Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-10-13


wealth of Virginia:
i ~ August 9, 1918, legally called
meeting of the Valley TURNPIKE Com
pany stockholders directed that all as
sets of the said company and its prop
erty of every description be conveyed
to the state.
| On the same day the Board of Di-
rectors of said company directed the
conveyance of the Turnpike Company
to be made to the Commonwealth of
Virginia.
| ~ August 81, 1918, you executed a
deed, in accordance with the direc-
tons above given, to the Common
wealth of Virginia, the granting clause
of which follows:
CHOW, therefore, in consideration OF
the premises, the Valley Turnpike
Company doth grant and convey unto
the Commonwealth of Virginia all of
its assets and property, real, personal
and mixed, to be received, held and
used by said Commonwealth of Viz
ginia, upon the terms and conditions
fully set forth in said Act of General
Assembly of Virginia, approved March
20, 1918 n and to provide for the
maintenance of said turnpike"
81 Subsequently the Attorney Gen
| eral assigned as one reason for refuS-
ing to approve the deed that it should
simply convey the Turnpike Company
to the Commonwealth and not say that
the Commonwealth should hold the
turnpike on the terms and conditions
in the Act contained.
We can meet the other requirements
| of the Acknowledgement in supple
| mentary deed, but am convinced we
are right in providing that the Com
| monwealth holds the turnpike under
the terms of the legislative act.
One inducement to the stockholders
to sell to the state for very small sum
was the assurance that the Common
wealth would maintain the road IN
good order. Section 2 of said Act
authorizing the transfer of the Valley
Turnpike to the Comm onwealth pro-
vides that 1T shall become the duty OF
the State Highway Commissioner TO
take charge of the same (the road and
constantly maintain it in good order,
and that adequate facilities shall sbe
provided for traffic thereon.
The Attorney-Ger eral required that
each parcel of land owned by the COM
pany be described in detail; he in
sisted that the width and extent OF the
turnpike be set forth and that the
resolutions authorizing the transfer
Certified copies of which were fur
| nished the AttorneyG eneraD be cop
led in full In the deed itself.
The delay in furnishing q deed the
| Attornev-General would approve has
| been due to the requirements outlined.
In the meantime the original deed has
| been filed with the Stale Highway De-
| partment; at least | delivered it err
| sonally to MIR. George P. Coleman,
when he was State Highway Con-
| missioner. MIR. Coleman complained
of the failure to furnish deed salts
factory to the Acknowledgement ard
req uested me to return him the origi-
nal deed that the Attorney. General
declined to approve, in order that the
| Highway Department might have The
| evidence and protection Of that con.
| seyance in any event.
| have had map made of the road
| from Winchester to Staun,on; [ have
| gathered descriptions of the numer-
Gus lots of land owned by the Turn
| pike Company, and l have prepared
| IL supplementary deed, which the reso.
unions adopted by the stockholders
! clearly authorizes you to execute.
| This will take this week to the At.
Itorney-Geueral.
Certainly no blame can attach to
you for the delay. You directed me
a. attorney for the Valley Turnpike
company to do all things necessary
1t, make the transfer to the Common
wealth 10 accordance with law, and
assume you thought the Attorney
General had been satisfied [ am sat-
flied the deed you executed August
81, 1918 with the addition of the cor.
| porate seal omitted to be affixed by
Mr. D. B. Dinges, the secretary, when
he ig ed the deed), is a good and
sufficient conveyance of the turnpike
to the Commonwealth. This deed IL
held by the State Highway Depart
ment and protects the Commonwealth
while we are satisfying the require
ments of the Attorney. General.
Sincerely,
II. GRAY WILLIAMS.
| (I Your fourth complaint is thai
the State has sold toll houses and lott
to which it had no title.
i, Now, Governor, do you mean to say
that while Governor OF Virgini;. YOU
permitted George Coleman. your
appointee, to sell property to which
: you knew the state had no title
and thus take advantage of in
nocent aud confiding purchasers
Such conduct on the part Of a tribune
Of the people like yourself is enough
to destroy ,one's confidence in human
mature.
am advised by competent lawyerl
that apart from the deed which hal
t already been delivered to Mr.. Cole
, man, the state has a perfectly goot
title to the assets Of the Turnpike Com
/ pany, enforceable in any court o
l equity.
: should you feel ANY remorse at per
uniting the state 70 sell to innocen
purchasers something 1t did not own
hope you will take comfort In tn
E fact that you know as little about tn
y Inv ri thfa m after ;S Won know ahOu