The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-09-01
Leads all North Carolina Daes i'm News and Circulation
Bern to consider the three PROPOSE.

Bern to consider the three PROPOSE
tions now pending.
While there will be the interest at
taching to a strong contrast for con
troll of the road on the part of th'
several bidders and of opposition OF
the part of certain interests to The
making of any lease at all, it may
be stated as a reasonable certaint!
that the lease will be made-or tina
the stockholders will decide to least
the property-at today's meeting.
In favoring a lease, the larger stock.
holders of the road are almost unani.
nous and the Board of Internal I'M
provements which, by its control o.
the States proxy, is virtually in con
troll of the question of disposing O
the property, is also of the opinion
that a lease should be made.
The Board of Internal Improve.
ments consists of Governor Aycock
chairman, ana Messrs. 3. w. Ballard
of Franklinton, and b. G. BeckWith
of Raleigh OF these gentlemen, th'
Governor and Mr.. Ballard favor &
lease and Mr.. Beckwith opposes it
The only other opposition to the
States giving up control OF the prop
erty among those who nave
terests in the road comes
from Mr.. C. E. Fov, of New Bern who
is backed however by like sentiment
of many people living along the line
of the railroad and by some thought
full and public-spiriteJ citizens
the State who, without per-
sonal interest, oppose the FARMING
out" of the property on sincere notions
of public policy.
1t is an interesting phase or the slt-
uation to consider that the question
Io,co tooh,,ioallu rests with MI
Ballard. who, as a member of the
Board of Internal Improvements. could
if he so desired, stop the entire pro
ceedine by uniting with Mr.. BeckWitb
in keeping the States proxy, represent.
ing a large majority of the stock, away
from the meeting. AS stated, now
ever, Mr. Ballard is understood to ia
Vor a. lease.
Kennedy Bid Amended.
The only news development in the
situation yesterday was the Verificatlon
of the rumor that the Kennedy Syn
dictate" had amended it's bid. 1t was
known that Mr.. e. B. Borden, of
Goldsboro, was in the city Tuesday
afternoon in conference with Governor
Aycock, but the result of his trip could
not be learned until yesterday.
The amendment of the bid of tn"
GoIdsboro. New Bern and Morehead
Railroad, or Kennedy Syndicate" az
agreed to by Mr.. Borden. changes the
terms of the bid filed with the Gov
ernor by agreeing. as does the How
land bid, to place 100000 of perma-
nent improvements on the road with
in the next four years.
THAT makes the two bids ident1cai
does ii not3'' L asked the Governor.
Well he replied with smile'
"tbat made them IDENTICAL
Il am to infer, then, that the. HOW
land syndicate has also amended its
bid to meet that of the Kennedy syn
dicate ?'
Governor Aycock laughed: "You
can infer what you please. When we
are handling as large a piece of prop
erty as this, it is we'll toAeep the mat
ter open till the last moment"
A gentleman very close to the How
land syndicate stated yesterday after
noon, however, that Mr.. HOwland was.
positive in his determination not to
change the terms of his bid again.
Mr. Howland is not going into any
dickering match said this gentle
man. HE has made a bid in good
faith and he will stick by it, but nd
does not propose to be drawn in-o
making any further amendments"
Several of the friends of the How
lana DrODOSlllOH SceIiiSu lolIIlCl SO- .
over the fact that the Kennedy Syndi-
cate had been allowed to amend its
proposition claiming that the under
standing was that at Mondays confer
ence between the Governor and tho
different bidders, the propositions then
filed should be deemed final. The
Governors position doubtless is that
it is the stockholders and the State
who are leasing the road and that
they should be entitled to the best
proposition obtainable up to the mo-
ment when the different bids are act
ually before the meeting.
The Term of the Lease.
That something was doing in New
Bern yesterday was evidenced by a
telegram received by Governor Ay-
cock from Mr.. w. G. Munroe, attor!
ney for the A & N. G.. r. r. calling
his attention to the fact that the life
of the corporation is limited in its
charter to the term of ninety-nine
years and making the query as to
whether a lease could be made to
cover longer period than the corpor-
ate life of the charter granted by tha
Legislature.
AS the charter of the road wa5
granted in 1852, the present charter
Continued on Page Five.)