about his compensation. oat
heard nothing definite nntli octoper o.
when ne received a letter from l.. san
, ,orJ Bcattrs, secretary of the China Amer
Jean DEVELOPMENT company. inis com
,n,,nication told him that nj a meeting OF
me- rommittee OF the syndicate resolution
had been PASSED providing that no claim OF
Thurlow Weed Basnes for compensation
~ o,,ld he recognized. This resolution also
arov,doJ mai rs be had failed 10 pay the
additionhl $1,000 on each OF his snires IN
ING original company they had been pat
I'M for sale Barnes at once consulted MS
LAWYERS and tho suit for N.ooo,pco was the
result,
MISSISSIPPI INSPECTION.