BOSTON April 25, 1866.Hon.Tappan Wentworth,Chairman of Hoosac Tunnel and Troy and Greenfield Railroad Committee.Dear Sir:—Hearing that questions have arisen in regard to the propriety of contracting the work upon the Hoosac Tunnel, it may not be improper for me to say that that subject (contemplated in the Act of 1863,) has for a long time engaged the serious attention of the commissioners, who have already a contract for constructing a portion of the West End, before the governor and council, awaiting their approval under section 3 of chapter 214 of the Acts of 1863.When the economic value of their new facilities shall be demonstrated, they expect further to avail of this system 80 far as the interest of the State (as represented by the rapid, economical and certain progress of the work,) shall warrant.While the high prices now prevailing will probably render the letting of large jobs at this time injudicious, they are not of short contracts, or of letting portions of the work to the miners by the piece.Very truly yours,J. W. Brooks,Chairman.
BOSTON April 25, 1866.
Hon.Tappan Wentworth,Chairman of Hoosac Tunnel and Troy and Greenfield Railroad Committee.
Dear Sir:—Hearing that questions have arisen in regard to the propriety of contracting the work upon the Hoosac Tunnel, it may not be improper for me to say that that subject (contemplated in the Act of 1863,) has for a long time engaged the serious attention of the commissioners, who have already a contract for constructing a portion of the West End, before the governor and council, awaiting their approval under section 3 of chapter 214 of the Acts of 1863.
When the economic value of their new facilities shall be demonstrated, they expect further to avail of this system 80 far as the interest of the State (as represented by the rapid, economical and certain progress of the work,) shall warrant.
While the high prices now prevailing will probably render the letting of large jobs at this time injudicious, they are not of short contracts, or of letting portions of the work to the miners by the piece.
Very truly yours,J. W. Brooks,Chairman.
The Committee coincide with the views of the commissioners. And the justness of their remarks, that the State must not expect to have the work done at less than its cost, is borne out by the operations under the contract for the West End enlargement, where the State has increased the contract from four to seven dollars and fifty cents a perch, in order to insure the miners a compensation for their labor.
It may be proper to state in this connection, that the labor done upon the road and tunnel by early contractors, has not tended to a "rapid, economical and certain progress of the work," and that if even the whole work should be put under contract, the interest of the Commonwealth would require the continuance of a commission, and the services of an engineer of the highest skill and integrity to superintend its performance in order to avoid a loss and damage similar to that which occurred to the State while the work was under the nominal control of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad corporation.
The retirement of all the gentlemen who comprised the board of commissioners, first appointed under the legislation of 1862, affords the Committee an opportunity to acknowledge the eminent talent and ability which they respectively possessedfor the discharge of the important duties assigned to them, and to bear testimony to the industry and intelligence displayed in their elaborate and comprehensive report upon the subject of the railroad and tunnel in 1863. It was fortunate for the State in that crisis in the affairs of this enterprise to be able to command so much practical information upon a question so interesting and important, and at the same time so difficult of solution.
But in addition to the duty of furnishing an opinion of the feasibility and mode of constructing the tunnel, and of the propriety of opening this line of railway communication with the West, the commission was instituted to carry on and superintend a most important and difficult public work, involving the expenditure of several million dollars. Yet each of the gentlemen composing the board was engaged in other duties requiring substantially their whole time and attention. Under these circumstances their personal observance of the progress of the work could not be given to a degree satisfactory to the public, or essential to the interests of the State, and the responsibility of the operations came to devolve upon the engineer at the works, and the chairman of the commissioners in Boston. These irksome labors were discharged with diligent faithfulness, and as the event has proved with a physical suffering to one of them that has called forth a general expression of regret and sorrow.
By chapter 214 of the Acts of 1863, the governor is authorized to draw his warrant on the treasurer for such sums as may be required, from time to time, by the commissioners, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of law for the completion of the tunnel and railroad. The commissioners under this enactment have made monthly requisitions upon the governor, transmitting at the same time vouchers for the expenses of the preceding month; and upon this information and requisition the warrants have been drawn. By the 293 chapter of the Acts of 1866, a general supervision of the work is vested in the governor and council, with power to "correct abuses, remedy defects, and impose and enforce requirements in such manner as the interests of the Commonwealth shall, in their judgment, require." As the commissioners exercise a delegatedpower, there would have been a manifest propriety in requiring of them, from time to time, a report upon the progress of the work, and of their own doings even under the Act 1863, so that the governor might have been more fully provided with information touching the necessity of the requisitions. But under the Act of 1866, it appears essential that the commissioners should report monthly to the governor and council the general plan of operations pursued, the progress of the work, and the manner and extent of their own superintendence of the same.
The Committee are therefore of opinion that the commission should be reorganized in such manner that the State could command the whole time of its members: that a greater degree of personal attention should be given by them to the work than it has heretofore received: that the commissioners should keep minutes of their doings which shall be open to the inspection of the governor and council, and the appropriate legislative committee: that their monthly communications to the governor and council should embrace, in addition to the past, and the requisition for the current month, a report of the operations, the progress of the work during the previous, month, and the manner and extent of their own superintendence of the same.
The Committee are also of opinion that a due regard to economy in conducting the enterprise requires that the commissioners should at once, by experiment, ascertain the probable time required to excavate the enlargement of the tunnel, and that the work upon the enlargement be regulated and pursued with a view of avoiding any unnecessary delay in operating the road after the heading is removed.
In concluding this Report, the Committee cannot forbear to express their obligations to Mr. Doane, the engineer in charge of the work, for the assistance rendered by him in aid of their labors, nor withhold their approbation of the faithful and able manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office, so far as they have come under their observation. The Committee are indebted to Mr. Hill, the superintendent of labor, for his uniform attention during their examinations, and they fullyrecognize his capacity for his position, and his interest in the operations. They are likewise indebted to Mr. Hall, the intelligent master of the machine shop, for very valuable information concerning his particular department. And also to Mr. Field, the able and efficient engineer of the railroad, for a very satisfactory report upon that portion of the work under his direction.
TAPPAN WENTWORTH,———- ———-,[A]WILLIAM L. REED,Of the Senate.MOSES KIMBALL,GEORGE B. LORING,SYLVANDER JOHNSON,B. F. TAFT,E. H. CHISHOLM,SILAS JONES,JAMES R. GLADWIN,Of the House.
[A]Hon.Alvah Crockerhas not acted on the Committee since his appointment upon the commission.
[A]Hon.Alvah Crockerhas not acted on the Committee since his appointment upon the commission.
APPENDIX.
[A.]
Sketch of the Proceedings of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Corporation, from its organization to the surrender of the Road under the mortgage, and the adoption of the work by the Commonwealth.
Sketch of the Proceedings of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Corporation, from its organization to the surrender of the Road under the mortgage, and the adoption of the work by the Commonwealth.
The charter of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, was granted in 1848, and authorized the construction of a railroad with one or more tracks, from a point on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near Greenfield, to some point on the line of New York or Vermont, convenient to meet or connect with any railroad that may be constructed from any point at or near the city of Troy, on the Hudson River in the State of New York. Its capital stock was limited at $3,500,000.
The corporation was authorized to contract with the owners of any contiguous railroad leading into or from either of the States of Vermont or New York, for the use of the whole or any part thereof, or for the running and operating the two railroads conjointly, or for the leasing of such contiguous road, or for any other road, or for the letting or hiring of their own road to the owners of such contiguous road, or of any other road which composes a part of the railroad line between the cities of Boston and Troy, of which the Troy and Greenfield Railroad shall be a part.
The first meeting under the charter was held June I, 1848, at which subscription papers were voted to be issued and circulated, in order to organize the corporation. In 1849, March 16, the subscribers to the stock held their first meeting, and organized under the charter.
At the annual meeting, February 6, 1850, the stock was apportioned among the neighboring towns as follows:-
It was also voted to apportion the directors among the towns in the following manner, to wit:—
North Adams, 3; Florida, Rowe, Heath and Monroe, 1; Colrain, Buckland and Hawley, 1; Shelburne, 1; Greenfield, Deerfield and Conway, 3; Williamstown and Whitingham, 2; Charlemont, 1; and one director at large.
Before the annual meeting in 1850, the directors had voted to assess three per cent. upon each share of the capital stock. This vote was passed April 11, 1849, and on the first day of October in the same year, they voted that the construction of the road from the State line at Pownal, Vermont, to Adams, and from Greenfield to Shelburne Falls, be put under contract as soon as sufficient subscription shall have been obtained therefore, and that the two ends aforesaid shall be constructed simultaneously.
1850, January 28, the treasurer had received the sum of $2,203.94, and had paid out on bills approved by the president, $2,203.57, leaving a balance in the treasury of $0.37.
Sundry assessments amounting in all to 75 per cent. upon the subscriptions, were afterwards voted, the last on the 6th of May, 1852. These assessments were rescinded by a vote passed July 23, 1858, and it also voted that the several amounts heretofore paid by individual stockholders, except on assessment laid April 11, 1849, be credited to their several accounts on assessments now or hereafter to be made.
1850, October 28, the contract with Messrs. Gilman and Carpenter, was ratified, and on the 29th, the president was authorized to execute it.
The Committee have not found this contract nor any record stating its provisions.
December 27, 1850, a committee reported that the whole amount of stock subscribed, was $250,800, of which $7,200 was payable in land damages and materials for the road; and that Messrs. Gilmore and Carpenter had subscribed for 500 shares of stock, to wit, $50,000.
On the 7th day of January, 1851, the directors voted to break ground the next day, and on the 27th of May in the same year, they voted to expend a sum not exceeding $25,000, in experiments upon the east side of the mountain, at or near the mouth of the proposed tunnel.
In 1851, the corporation petitioned the legislature for a loan of the State credit for two million dollars; but the application was unsuccessful.
The failure to secure the aid of the Commonwealth, appears not to have discouraged the corporation, for on the 7th of August, 1851, the directors voted that they would proceed forthwith from Adams to the New York line, and simultaneously incur all the necessary expenses to make thorough experiments with such machines as promise to facilitate the construction of the tunnel, and when the road is begun from Greenfield, it shall be after an arrangement is made to construct it to the foot of the mountain in Florida and connect in some way with the road at North Adams.
The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Corporation having directed its attention to a connection with the Troy and Boston Railroad Company through a portion of the State of Vermont, and a charter having been obtained from the legislature of Vermont, incorporating the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, whereby such connection could be made, a committee of the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company and of the Southern Vermont Railroad Company made an agreement, subject to the modification or ratification of the stockholders of each company, "that the stock of both of said companies and their franchises from said Greenfield to the west line of Pownal, in the State of Vermont, shall become and be one joint, consolidated stock and interest, with equal and common rights and privileges to the stockholders of both companies;" it being understood that an application shall be made to the legislature of Vermont for a change of the name and style of the joint corporation mentioned in the said Act of the Vermont legislature. This report was made to the board of directors, and it was voted that the same "be accepted and adopted, recorded and placed on file." Subsequently the Southern Vermont Railroad was leased to the Troy and Greenfield Corporation on a perpetual lease for $12,000 per year; and the 21st of April, 1860, it was purchased by the Troy and Greenfield Corporation for the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, with money advanced to the last named corporation by the Commonwealth. In the report of the commissioners on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, the Southern Vermont Railroad is estimated to have cost from $110,000 to to $125,000 only.
In 1858, another application was made to the legislature for a loan, but with the same result as in 1851. In both instances, committees reported in favor of the application.
In 1854, the application was renewed, and was successful. The Act was passed on the fifth day of April, 1854. By the first section, thetreasurer was authorized to issue scrip, as certificates of debt, for the sum of two million dollars, to be expressed in the currency of Great Britain or in federal currency, as the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad should elect, to bear an interest of five per cent., payable semi-annually, and redeemable in thirty years, for the purpose of enabling the Troy and Greenfield Company to construct a tunnel and railroad under and through the Hoosac Mountain, in some place between the "Great Bend" in Deerfield River, in the town of Florida, at the base of Hoosac Mountain, on the east, and the base of the western side of the mountain, near the east end of the village of North Adams, on the west. The scrip was to be delivered to the treasurer of said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company in the manner and upon the conditions following:—$100,000, when it should appear to the satisfaction of the governor and council that said company had obtained subscriptions to their capital stock in the sum of $600,000, and twenty per cent. upon each and every share of said six: hundred thousand dollars should have actually been paid in, and seven miles of their railroad and one thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel under the Hoosac, in one or more sections, of size sufficient for one or more railroad tracks, should have been completed.
$100,000, when ten miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and ten thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed.
$100,000, when fifteen miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and three thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed.
$100,000, when twenty miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and four thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections should be completed.
$100,000, when twenty-five miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and five thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed.
$100,000, when thirty miles of their railroad, in one or two sections, and six thousand lineal feet of their tunnel, should be completed.
$100,000, when thirty-two miles of their railroad, in one or two sections, including all the line east of Florida, and seven thousand lineal feet of their tunnel, in one or more sections, should be completed; and for each additional portion or portions of said tunnel of fifteen hundred feet, in one or more sections, completed by said company, $100,000, subject to the condition that the last $200,000 should be reserved until said company, or their successors, should open their railroad for use from Greenfield to the line of the State in Williamstown; and subject also to the condition, that, prior to the second delivery of scrip, thirtyper cent. of the same shall have been paid in cash to the treasurer of the company by the stockholders thereof, in addition to the $120,000 to be paid prior to the delivery of any scrip; and that upon each application for scrip, in pursuance of the law, and prior to the delivery thereof, thirty per cent. of the scrip then applied for shall have been paid by the stockholders to the treasurer of the company until the $600,000 subscribed for has been paid by the stockholders.
The Act further provided, that the treasurer of the company, within three months from the receipt of any scrip, should pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund created by the Act, ten per cent. on the amount of scrip so taken as a sinking fund; and after the road should be opened for use, twenty-five thousand dollars should be annually paid to said commissioners for the same purpose.
The Act further provided, that the said company should execute an assignment, as a pledge or mortgage on the railroad, with its franchise property and income, conditioned to pay the principal sum of said scrip, or so much thereof as the sinking fund should be insufficient to pay, and the interest, as the same became due; and that said company should assign all the interest it then had, or might afterwards obtain, in the Southern Vermont Railroad Company.
In 1855, the legislature authorized certain towns on the line,—to wit: Ashfield, Buckland, Conway, Colrain, Charlemont, Deerfield, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Rowe, Shelburne, Adams, Florida, and Williamstown,—to subscribe three per cent. on their valuation, respectively, to the capital stock. This Act was not fully complied with on the part of the towns, and $125,000 only is reported to have been realized from that source.
In 1855 a contract with E. W. Serrell to construct the work was reported to and accepted by the directors. This contract does not appear among the papers of the corporation, and its terms cannot be stated.
At the same time the capital stock of the corporation was by a vote increased to $1,500,000, and a location designated as the east line on the railroad near Cheapside was adopted. This singular resolution was also passed:—
Resolved, That the direction of the engineering operations within the Hoosac Tunnel after the location of the line is adopted, and plans perfected for the same, be left with the contractor, excepting the measurements for monthly and final estimates and the final acceptance of the work.
1855, July 18. Mr. Serrell having proposed to subscribe the sum of $600,000 (less the amount of the new subscription made by others,) provided the company would make such allowances as would enablehim to dispose of the proposed issue of $900,000 of bonds advantageously, the directors voted to add $300,000 to the contract prices of the work, and that said $900,000 bonds as provided by the contract should be issued as soon as authorized by the stockholders, and placed in bank by the trustees to the credit of such persons as shall deposit against the same cash or railroad iron equal in value to sixty-five cents on the dollar. The said bonds to be taken by said Serrell at par and so estimated in his contract.
At this time sixteen hundred and thirty-five shares of new stock had been subscribed, amounting to $163,500.
The trustees alluded to in the foregoing vote were selected by a committee appointed for the purpose, and with power to execute to them a mortgage. They were J. V. C. Smith, Paul Adams and John G. Davis, all of Boston. The mortgage was executed, and is known in the history of the road as the "Smith mortgage." A resolution explanatory of this transaction was passed August 16, 1855, in the following words:—
"Resolved, That, whereas by the terms of the provisions of the resolution of July 18, 1855, by which it is provided that the bonds of the company to be issued, are to be placed in bank, &c.; therefore, as explanatory thereto, be it
Resolved, That it is not intended thereby to prevent the operation of the contract, but that the said bonds are to be delivered to Serrell & Co., on the warrant of the engineer, countersigned by the president and treasurer, whenever the engineer shall draw therefore on monthly or final estimates."
1856, February 7. The president reported to the directors that a contract had been redrafted and concluded with Messrs. Serrell, Haupt & Co., which was read, accepted and ratified, and the committee discharged. This contract was probably dated January 31, 1856, but the Committee have not been able to find it among the papers of the corporation.
1856, May 22. The directors voted, that in case Messrs. Serrell, Haupt & Co., would enter into an agreement to carry on the work of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, in compliance with the terms and conditions of the loan Act, until 2,000 feet of the tunnel should be completed, the corporation would substitute bonds instead of stock in all payments to be made on account of work to be done to that time.
The treasurer was authorized to give the acceptance or notes of the company, to an extent equal to the whole indebtedness of the company to said contractors, upon which to raise money to carry on the work.
That the company would pay or allow to said contractors all discounts or losses to which they might be required to submit, provided such discounts or losses did not exceed the rate of 15 per cent. per annum.
That the trustees of the mortgage bonds should deliver to Mr. Herman Haupt one hundred thousand dollars in the bonds of the company in addition to payments due for work, said bonds to be sold or hypothecated by him, and the proceeds applied to the work. The bonds to be charged on account of the contract if not returned when the second payment from the State shall have been made.
1856, July 28. H. Haupt and W. A. Galbraith notified a dissolution of the firm of Serrell, Haupt & Co., and proposed to enter into a new contract.
E. W. Serrell notified that Messrs. Haupt and Galbraith were authorized to surrender the old contract.
The stock subscription of Edward W. Serrell and E. W. Serrell & Co., was transferred to H. Haupt & Co., the latter to furnish a guarantee that the assessments due and to become due should be paid.
E. W. Serrell resigned his office as a director in the company, and was appointed consulting engineer. W. A. Galbraith was chosen a director.
1865, July 30. A contract was made with Herman Haupt, William A. Galbraith, C. B. Duncan and Henry Cartwright for the construction of the road and tunnel. The firm name of the contractors was H. Haupt & Co. By the provisions of the contract all work done under previous contracts with E. W. Serrell or Serrell, Haupt & Co., was to be credited to H. Haupt & Co., and all payments under said contracts were to be charged to H. Haupt & Co., and credited to the Troy and Greenfield Railroad. "The road from the eastern terminus at or near Greenfield from some convenient point on the Vermont and Massachusetts line, as the same now is or hereafter be located," is assumed to be in all about forty-two miles in length.
"This contract includes the graduation, tunneling, masonry and bridging, superstructure, fencing, depot buildings, switches, turn-tables, water and fixtures, and in fine all labor and materials necessary for the construction of the road are included in this contract." The right of way to be provided and paid for by the railroad company. The work to be completed and finished in the best manner, for which the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company agreed to pay H. Haupt & Co., "the sum of three millions eight hundred and eighty-three thousand dollars in manner following, to wit: Two millions of dollars in the bonds of the State of Massachusetts, to be issued under the Act by which the credit of the said State is loaned to said corporation, nine hundred thousand dollars in the six per cent. mortgage bonds of said company, five hundred and ninety-eight thousand dollars in the capital stock of said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, and three hundred and eighty-two thousand dollars in cash." The work of constructing and completingthe road was to be done in compliance with the loan Act of April, 1854. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be expended by the contractors in depot buildings and necessary rolling stock, cars, engines, &c. under the direction of the board of directors. The stock subscription of E. W. Serrell and of Serrell & Co., amounting to five thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven shares, was to be transferred and assumed by Haupt & Co., payable in compliance with said Loan Act with the understanding that the assessments on the stock were to be paid by the performance of this contract in stock credits as provided in the contract, and the stock taken by the contractors at par.
This contract further provided, that on the receipt of the several installments of State bonds, the contractors should pay to the sinking fund the ten per cent. specified in the Loan Act, in consideration of which Haupt & Co. should retain whatever sums was realized from the exchange and premium on the bonds. The payments were to be made monthly, on estimate of the company's engineer. The cost of the materials and work upon the line, exclusive of the Hoosac Tunnel and its approaches, was assumed to be one million eight hundred and eighty thousand dollars, and the estimates were to be made in the relative proportion that the part done bore "to the whole amount of materials and work to be furnished, and done at the price named." The Hoosac Tunnel and its approaches were estimated at two million dollars for a double track, and the monthly estimates were to be in proportion to the amount of work done on the approaches, and the length of tunnel excavated.
The contract further provided, that, with the assent of both parties, the tunnel might be constructed for a single track, in which case no abatement was to be made for the first three thousand feet; but for the excavation beyond that point, the sum of twelve dollars per lineal foot was to be deducted from the contract price.
The above are the essential provisions of the contract under which H. Haupt & Co. performed their work upon the road and tunnel until February 18, 1858, except as the same was modified and changed by votes of the directors. The contract was reported to the board of directors, and approved by them August 6, 1856. On the same day the directors voted to request the trustees to recognize H. Haupt & Co. as contractors, instead of E. W. Serrell, and to issue the bonds to said H. Haupt & Co. on the estimate of the engineer and the order of the trustees.
They also voted to change the location of the road at the West End, in accordance with plans marked A and B.
Under date of July 10, 1857, there appears upon the records the following:—
A preamble, "stating that the efforts to raise money for building the road had proved unsuccessful; that no payments had been made the contractors for more than a year, * * * *; that the work could only be carried on by the continued efforts * * * * and personal credit of the contractors.
"Therefore voted, that the whole of the State bonds that may be issued in aid of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall be exclusively appropriated to work done, or to be done, upon the tunnel, in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Act authorizing the loan of credit, and with such other conditions and modifications as the legislature may, from time to time, make and establish; but said H. Haupt & Co. shall not be held subject to any other conditions whatever, so far as respects the work done upon the tunnel; and any State scrip that may at any time be delivered to the treasurer of the company, shall be promptly handed to the contractors; the contractors, on their part, to comply with the conditions of the present Act, and with such other conditions or modifications as may be introduced, and to have the benefit of any extension of time or increase of compensation by the State.
Second. Any new or additional subscription that may be obtained, shall be applied to payment of the present contractors for work done, or to be done, by them, and to no other object; and any subscriptions that may be collected west of the Hoosac Mountain, shall be applied exclusively to the completion of that portion of the road.
Third. The present subscription east of the Hoosac Mountain may be collected and applied to the payment of other liabilities of the corporation, and the treasurer is requested to prepare, without delay, a full and complete list of all such liabilities.
Fourth. Any commissions for procuring or collecting subscriptions shall be paid by H. Haupt & Co., in consideration of which, and also of the premises, the payment of graduation, masonry, bridging, and superstructure on the road, exclusive of the tunnel, shall be two million dollars, with the addition of such sums as may be required for the right of way, if this item shall be paid by the contractors. Of this amount, nine hundred thousand dollars shall be in mortgage bonds of the company, and the balance in cash, to as great an extent as can be procured, the remainder in stock at par; and the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall use their best endeavors to increase the cash subscriptions as much as possible.
If new parties be introduced, or desired by H. Haupt & Co., the contract may be redrafted, and these conditions and changes incorporated; the committee for this purpose shall consist of the president and Alvah Crocker, with power to execute it finally, if not inconsistent with the present contract, or with the changes hereby authorized. It is furtheragreed and understood, that nothing herein contained shall be so constrained as to invalidate the existing contract with said Haupt & Co., or vary its conditions, except so far as herein expressed or necessarily implied."
On the 18th of February, 1858, another agreement was made by Herman Haupt and Henry Cartwright with the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, and such others as might be associated with them; and who upon signing the contract were to be considered as parties to the same; as it bears the signatures of D. N. Carpenter, President for the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, and H. Haupt & Co., by H. Haupt, and no others, it may be presumed that Messrs. Haupt and Cartwright are the only persons comprising the party of the first part.
This contract recites that every attempt to procure new or to collect old subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, since the execution of the former contract with H. Haupt & Co., have proved unsuccessful; that the contractors had prosecuted the work for more than two years without any payment having been made to them as required by existing contract; that there appeared no possibility of procuring means for the further prosecution of the work, except by the continued efforts, increased expenditures, and personal credit of the contractors themselves; and that H. Haupt & Co. propose to release the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company from the cash payments required by the contract, and to assume themselves the labor of procuring and collecting subscriptions, and of carrying on and completing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel in such manner as will comply with all the conditions of the Loan Act. The parties therefore agreed.
That H. Haupt & Co. should comply with all the conditions of the Act, approved April 5th, 1854, whereby a loan of credit was given by the State of Massachusetts in aid of the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel, and should have the benefit of any changes that may hereafter be obtained, or extensions of time that may be granted; but they shall be subject to no other conditions or restrictions other than those expressed in this contract.
That the road shall be so constructed that its gradients should not exceed those in each direction which exist or may hereafter exist permanently on other portions of the line between Troy and Boston; that sharper curves than were in ordinary use in other parts of the line were to be changed at the expense of the contractors, and trestle work or temporary bridging was to be replaced by permanent structures at the expense of the contractors as soon as practicable after the completion and opening of the whole line.
That H. Haupt & Co. should have the benefit of all existing subscriptions, and of all they might procure; also of any revenue thatmight arise from the use of the road, or any portion of it when completed, until their claims on the company were discharged and paid; and to secure this end, the payment of all other debts of the corporation was to be deferred until that of the contractors was satisfied. The real estate of the corporation not required for the purposes and use of the road, was to be sold or applied to meet present liabilities of the company; and Haupt & Co. were to maintain the organization of the corporation and pay its necessary printing expenses, by paying to the treasurer annually a sum not less than five hundred dollars.
The State bonds were to be appropriated exclusively to the construction of the tunnel. The State scrip delivered to the treasurer of the company was to be promptly handed to the contractors.
The compensation to be allowed to H. Haupt & Co. was to be as provided in the resolutions of the directors, passed July 10, 1857.
The payment for graduation, bridging, masonry, and superstructure on the road, exclusive of the tunnel, was fixed at two million dollars, exclusive of any payments that might be made for the right of way. Of this amount, nine hundred thousand dollars was to be paid in mortgage bonds of the company; the balance in cash, to as great an extent as cash subscriptions could be secured; the remainder in stock at par.
The bonds and stock of the company to be issued to H. Haupt & Co. when required, to an amount equal to the work done, estimating it by the proportion it bore to the whole amount performed and to be performed.
H. Haupt & Co. were authorized to collect subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, and their receipt for money was to be accepted by the company as evidence of payment. By the execution of this agreement all former contracts between the same parties were agreed to be annulled and cancelled.
H. Haupt & Co. was recognized as the firm name under which the parties of the first part were associated, and then to be conducted. Copies of this and the preceding contract will be found printed verbatim in a report of a committee of the House of Representatives in 1860, of which Mr. Kimball, of Boston, was chairman. It was reprinted in 1861, and is House document No. 406, of last year; and it may be profitably consulted for other valuable information touching the doings of the Troy and Greenfield Corporation and the contractors therewith.
1858, May 25, the directors assented that the iron delivered by the Rensselaer Iron Company for the road should remain the property of the iron company until the same was paid for, in accordance with an agreement of H. Haupt & Co. with the iron company.
From a report of a committee of the directors made to the board July 23, 1858, it appears that at the date of the report, seven thousandfour hundred and fifteen, shares were subscribed for unconditionally by parties who appeared to have been solvent at the time of subscribing.
That three thousand four hundred and fifty shares had been subscribed for conditionally, or, by parties who were not solvent, or whose subscriptions could not be collected.
That of the conditional subscriptions, the greater part had been or would be complied with; of these nine hundred and thirty-nine were subscribed by the towns not included in the published lists.
Upon two thousand four hundred and thirty shares of the unconditional subscriptions, including those of Gilmore and Carpenter, twenty per cent. only had been paid.
That upon six thousand five hundred and nine shares, subscribed for unconditionally, twenty per cent. or more had been paid in cash.
At this date it appears that the whole number of shares subscribed for conditionally and unconditionally, was ten thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
At this meeting of the board the clerk was directed to place upon the record the names of all the stockholders, with the number of shares held by each, on which twenty per cent. or more had been paid. The record shows the number of shares to be six thousand six hundred and forty-eight, and the amount paid on the same two hundred and sixty-seven thousand five hundred and sixty-nine dollars. Against the name of H. Haupt & Co. was set the number of five thousand shares. At this meeting the directors also voted to fix the capital stock at one million five hundred thousand dollars.
1858, September 3. The last vote was reconsidered, and it was voted that the capital stock be fixed at [Note: amount missing] as represented by the list of stock reported at the previous meeting.
The directors also voted as they had previously done, to rescind all the assessments heretofore voted, except the assessment of three per cent. laid April 11, 1849, and then voted an assessment of ten per cent. upon each and every share in the capital stock of the company, payable in thirty days. Between this date and September 14, 1859, nine other assessments were voted, the whole amounting to eighty-eight per cent. of the par value of the stock.
By another entry upon the records, under date of November 3, 1858, it appears that Williamstown and Adams subscribed to the capital stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, ninety-three thousand dollars, upon condition that the payment should be made in town scrip, maturing in thirty years, and to be issued whim the road was completed between Adams and Troy; half the interest on the scrip to be paid by the Troy and Boston Railroad Company. Mortgage bonds of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, in amount equal to said subscription,were to be deposited in the Adams Bank as security against loss of stock from such a contingency as a sale of the road by thebona fideholders.
Immediately following this entry upon the records are recorded these votes:—
Voted, To accept the subscription on the condition stated, that the contract with the Troy and Boston Railroad Company be altered to allow said company to pay the interest on the scrip directly to the treasurers of the towns; that bonds to the amount of ninety-three thousand dollars be prepared ready for delivery, and that Mr. Haupt and the treasurer be a committee to carry this vote into effect, as also any change of contract with the Troy and Boston Railroad Company.
Voted, That the trustees of the mortgage bonds of this corporation be, and hereby are, requested to deliver to Mr. H. Haupt and the treasurer, ninety-three bonds of one thousand dollars each, to be deposited by them in the Adams Bank, in compliance with the conditions and requirements of the votes of towns of Adams and Williamstown, &c., &c.; sixty bonds to be appropriated as security for Adams, and thirty-three for Williamstown.
Under date of May 20, 1859, appears the following record:—
Whereas, satisfactory evidence has been afforded to the board of directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company that H. Haupt has, by an instrument of writing, duly executed, formally relinquished, for himself, his heirs, executors and administrators, all pecuniary interest in any profits that may be realized in the construction of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, and that the use of his name in connection with the firm is merely nominal, to avoid the inconvenience and embarrassment resulting from a change of title:
Voted, That in the opinion of this board, no impediment exists to prevent the said H. Haupt from performing the duties of chief engineer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, and that he be, and hereby is, appointed to said office.
1859, December 26.Voted, That the treasurer be, and hereby is, directed to hand over to H. Haupt & Co., as soon as received by him, the bonds of the Commonwealth, hereafter to be issued in aid of the road or tunnel, taking their receipt therefore.
In 1859, application was made to the legislature to reduce the size of the tunnel in order to facilitate its completion, and by chapter 117, of the Acts of that year, it was provided that the tunnel might be constructed of the height of eighteen feet, and fourteen feet wide, and the payments were changed so as to depend upon the construction of the railroad, the excavation of the tunnel, and also of the heading, which was to be driven of the width of fourteen feet at the bottom, and the height of six feet in the middle, with a proviso that no more than seventeen hundredthousand dollars (in addition to the six hundred thousand dollars of scrip,) of stock subscriptions, and the anticipated scrip from the towns before, mentioned, all of which was to be considered as unconditional subscriptions, should be paid until the whole of the tunnel through the Hoosac Mountain shall have been completed, and the payments by the State were not to commence until twenty per cent. of the stock subscription should "have been actually paid in." The provisions of this Act, in regard to advances by the State for progress actually made in excavating the tunnel and constructing the road, were substituted for those of the Act of 1854, the second section of which was repealed. By chapter 184 of the Acts of 1860, the city of Boston was authorized, with the consent of the legal voters, to subscribe five hundred thousand dollars to the capital stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad; but the consent was not given.
The legislation of 1859 did not meet the exigencies of the corporation, and application for assistance was again made. To relieve still further the difficulties of the company, the Act of 1860, chapter 202, was passed, in which it was provided that the undelivered portion of the loan of two million of dollars, authorized by chapter 226 of the Acts of 1854, amounting to one million seven hundred and seventy thousand dollars, should be apportioned between the railroad and tunnel, and for the construction of each respectively, and six hundred and fifty thousand dollars was set apart for the completion of the unfinished portion of the railroad, extending from its eastern terminus, near Greenfield, to within half a mile of the eastern end of the Hoosac Tunnel, and one million one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to the completion of the tunnel. The Act provided for the execution to the Commonwealth of such further bond and mortgage as the attorney-general should prescribe, and that such bond and mortgage, as well as all bonds, mortgages or other assurances heretofore made to the Commonwealth by said company, should have priority and be preferred before any and all attachments or levies on execution heretofore or hereafter made. The Act further provided that payments hereafter to be made for work done upon the road and tunnel, should be so made upon estimates of a State engineer, whose appointment and duties were prescribed in the Act. Such estimates were to be based upon a "width of road-bed, at grade, of fifteen feet on embankments, seventeen and a half feet in side cots, and twenty feet in through cuts; in the heading of the tunnel, upon dimensions fourteen feet wide and six feet high in the middle, and in the finished excavation of the tunnel, of fourteen feet wide and eighteen feet high in the middle." And the deliveries of scrip were to be at the rate of fifty dollars for each lineal foot of tunnel, divided between heading and full-sized tunnel, in the proportion of thirty dollars for each lineal foot of heading,and twenty dollars per lineal foot for the remaining excavation, and of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the whole of the graduation, masonry, bridging and superstructure of the road east of the tunnel. The weight of the rails was fixed at not less than fifty-six pounds to the lineal yard; the capital stock of the corporation at two millions and a half dollars, including all shares before issued.
By the eighth section of the Act the corporation was authorized to purchase the entire road franchise, stock, bonds, and other property or the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, together with its lease to the Troy and Boston Railroad Company, and subject to its provisions, for the sum of two hundred thousand dollars. This Act repealed all prior legislation inconsistent with its provisions, with a saving of the security which the Commonwealth had, by virtue of its mortgage on the franchise, railroad and property of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, and was approved April 4, 1860.
1860, July 3. A committee was appointed to execute the mortgage to the Commonwealth required by chapter 202, of the Acts of 1860.
1861, July 30. The directors voted that Mr. Haupt be a committee to appear before the council in reference to the withholding the scrip now due the road; and January 16, 1862, it was voted that Mr. Haupt be authorized to act as the agent and representative of the company in any relation that the company may be brought before the present legislature or any committee thereof.
Previous to the vote of July, 1861, suspicion was excited that Messrs. H. Haupt & Co. were not performing their work in a manner conformable to the requirements of the statute, and it was deemed imprudent to make any further advance of scrip under the Act of 1859, until the work was examined and the condition of the corporation better understood. An inquiry was instituted, a new State engineer appointed, and an investigation of the proceedings of the contractors and corporation was had. The facts disclosed in the examination induced the governor and council to withhold the issue of any more scrip, under the last mentioned law, and the legislature by chapter 156 of the Acts of 1862, passed April 28, assumed the duty of completing the road and tunnel.
The first section of the Act is as follows:—
"The governor, with the advice of the council, is hereby authorized and directed to appoint three able, impartial and skilful commissioners, to investigate the subject of finishing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, and of tunneling the Hoosac Mountain, whose duty it shall be to report to the governor and council, what in their judgment, will be the most economical, practical and advantageous method of completing said road and tunnel; the estimated cost of fitting the same for use; the time within which the tunnel can be completed, and what contracts can beeffected and with what parties for completing said tunnel and road and the probable cost of the same; the probable pecuniary value of the road and tunnel when completed; the sources and amount of traffic and income, and all other facts, in their opinion, useful to assist the governor and council in determining the best method of securing a continuous railroad communication between Troy and Greenfield."
By the second section the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company was authorized to surrender to the State the property mortgaged.
By the third section the commissioners were authorized to audit and allow all just claims for labor, service, materials and land damages incurred between April 6, 1860 and July 12, 1861, in carrying on the work, and to procure the release and discharge of all attachments and liens upon said materials. $175,000 was appropriated to pay the claimants under the approval of the governor and council.
By the fourth section the commissioners were authorized to use or run that portion of the road east of the mountain or lease the same to the "Vermont and Massachusetts," the "Fitchburg," the "Troy and Boston Railway Company," or either of them, until the completion of the tunnel.
By the fifth section the commissioners were authorized to continue the work on the Hoosac Tunnel, and by contract or otherwise, to expedite its completion.
On the 18th of August 1862, is recorded on the records of the corporation the following votes:—
1. "The directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company hereby instruct the president to transfer to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, under the several mortgages held by said Commonwealth, all the property of said corporation.
2. "Votedto call a meeting of the stockholders to see if they would ratify the above vote.
3. "Voted, That the treasurer be directed to make no further delivery of the stock or bonds to the contractors without the written order of all the finance committee."
At the commencement of the session of the legislature in January, 1863, his Excellency Governor Andrew, after stating the general provisions of the Act of April, 1862, and the appointment of the commissioners under it, "each of whom was carefully selected as being, in the words of the Act, at once 'able, impartial and skilful,'" and after alluding to the labors of the commissioners, and the reports of the distinguished engineers appointed to "assist them, closes his remarks upon the enterprise in the following words:—
"The report of the commissioners to the governor and council is not yet made, but it is understood to be in rapid preparation. I am unable, therefore, to communicate to the legislature at the beginningof its present session so fully as I have hoped on the subject of this important and interesting enterprise of establishing a new avenue for our trade with the West, piercing the Green Mountain range, and opening up to greater activity the economical resources of our Northern tier of towns. I trust that the conclusions and reasoning of the commissioners when published will settle conflicting opinions in the minds of the people, and, if favorable to the active pursuit of the enterprise, that its prosecution will enjoy an unanimous support. The work can be pursued, relieved from all factitious embarrassments, and contracts can be made by those in the sole interest of the Commonwealth, superintended by citizens of the highest experience and capacity."
In communicating the report of the commissioners to the legislature on the 12th of March, 1863, after analyzing and commenting upon its statements and reasonings, the governor concludes his address in these words: "I congratulate thee general court and the people upon the rescue of the Commonwealth, and especially of this great experimental enterprise, from a position inconsistent with economical, safe, or even possible success in piercing its mountain barrier.
"I earnestly and respectfully invite your most candid and thoughtful consideration, not only of the specific facts and figures which elucidate or express the details of information bearing most immediately upon the work contemplated, but I also venture to commend to your deliberate judgment the arguments and reasonings drawn from liberal and enlightened views of public policy and of public economy, which finally lift this subject above all merely local interests or antagonisms into the sphere of statesmanship. And having attentively watched the progress of the report of the commissioners, and the documents by which it is accompanied through the press, I am prepared to give my own assent to the opinion with the expression of which the commissioners conclude their discussion:—
"'By the time the tunnel can be completed, the public interest requiring it will have grown large enough to pay for the outlay. The impulse given to business by the new facility, would soon fill up the new line, and make up the temporary loss felt by any other.
"'Considering the large sum which the Commonwealth has already invested in this work, which must be sunk if it is not completed; the reasonable protection from loss which is offered by the other companies interested in the line; the more intimate relations it may promote between Massachusetts and the West; and the benefits which such a facility promises to the city and State, we are of opinion that the work should be undertaken by the Commonwealth, and completed as early as it can be with due regard to economy.'"
The surrender of the road by the directors to the Commonwealth, was followed by the following vote, passed January 7, 1863:—
Voted, That Mr. Stevenson, formerly State Engineer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, be requested to return an estimate of the payments and credits to which Haupt & Co. were entitled, under their contract, at the time of the suspension of the work, and that the amount allowed by such estimate be passed to the credit of H. Haupt & Co.; also, that the stock and bonds to which they are entitled be issued without further order, when legal impediments are removed.
Under the vote, Mr. Stevenson made the following report:—