The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-03-17
FIGHTING FOR THE
S. AL. OFFICES
Large Delegation Co1lfers
With Pres. William.
NO DECISIVE STEPS.
The Board Will Further Consider the
Matter.
RESCISSION is UNLIKELY.
President Williams Did Not Give the
Portsmouth and Norfolk Visitors
Great Deal Of Encour.
agemsnt-A Number OF
Speeches Made on
Both Sides.
REscIssIoN is UNLIKELY.

The conference between President John
Shelton Williams, of the Seaboard Air
Line, and committee of citizens of
Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Berkley, who
came here yesterday to protest against
the removal of the Seaboard Air Line
general offices from Portsmouth to this
city, resulted in very little.
In effect, Mr.. Williams promised that
the whole matter should be considered
by the Board of Directors. a steno-
graphic report of the conference was
made and this and any other matter
which the committee may choose to
submit will be considered by the board
1t is simply u fact that the committee
received from Mc. Williams nothing
which could be construed as encourage
ment to the belief that the board would
rescind it's decision to make Richmond
the home of the general Offices OF the
company. He said to a Times writer
after the meeting:
I'VE expect to retain the shops at
Portsmouth permanently, ana do not
propose to take one more man from the
general office force to Richmond than
the best interests of the system shall
require. Furthermore, we shall certainly
retain an important office and laboring
force there, which, with the growth of
The business, we shall hope to steadily
increase.
The committee came here over the
Norfolk and Western, arriving at l1:30.
The party was composed of Mayor Z.
Brooks Johnston, OF Norfolk; Mcssrs.
c. S. Sherwood, Barton Myers, I. ;.
southgate, W. P Obernforper, John l.
King. ]. H Jacocks. Godfrey, S. Airch-
mer, Thomas Townsend, George L. Arps,
w T. Anderson, r. w. Shultice, Charles
r. Bland, f. 3. Goodrich, T. D. Gill, 10.
l.. Dashiell, Goodrich Walton, Henry
isir.l, and City Attorney John Happer,
Of Portsmouth.
The committee waited or Mr.. Williams
in his office at Tenth and Main at 1890
O'Clock. The conference lasted until
about 5 o'clcck. Besides Mr.. Williams
and the committee, the following directors
were. also present: Messrs. Ernest Ihni-
man, of Ladenberg, Thalman & Co., the
well known financial firm of New York,
j. ~ AIiddendorf, OF Baltimore, and
Major James III. Dooley, OF Richmond.
MR.. WILLIAMS SIDE.
AIR Sherwood, of Portsmouth, presented
the delegation. Mr.. Williams introduced
consdera ton Of the business in hand py
reading q carefully prepared Statement,
saving he did SO. not to forestall anything
the committee might have TO say, but
Simply TO make clear his own position
and that OF his company. He continued:
Not one of YOU gentlemen, all business
men, would allow a business i'll which you
We're heavily interested and for which
You were responsible to be conducted
i'll Richmond while YOU lived in Norfolk
or Portsmouth or Berkiey. Not one Of
you would allow the general manager
or superintendent of his business TO be
a hundred miles from the headquarters
of that business. The directors Of the
SeaDcard Air Line Railway took this view
of the mana cement of their system. ana
/ concurred in it. We had tried the plan
OF having all of the general Offices of
the system in Portsmouth eight months,
and ! frankly say the results We're not
satisfactory TO the directors. stockholders
or myself. We talked over the matter
together, as business men considering a
business proposition and our decision that
certain Of these Offices Should be brought
to Richmond. where they. would be
directly in touch with the president of
the company and the chairman OF its
Executive Committee-those charged pri-.
marly with these serious responsibilities
and might be daily side by side working
together, was unanimous. We felt that
il these conditions had existed the last
eight months. some very extensive and
unpleasant eS periences would have been
Inverted.
We had no thought in our action of
injury! to one citysor advantages to anotk-
s 3er It did not occur to us that the chang
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