USA > Missouri > Lincoln County > History of Lincoln County, Missouri, from the earliest time to the present > Part 27
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" Eighth. The foregoing bonds shall be payable in ten years from the first day of July, 1870, and shall bear interest from the first day of July, 1870, at the rate of 10 per cent per annum, pay- able semi-annually on the first days of January and July, with coupons attached. The said bonds to be numbered from one to six hundred, and each bond shall be for the sum of $500."
The record of this order was signed by Levi Bickel, A. K. Willson and S. T. Ingram, justices of the county court.
At the August term, 1870, the court ordered David T. Waddy, agent, to pay over to Josiah Fogg, president of the railroad com- pany, $3,000 in bonds, for the instrumental survey of the road
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made through Lincoln County, and to receive certificates of paid- up stock for the same amount. In compliance with this and other orders, Dr. Waddy reported to the court on February 13, 1871, that he had paid out in Lincoln County bonds the following amounts :
For instrumental survey .. $ 3,000
For work done as per estimate of November 15, 1870. . 12,000
For work done as per estimate of November 18, 1870 2,500
For work done as per estimate of January 15, 1871. 12,500
Total amount paid out. $30,000
being bonds from one to sixty-nine inclusive.
The report, which was further itemized, showing full compli- ance with instructions regarding past-due interest coupons, cer- tificates of stock, etc., was approved by the court. In May fol- lowing, Dr. Waddy reported to the court that he had paid out bonds from 60 to 112 inclusive, amounting to $26,000, on esti- mates of work done in the months of February, March and April. He also presented to the court 540 certificates of paid-up stock, which, with twenty certificates previously presented, made 560 shares of paid-up stock of $100 each. On the 14th of August following, John C. Downing presented a petition, signed by 1,520 citizens of the county, praying the court to remove Dr. D. T .. Waddy from his office as agent for the county in relation to the, St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad, and to appoint G. G. Wilson as; his successor, with certain instructions set forth in the petition. The matter was continued until the next day, when Henry Quig -- ley presented a remonstrance signed by 1,348 citizens of the county, praying the court not to remove Dr. Waddy from his office as such agent. Both petition and remonstrance were con- tinued until the 18th, when the court, after hearing addresses of both parties, and after having duly considered the matter, were " unanimously of the opinion that they could not grant the prayer of said petition, without gross injustice to, and an unwarranted impeachment of the business capacity and moral integrity of said D. T. Waddy," and therefore ordered that the petition be respect- fully dismissed.
On the 2d of September, 1871, Dr. Waddy reported that he.
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had paid to S. R. Woolfolk, who had succeeded Josiah Fogg as president of the railroad company mentioned, the further sum of $10,500 in bonds of the county, on estimates of work done on the proposed railroad, for the months of April, May and June of that year; and on the 17th day of November following, he re- ported that he had paid in county bonds to President Woolfolk the further sum of $55,000 on estimates of work done in the months of August, September and October. The work contin- ued to progress, and at the February term, 1872, the court or- dered Francis C. Cake to purchase twenty-four railroad bonds already issued to the company, and ordered that $10,200 be ap- propriated out of the railroad fund for that purpose. According- ly, on the 16th day of May following, Mr. Cake reported, among other things, that he had purchased the twenty-four bonds as ordered, for the $10,200 appropriated. These bonds and cou- pons thereto attached were then returned to the court properly cancelled. He purchased the bonds for $425 each, and reported hat the market price, at date of his report, was $450-the face of the bonds being $500 each. At the same time Dr. Waddy reported that he had paid to the president of the railroad com- pany, on three different estimates of work done, the further sum of $52,500 in county bonds; and that the total number of bonds paid out thus far was 348, amounting to $174,000. And for the last amount paid out he presented to the court 340 shares of paid-up stock, and a receipt for 185 shares to be issued at the next meeting of the board of directors. This report, together with Dr. Waddy's resignation, then offered, was accepted by the court. James L. Mclellan, of Troy, was then appointed agent of the county in relation to the railroad business. It was then ordered that Section 7 of the amended order of the court, made June 22, 1870, be further amended, as follows:
" SEC. 7. The said St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad Company are hereby authorized to commence their road at a suitable point on the North Missouri Railroad, thence by the mouth of Big Creek, in Lincoln County, thence within one-half mile of the courthouse in Troy, this county, thence on the present located route to the northern line of Lincoln County, State of Missouri."
On the next day the court caused the following entry to be made upon the record of its proceedings:
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" In the matter of the St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad, WHEREAS, the Missouri & Iowa Railway Construction Company is endeav- oring to obtain sufficient capital to insure the completion of the St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad, and WHEREAS, objec- tions are urged by capitalists to the manner in which the stock of said railroad company is scattered; and WHEREAS, it seems necessary in order to secure the building of said road, to remove every obstacle so far as can be reasonably done. Now, therefore, in consideration of the premises and of one dollar in hand paid by the said Missouri & Iowa Railway Construction Company, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, we hereby agree that if said Construction Company takes the contract for building said railroad, and prosecutes the same in good faith, and shall have the track laid on said road through the County of Lincoln within one year from the 1st day of April, 1872, then and in that case said Construction Company shall have the right to purchase, for the sum of one hundred dollars, the three thousand shares of said railroad company's stock subscribed and to be paid by said Lincoln County; and we hereby agree to assign and deliver the said stock to the said Construction Company at any time on the receipt of the said sum of one hundred dollars, after the track is laid as aforesaid through the County of Lincoln, Provided, the said track is so laid within one year from April 1, 1872. Other- wise this agreement is to be void and of none effect.
"A. R. WILLSON, J. L. C. C.
"I sign the above and foregoing obligation with the express understanding that if it is in conflict with any existing laws, the same is to be void and I exempt from all liability.
" S. T. INGRAM, " Presiding Justice of Lincoln County Court. " D. T. WADDY, " Agent Lincoln County. " Troy, Mo., April 8, 1872."
This contract was made, as may be observed from its date, by the individual members of the court when they were not in session.
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On the 15th of August. 1872, James M. MeLellan, in his first report as county agent, stated that he received from the hands of his predecessor, Dr. Waddy, county railroad bonds Nos. 349 to 600 inclusive, and that he had paid to the railroad company, on estimates for work done in the county, bonds 349 to 428 inclusive, amounting to $40,000. He also presented to the Court certificates for 585 shares of paid-up stock, 185 of these certifi- cates being due as per last report of Dr. Waddy. The county now had paid out 428 of her bonds, amounting to $214,000, and held 2,140 certificates of paid-up stock. On the 16th of Novem- ber following, James M. Mclellan reported that since making his last report, he had paid to the railroad company, on estimates of work done, ninety bonds, amounting to $45,000, and received 450 certificates of stock therefor. In February, 1873, the county court made the following entry on the record of its proceedings: "In view of the great scarcity of money, and the extreme high price of iron during the last half of the year 1872, the time for the completion of the road as mentioned in the foregoing agreement (that of April 8, 1872), is hereby extended to Decem- ber 1, 1873.
" A. R. WILLSON, P. J. L. C. C. [Signed. ] " HENRY T. MUDD, J. L. C. C. " JAMES M. MCLELLAN, Agent of Lincoln County, Mo. " Troy, Mo., February 13, 1873."
At this term Agent Mclellan reported that on December 28, 1872, he paid President Woolfolk twenty-two bonds, num- bered 519 to 540 inclusive, making $11,000, and received for same 110 shares of stock; and on the 17th day of May following he reported that on the 2d day of that month he had paid the further sum of $12,500, being bonds 541 to 565 inclusive, and received 125 shares of stock; and in August following, he reported that during the last quarter he paid fifteen bonds more, amounting to $7,500. At the November term, 1873, the county court, upon application of the directors of the railroad company, extended the time for the completion of the road to December 1, 1874. On the 15th day of November, 1873, James M. Mclellan made his final report, stating that he had paid out bonds 587 to 600 in-
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HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY.
clusive, being all the balance of bonds in his hands, and returned certificates for 175 shares of stock, making in all 3,000 shares of paid. up stock then held by the county. This report was approved and the agent discharged. The original 600 bonds for the sub- scription of the $300,000 to the capital stock of the company had now all been issued; and on the 1st day of January, 1874, as shown by the records, there was still outstanding, of this bonded debt, the sum of $270,000. On this the interest accumulated rapidly, and the taxes annually levied and collected to pay it be- gan to grow burdensome to the people, especially as the railroad was not yet completed. Three years more passed away; the interest on the bonds rolled up in semi-annual installments, and the taxes which continued to be levied and collected still oppressed the taxpayers. Consequently on the 29th day of September, 1876, Charles U. Porter and Alexander Mudd presented to the county court, then in special session, the following petition, signed by about 2,000 taxpayers :
" To the Honorable County Court of Lincoln County, Missouri:
"We, the undersigned citizens and taxpayers of the above named State and county, fully recognizing our condition, and appreciating the responsibility of our action, but believing as we do that we are aggrieved by the action of the county court of said county at the August term, 1868, by which said court appropri- ated the sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) to a corporation known as the St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad Com- pany, and issued the bonds of the county for the payment of the same, and believing that the action of the court was without authority of law, and hence void, and further believing in the sacred rights of petitioners for the redress of grievances,
" We, therefore, the undersigned citizens and taxpayers as afore- said, do most earnestly and respectfully pray the court as follows: "First. To cancel or revoke the order made by the court at the May term for 1876, by which a tax of 60 cents on the $100 was levied on the taxpayers of the county, to pay the in- terest on the bonds issued as aforesaid, and also order the collec- tor of this county not to collect the same.
"Second. To make no further orders or provisions for the
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collection of either the principal or interest of any of said bonds.
" Third. To make no appropriations or provisions for the payment of the January interest on said bonds.
" Fourth. That the court will, when any action or actions are brought, or proceedings instituted to enforce the payment of either principal or interest on said bonds, employ suitable coun- sel to aid in resisting the payment of the same in any court in which any such action may be tried, and, in fine, that the court will resist the payment of said bonds and interest by all means known to the law. And for the same your petitioners will ever pray."
The consideration of this petition was continued until the following day, when the court took action thereon, and made the following entry on the record of its proceedings:
" And now the petition of Charles U. Porter, Alexander Mudd and others, coming on to be heard, and the court being fully advised of the premises contained in said petition, it is hereby ordered by the court that the first prayer of said petition, viz. : praying for the expunging of the levy of six mills for railroad purposes, upon the tax books of the present year, which was made by this court at the May term thereof for 1876, be and the same is hereby rejected. And further that the court grant the prayer of said petitioners, relating to the payment of the January inter- est of 1877 on the railroad bonds, and that the treasurer be ordered not to pay the same; and that hereafter no money shall be paid for either principal or interest until the question of the legality of said bonds is finally and fully settled in the courts."
As soon as the payment of interest ceased, the holders of the bonds, or a number of them, brought suit in the United States Circuit Court, for the Eastern District of Missouri, to enforce its collection. Afterward, on the 16th day of January, 1877, the committee for the foregoing petition, and their attorney, A. V. McKee, and also the objectors to the petition, by their attorney, R. H. Norton, appeared before the court, and all matters pertain- ing to the litigation of the bonds being set forth by the contend- ing parties, the court appointed A. V. McKee, on behalf of the petitioners, and R. H. Norton, on behalf of the objectors, to pre- pare a statement of facts pertaining to and connected with the
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HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY.
issuing of the Lincoln County bonds to the St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad Company, and to submit the same to an able lawyer of their selection for his written opinion as to the validity of the bonds. In April, following, Messrs. McKee and Norton presented to the Court their statement of facts, prepared as directed, together with the written opinion of Hon. A. W. Lamb, of Hannibal, Mo., who held the bonds to be valid, and advised the county to make preparations to pay them. Then came the committee of taxpay- ers by their spokesman, Charles U. Porter, and presented a series of resolutions relating to the matter. The consideration of the written opinion and these resolutions was laid over to the second day of the following May term. At the appointed time the mat- ter was taken up, whereupon R. H. Norton presented a petition signed by 251 other citizens and taxpayers of the county, praying the Court to " require of those persons still desiring to litigate the bonds to give to the county a good and sufficient bond of indemnity against all costs of suit and damages resulting to the county by reason of said litigation." The Court refused to grant the prayer of this petition, and rescinded their former order that the opinion of the attorney employed by Messrs. McKee and Norton should be final.
Afterward, at the June adjourned term, the Court chose Henry A. Cunningham, of St. Louis, as attorney for the county, to pro- tect its interest in the litigation of the bonds, and appointed George T. Dunn to enter into a contract with him. The contract was afterward reduced to writing and placed on file. By its terms Cunningham was to have a retaining fee of $500, and five per cent on all he might save the county by reason of the litiga- tions, if a test case should be taken to the supreme court of the United States, but upon the bringing of various suits by the bondholders, he was to have $1,000 as a retainer, and five per per cent on the amount saved to the county. Various suits, how- ever, were brought and judgments obtained against the county, and on the 12th of November, 1878, Messrs. Overall and Jud- son, attorneys for certain bondholders, appeared before the county court and demanded that warrants be drawn on the treas- urer of Lincoln County in favor of their clients for judgments obtained in the United States Circuit Court for the Eastern Dis-
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
trict of Missouri, as follows: To Henry C. McPike for $5,380.80; Joseph W. Douglass, $11,368.81; E. K. Thornton, $1,062.64, Vespasian Warner, $6,371.56; Elisha Foote, $3,189; and John W. Ritnour, $1,670.56. This court refused to draw the warrants as demanded. Afterward, on the 29th of April, 1879, the above mentioned court issued a writ of peremptory mandamus com- manding the county court to forthwith make and deliver to each of these judgment creditors warrants on the county treasurer to pay their judgments, interest and costs; and if there was not enough money in the treasury subject to the payment thereof, they should forthwith proceed to levy and cause to be collected, at the same time taxes were collected for State and county pur- poses, a special tax sufficient to fully pay and discharge the same.
In obedience to this writ, the Court, finding no money in the treasury subject to the payment of said judgments, ordered Josiah Creech, prosecuting attorney, to petition the circuit court, or the judge thereof in vacation, for orders to make the special tax levy as set out in the writ of mandamus. Soon thereafter, June 12, 1879, the Court ordered Mr. Creech to call a mass meet- ing of the citizens of the county, to assemble at Troy on Mon- day, June 23, following, to consider the subject of compromising the railroad bonds. The meeting was held accordingly and the following resolution was adopted:
" Resolved, That it is the wish of this convention that the county court and the attorneys thereof, Henry A. Cunningham and Josiah Creech, act as commissioners to confer with the bond- holders, and submit to them a proposition for a compromise on a basis of one-half their claims on all bonds held by innocent par- ties; said proposition to be for the period of from date."
This proposition, on being presented to the bondholders, was rejected. On the 6th of September following the cases of Henry C. McPike, Joseph M. Douglass and Vespasian Warner against the county of Lincoln having been appealed to the supreme court of the United States, the court ordered that warrants on the county treasury be issued to Elisha Foote, John W. Ritnour and E. K. Thornton, respectively, for the amount of their judg- ments, interest and costs, up to that date; their cases not having been appealed. Other suits were brought by the bondholders,
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and judgments rendered in their favor. In the cases appealed to the supreme court of the United States, the judgments of the lower court were confirmed; and on the 12th of June, 1882, Mor- rison R. Waite, chief justice of the supreme court of the United States, issued writs of mandamus on the county court ordering the judges thereof to issue and cause to be delivered to each of the relators, Henry C. McPike, Joseph M. Douglass and Vespa- sian Warner, a warrant on the county treasurer to forthwith pay the amount of their judgments, interest and costs. And in case there was not enough funds available for that purpose, to levy and cause to be collected, at the same time State and county taxes were collected, a special tax sufficient to pay all balances remaining due.
On the 19th day of August, following, the court, in obedience to the foregoing writs, issued warrants on the county treasurer in favor of the judgment creditors for the amounts due them respectively. The amount of money then in the treasury, avail- able for the purpose, was paid to them in proportion to the amount of their respective claims, and for the balances remaining due, and for other claims of the bondholders which the county might be compelled to pay, a special tax of one per cent was levied upon all of the taxable property thereof. Another case brought by Frederick Kniderkoper, of Pennsylvania, one of the bond- holders, was appealed to the supreme court of the United States, where judgment in his favor was confirmed, a writ of mandamus issued, and compliance therewith made by the county court.
REFUNDING THE BONDS.
At the February term, 1883, the county court, upon a petition signed by 106 taxpayers of the county, ordered that the prop- osition of the bondholders, made by their attorney, John H. Overall, to compromise and fund all judgments and bonds in litigation at 85 cents on the dollar, and all bonds not in litigation at 75 cents on the dollar, be submitted to the qualified voters of the county at a special election to be held on Tuesday, April 24, 1883, at the usual voting places. According to the proposi- tion, the refunding bonds were to run twenty years from date, but to be payable at the option of the county at any time after
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five years, and to bear interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum. There were then $255,000 of the old 10 per cent bonds outstanding, and the accrued interest thereon was about $190,- 000, making a total of the bonded indebtedness of about $445,- 000. The election was held as ordered, and when the returns were canvassed it was found that 1,126 votes had been cast in favor of the proposition to compromise and fund the old debt with new bonds, and 819 votes against it. Accordingly, on the first day of May, 1883, the court, for the purpose of carrying out the agreement and proposition to compromise, ordered that there be issued bonds of said county of Lincoln in the sum and to the amount of $365,000, which bonds should be issued in denominations as follows: that is to say, 300 of said bonds to be of the denomination of $1,000 each, and to be numbered from 1 to 300 inclusive; 105 of said bonds to be of the denomination of $500 each, and to be numbered from 1 to 105 inclusive; and 125 of said bonds to be of the denomination of $100 each, and to be numbered from 1 to 125 inclusive; that said funding bonds and coupons thereon be issued as aforesaid and bear date May 1, 1883, in accordance with said proposition to fund and compromise, and be made payable to bearer, and to be payable twenty years from the said May 1, 1883, and bear interest from date at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, payable on the first day of Feb- ruary of each year, with negotiable interest coupons thereto an- nexed and attached, and that said bonds and interest coupons be made payable to the bearer thereof, at the Third National Bank of St. Louis, Mo. The bonds were to be signed and executed by the presiding judge of the court, and attested by the signature of the clerk thereof, and the seal of the court. They were ordered also to be made redeemable at the pleasure of the court, after five years from date of their issue. G. G. Wilson and Japtha Wells were appointed financial agents of the county to carry out the provisions of the foregoing order and compromise.
At the same term of court Messrs. Wilson and Wells reported that they had issued and paid out new funding bonds to the amount of $286,619.17, on judgments and old bonds taken up to the amount of $339,167.15, whereby the county was saved by reason of the compromise the sum of $52,547.98. On the 17th
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of August following the agents reported that they had refunded the sum of $41,395.67 of old bonds for $31,003.73, and thus saved the county the further sum of $10,391.94. Other outstanding bonds of the original issue were subsequently refunded, and fur- ther sums saved to the county. On March 4, 1884, the Court ordered that the 3,000 shares of the capital stock held by the county in the St. Louis & Keokuk Railroad should be sold to the highest bidder for cash at public auction at the door of the court- house in Troy on Monday, April 7, 1884. The stock was offered accordingly and bid in by the county for $225, as per sheriff's report dated April 11, following. The county still holds the stock. On the 19th day of February, 1887, the Court, upon ex- amination, found that refunding 6 per cent bonds to the amount of $365,000 had been issued and registered in the office of the auditor of State, and had all been put in circulation in refund- ing old bonds, and that the amount was not sufficient to refund all, and thereupon ordered W. A. Woodson, agent, to forthwith register in the State auditor's office additional bonds to the amount of $10,000, being Nos. 106 to 125, inclusive, of the denomination of $500 each, in order to compromise and refund the remaining outstanding 10 per cent bonds, which amounted to $7,000, thus making the total of the 6 per cent. bonds issued amount to $372,000.
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