Year: 1866




that few days after the time first above mentoned


VIM secor OF the sons above named, OF the said
Charles A. Secor called upon the deponen a. hs once,
| in company with William L. Riley, whom he introduced
TO deponent Of the parties jointly Interested with
himself the said william H. Secor, and stated 70 depo-
that and the said Riley desired In behalf Of the
other individuals composing the company to forthwith
graph line and also to issue certificates Of stock
company and place them upon the market; that TINS
deponen thereupon examined the documents presented


then and there by the said Riley which had been re-
ceived from the aforementioned War Department ID
reference the grant and promised aid and after listen


ing 10 all the arguments OF the said Riley In reference 70


the great utility practcabty Of the said route for


telegraph line and after examining carefully the charts
maps presented the deponent declared to the said
Secor Riley that he the deponent considered the
project to be feasible and that the grant and promised
aid from the government of the United States very
vauabe and the deponent then and there proposed to
organize company at once with capital OF $2O0oooo,
with paid up capital and The deponent further
stated that he the deponcnt willing To become one
of the corporators and desired to take onetenh part o
the capital stock and pay his the deponents assess,
the said William l. Riley show many Of their party
were willing 70 go into the enterprise on that basis


dsapproyed thas Of The deponen.s plan because he
| and his party had means; that they desired TO
oanize 50 that they could receive bonds and stock or
their rights without paying in any money as the depo
nent understood from said Riley, and from Conan who
afterwards introduced by the said Riley that they.
the said Conant and Riley had no money 10 invest tha
the deponent thereupon replied, You cannot expect
capitalists will furnish the money for this work and at
the time give equal share OF the profits or
representation in the company; If you have money
must take back seat !" that the deponcnt hereup-
on proposed to give the said william H. secor and Charles
r. Secor and the said conant and Riley and the other In
dviduals associated with them In the aforesaid enter
prise s7OO 600 OF the capital stock of the said telegraph
company. upon condition that they would not offer any
of tho said stock for sale until the line was competed
that the said Riley thereupon replied, This meaning
the above mentioned proposition Of deponent, "w not
do me; want something upon which can realize at
once" that this deponent then proposed TO deposit
500 900 in bank security for the construction Of the
said telegraph line If the deponents said proposal should
be accepted that this proposition was also rejected and
that time afterwards the said Conant and Riley,
and the other individuals interested In the aforcmen-
toned grant, proposed to the deponent In writing that
company for the construction OF the said telegraph line
should be organized and that mortgage be made OF
$3.50 600 and that deponent should give them onehalf
OF the whole number Of bonds for their rights and In
forests in the said grant, that deponent declined this
oe that the said Conanl and tho said Riley repeatedly
declared that ihey had no money" and that II would
be TO nters capitalists In order TO secure the
construction Of the said telegraph line.


THURLow OVERWHELMED IN POLITICS.
Mr. Frost In subsequent affidavit represents that ne
called upon Weed for the purpose OF arranging for the
organization OF the company, but Weed declared he
too busy to attend to such matters; that his Weeds
bead was full Of politics t being Just previous to the
State electon) and that he Weed would be satisfied
with whatever arrangement he FROST might 1T to
make


AFFIDAVIT OF COLONEL JOHN W. FoRNEY.
John W. Forney, Of said city, being duly sworn, de-
poses and says that in the month Of August,
1865 Charles A. Secor of the city OF New York. being at
ha Time IN NV washington applied NO 70 deponen. 70 %cI oS %
United states in said city, for the purpose OF assisting
him. the said Secor, In making an application TO
the Secretary of War for grant Of aid and
assistance in constructing line Of magnetic
telegraph from the city OF New Orleans TO
the city OF San Francisco via the several forts Of the Uni
ted States upon the northern boundaries OF Mexico and
Texas that the said secor informed deponent then and
there that he acting for his sons, Charles sccor
and William H. secor, above named and that If he
ceeded in obtaining said grant from the War Department
his said to be jointly interested with Ihurlow
Weed Others the enterprise that when deponent
arrived at the War Department, he saw said Thurlow
Weed there and said TO said secor Let me speak to
i'm hn aid Thurlo m
here is 10 help you he said Weed and secor TO obtain
authority for this work" which deponent accordingly
did when the said Weed said there necessity for
his (deponens) waiting, as he said Weed thought he
| could accomplish 1t himself in which case he, said
were cared for but that they had better wait, so
that II he should need them be- tho said Thurow
Weed that he was desirous Of going Philadelphia and
could not conveniently wait that the said Weed re.
quescd depopent TO remain day longer adding that
his deponenps) services were needed he (Weedl would
send for deponent that deponent not hearing from SAID
Weed departed for Philadelphia that deponent learned
afterwards from said Charles Secor that he Secor)
and the said Weed had BEEN successful In obtaining the
grant, that his hc said secors above named
were Jointly Interested with the said Weed and others
THE OTHER SIDE.


Al the conclusion Of reading Of the above Mr. Csr
NJ Seward read number OF andavits among which
were the following;


AFFIDAVIT or rHuRLow WEED


Thurow Weed, being duly sworn deposcs and says;--


am Of the defendants In TINS action have read
what purports 10 be copy OF an affidavit made In this





OF March 1866 before John Hayes, Notary Public,
deny said pans either OF them has or ever
has had any interest whatever any concession
the Secretary OF War OF the United States TO the
defendants in this suit any or more of them, In
reference line Of telegraph from New orleans 10 san
Francisco; occasion, when was In the city OF
Washington prior the receipt by the defendants from
the Secretary OF War OF the United States Of the letter
bearing l6 1885, In reference 10 said telegraphe
lne Charles A. Secor named In the said affidavit OF the
said plaintiffs their agent came TO me and sad to me
he understood application had been made TO the
War Department for a concession for telegraphio line
from New Orleans to San Francisco, and that he said
secor wanted TO Interested In IT, replied 70 him that


had no authority the matter and not myself an
original party in it, but that The other gentlemen inter
ested in il had spoken about IT, and that at their
request had made the application 70 the War Depart
mcnt and that personally should be very glad 10
him. said secor Interested in IL subsequently Of the
plaintinh in this suit but which Of the two II was
did not and do know, called upon twice a the
Astor House in the city Of New York and said to
Of the parties joined with In the concession
were bad men, that other parties ought to be brought
In; replied TO him always that outsider my
self and had no control the question whatever the