Monopolies -- United States; Railroads and state -- United States
Follow us a little further into this Credit Mobilier organization. It
was first organized in Pennsylvania as the Pennsylvania Fiscal Agency
for the buying and selling of railroad bonds, advancing loans to
railroads and contractors, and to do almost any kind of business except
banking. The charter was granted in 1860, to Duff Green and some fifteen
others, but included none of the Credit Mobilier company. In 1864 (the
corporation having done nothing up to this time) the secretary of the
company, supposing Duff Green (the president) to be dead, sold out the
charter to George Francis Train, Thos. C. Durant, Oakes Ames, Oliver
Ames, and others, and Train baptized it with the new name of, "The
Credit Mobilier of America;" and then George Francis seems to have
disappeared. It does not appear that any considerable amount of the
capital stock was ever paid in (the whole capital stock being
$5,000,000;) perhaps just sufficient to legalize their operations,
to-wit, $25,000. The first business done, of which there is any record,
was a contract made by the directors of the Union Pacific company with
one Hoxie, of Iowa, for building 247 miles of the road, at what price
per mile we cannot learn. It was not intended that Hoxie should build
this road, but, as the directors of the company could not contract with
themselves, it was arranged to contract with Hoxie, and then to set the
Credit Mobilier to "running," and divide the spoils. With the consent of
the executive committee of the company, Hoxie assigned his contract to
the Credit Mobilier. The first mortgage bonds of the company were sold
and sufficient realized to build forty miles of road in 1865, and in
1866 to complete the Hoxie contract. From the subsidy bonds received
from government, or from some other and unknown source, the Credit
Mobilier, in the year 1867, reported a paid-up capital stock of
$3,750,000, and were ready for extensive operations. In pursuance of the
plan formed by the executive committee of the railroad company and the
owners and directors of the Credit Mobilier, the contract with Oakes
Ames herein copied was made, and then assigned. The Credit Mobilier was
so used as to _do good_. It was "placed where it would do the most
good." It does not appear that this corporation had any considerable
financial transactions, or did any particular business save in
connection with the Pacific road; yet it proved to the holders the most
prolific stock of any on record. The Ames contract was assigned to
Sidney Dillon, and others, trustees, on the 15th of October, 1867. It
declared dividends as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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