OF THK PRESIDENT, DIRECTORS, &c, OP THK JHiMgraiife %. % m k Cn., TO THB STOCKHOLDERS. Oct. 6th, 1863. AUGUSTA, GA : CONSTITUTIONALIST PRIST. 1862. O^SSLPCOU^'^P PRESIDENT, DIRECTORS, &C. MMgmlle H Hna& €% STOCKHOLDERS. Oct. 6th, 1863. AUGUSTA, GA; CONSTITUTIONALIST PBINT. 1882. . PRESIDENT'S REPORT. Office Milledgeville Railroad Co., ) Augusta, October 6, 1862. ) To the Stockholders : At the last annual meeting, it was expected that the road would be stopped at Sparta. For reasons stated in the annual report, it was thought that the policy would be forced upon the Company of suspending further calls upon the Stockholders — selling the surplus iron for the road beyond Sparta, and arresting the road at that point until a more auspicious period for its further progress. This policy was very unacceptable to a majority of the Stockholders, and it was considered the duty of the Directors to make further efforts to provide means and go on with the work. The Company had purchased and paid for the iron to reach Milledgeville, and by great exertions, an ads dition was made to the stock subscriptions of about $400,000. Circumstances referred to by the Engineer in his report, caused labor to be unexx v pectedly abundant about the first of Jannary, and -b the means provided, were, by his estimate, deemed T" fully sufficient to complete the work to Macon.— vjo Nothing seemed necessary to ensure the rapid and F*" uninterrupted progress of the work to completion, -except the iron for the road from or near Milledge*. rille te Macon; and it was hoped that, before the road should reach that point, the ports would be opened, and that the iron could be procured in time for uninterrupted progress. At any rate Milledgeville would hare been an important and profitable point, as stated by the Engineer, and the road completed to that point, would have an* swered many of the most important objects for which the main enterprize was designed. Under these circumstances the Board deemed it an imperative duty to the Stockholders and to the country to proceed with the work, and the whole road to Macon was placed under contract with responsible contractors, with heavy force, as stated in the Engineer's report. A track-laying force was also set to work at Warrenton, and but for unforeseen interruption was expected to reach Sparta early in the past summer. Sad experience, however, soon convinced us of the uncertainty of all private enterprises in the midst of the calamities of war. Early in April the work was suddenly arrested by the forcible seizure of the whole of the iron of the company, except a few miles already laid down, and a small quantity already hauled to the track for the track laying force engaged in the work. The whole iron left to us will not cover more than ten miles — a distance too short to be run with any profit to the company. In a time of war private rights are often made to yield to the necessities of Gov* eminent, but it must have been a most extraordi" nary public exigency to justify such an invasion of private rights as that involved in the seizure of this iron. A case can scarcely be conceived where the damage would be greater in proportion to the market value of the property seized. It had been specially provided for a particular pur- pose— was actually being used for that purpose- could not be replaced at any price, and its loss not only involved its own value, but the loss of profit upon the entire capital expended in the enterprise. The case differs nothing in principle, and but little in degree, from a seizure of iron upon a fin« ished road in actual operation 1 If not in actual profitable use, it was in the process of being made so, and, but for the seizure, would shortly after have been in profitable use to Sparta, and with hope of but little delay at that point. In view of the vital importance to the company of this seizure, thejmost strenuous and persevering efforts were made to induce the Department to release at least a few hundred tons to reach Guls verton, where the road would have been of some use to the citizens of Hancock. But every appeal upon this subject was entirely disregarded, and the further appeal recommended by the Engineer would be hopeless. Whatever may be the import- ance to the Company, the Department shows little disposition to release iron which it can forcibly hold at 3% cents per pound, when, in open mars ket, iron is worth from 12 to 15 ! Under these circumstances of oppression to the Company, it was reasonably supposed that, at 6 least, the fair market value of the iron would have been allowed, but not so ; the iron was valued by the Government agent at $80 per ton, which it now seems was intended to include all expenses and duties ! It was about the price of pig iron at the time, was 25 per cent, less than the market price of railroad iron in the hands of those who had it to sell, and is not half the value of the ar- ticle at present 1 Iron, like other articles, has been rapidly riss ing, and from the same causes. The demand is much in excess of the supply, and whilst the de- mand is urgent, the supply cannot be increased in consequence of the blockade. Another cause of advance is the depreciation of our local cur- rency, compared with a specie basis, or foreign exchange. Our currency is in good credit at home, but as a fund to replace our iron, it will serve us but little purpose. It will probably appreciate after peace, but too slowly for our purpose, as our demand will be urgent. It is impossible, therefore, now to estimate what our damage will be, in consequence of this unfortu* nate seizure, but independent of the loss of ins terest on our whole expended capital, it will probably be heavy. It is not the intention of the Board to criticise harshly the action of the Government. In a time of war encroachments upon individual rights are often submitted to, and sometimes necessary ; but a just Government, in peace or war, will make these sacrifices as equal as possible. If the exigencies of the public are so urgent as to justify the forcible seizure of the property of the citizen, the principle of indemnity should be recognized, and the public should make just compensation for the injury done. There is no justice or pro- priety in making individuals or classes the vic- tims of a forced economy for the benefit of the rest of their fellow citizens. After some hesitas tion, it was deemed best to accept the amount ofs fered by the Government officials in this exparte and oppressive proceeding, and appeal to the justice of Congress for at least some mitigation of the losses thus forced upon the Company, Full indemnity for the damage done us we do not expect, but that the market .price of iron at the time of seizure will at least be awarded to us, we do hope and expect. As contracts had been made, we had no alter- native but to proceed with the work, and the work of preparing the road-bed is_ making satis- factory progress. The grading to Milledgeville will be done in a few months, and the whole roadsbed to Macon will probably be done during the next year. There is, however, now no object in pushing the work. We cannot replace our iron until peace shall be again restored -to the country. If to.be purchased now, it would cost us $250 per ton, and after procured, would most likely be seized by the Government. This state of uncertainty is not very encouraging, but the position has been forced upon us, and we can only submit. The policy will be to finish the road-bed 8 complete, ready for the iron, and on the restoras tion of peace, to purchase the iron, and complete the work as rapidly as possible. For this pur« pose our stock subscriptions are believed to be ample. They now amount to over $1,600,000, which making all fair allowances for loss, will more than cover the estimate of the Engineer, in- dependent of outfit, and should furnish a part of that. Should the former prosperity of the country be restored bv peace, the Directors have full confi« dence that the road, on completion, will.be a profit- able one to the Stockholders, besides answering all the valuable purposes designed by its original projectors. The line from Vicksburg to Mont* gomery is making rapid progress, and will soon be completed to Selma; and the short road from Greensborough, N. C, to Danville, Va., is also progressing under the auspices of the Confederate States. These roads are important to our road, as hastening the line between Richmond and the Southwest and the Gulf States, For further de- tails, the Stockholders are refen ed to the report of the Engineer and the financial statement of the Treasurer, hereto annexed. I c will be seen by the latter document that the Company is well supplied with ready means'. In fact, the Stock* holders have paid rather faster than was desir* able, and, to save interest, $100,000 of South Caro- lina Railroad bonds were purchased at a premium of 10 per cent., which could now be sold for a considerable profit. In behalf of the Directors, Jno. P. King, President. CHIEF ENGINEER'S REPORT. October 1st, 1862. To the President and Board of Directors: Gentlemen— The operations in the Engineering Department are herewith respectfully submitted : The work of graduation since the last Report has been vigorously continued, not only with the forces then on the road, but with large- additions. Not- withstanding the hesitation and distrust felt by all at the commencement of the work, the policy of the Board in ordering the extension has been shown to be judicious, and has been attended with the happiest results. The caution of other companies inducing them to suspend and curtail operations, rendered work difficult to be obtained, and enabled us to let our contracts to advantage. The line between Sparta and Macon was contracted to Messrs. Orr, Lockett, Thomp- son, Jossey, Collins, Phillips and Gil- bert, Lane and Brown, Culver, Bowen, and some smaller contractors. The forces now en* gaged on the road number one thousand hands, working two hundred and ten carts. The pri- ces paid are the same as those under the first contracts, with a variation only in the mode of payments, the price being sixteen cents per cubic yard each way, without reference to haul, three eights to be taken in the stock of the company, thereby increasing subscription to the capital 10 stock to that extent. The time designated for the completion of the work is 1st January, 1864. With the large force mentioned above we have made great progress, and I am pleasedito report the completion of the graduation, masonry and bridging of the line between Warrenton and Spar- ta, twentysone miles. Two small points of rock remain in cuts near Culverton, which could not be removed for want of powder. The grading and masonry between Sparta and Miledgeville is also well advanced, being fully twosthirds finished. Some of the contractors have already completed their work between\these points, and moved their forces west of Milledge- ville. Others will soon follow, and should noths ing unforeseen occur, we may look forward with certainty to the completion of the graduation by the time prescribed by the contract. The grading of these seventy-five miles is as heavy as that of any other running road in the State, and the exes cution of such a work during the gloomiest days of our revolution may well exceite admiration. The line between Warrenton and Sparta crosses many large creeks and streams running into the Ogeeche, as also the river itself. A Howe truss bridge on granite piers spans the river, but in crossing the other streams, Golden, Whetstone, Rocky Comfort, Ivey Branch, Long, Howell, Fuls som, Dry, Little Ogeeche, and Two Mile Creeks, I was compelled to resort to trestle work, not in consequence of difficulty in procuring material for the heavy embankments, but also from the 11 inability of building the arched culverts neces* sary for passing these streams. With the corn* pletion of the track this work can be economical- ly done, however, by using cars for filling the embankments and procuring the rock for the culs verts from the more convenient quarries. The culverts will be ten in number, ranging from fir- teen to thirty feet span; the amount of two bun* dred and fifty thousand yards of earth will be res quired foi^ making the embankments. The mas sonry between Sparta and Milledgeville can be^ made thorough, and there will be but five hun- dred feet of this temporary and objectionable trestle, this over Town and Rocky Creeks. In consequence of the line following a ridge to the Oconee; small square culverts will suffice for the drainage. The Oconee -river will be crossed by a Howe bridge of five hundred feet; it being useless to at* tempt the erection of the bridge at this time, we shall put up the piers and abutments for the same. A similar course will be adopted in refer- ence to the bridging between Milledgeville and 1 Macon. The progress of the track laying has not kept pace with that of the grading; we have but seven miles laid and rnnniug. Our iron, with the ex- ception of ten miles, was seized by the Governs ment in April last, and we have had no induces ment to put down the small balance on hand. — We therefore brought our track-laying to a close,, and have devoted the dry months of the summer 12 to clearing with the train some wet cats near Warrenton. So soon as the approach of winter shall stop this work, we will resume the track laying, and can finish to the Ogeechee in two weeks time. Unless some arrangement can be made with the Government to release five or ten miles of iron, so that we may reach either CnU verton or Sparta, I doubt the policy of running regular trains over this short distance to the Ogeechee. The seizure of the iron has been a serious draw- back to the road, as, without the track , the work expended on the grading would be dead capital. Gould we hare made a connection with the Cena tral Railroad at Milledgeville, as anticipated when the iron was purchased, we should have done a good business. The right of way has been secured from War* renton to Milledgeville, except in three or four instances. The city of Milledgeville has donated to the Company the free passage through the oity lots and streets, and many parties between Milledgeville and Macon have also granted us the right of way. I am happy to state that the lib- erality shown in the matter, by all on the line, attest their interest in the success of the road. The Central Railroad has generously acceded to a proposition for a junction of tracks and an ex* change of freight and passengers in Milledge* ville; a measure of great convenience to the public, and of mutual advantage to each road. Ths statement attached shows the amount of 13 payments at the date of the last estimate on the 10th August; to this must be added the amount due on the 10th of this month, approximately fifty thousand dollars : Graduation and masonry $360,415 45 Bridge and trestling 21,000 00 Superstructure of bridges 1,025 27 Spikes 2,293 41 Laying Track 2,890 00 Cross-ties 3,037 73 Division Houses 537 36 Rightof way 6,686 73 Real estate 12,884 00 Iron rails, say for ten miles 42,500 00 Engineering 20,000 00 474,269 95 Addasabove 50,000 00 Total 514,269 95 A portion of the line near Macon not being de- finitely located, I cannot present any more accu* rate statements of the cost of the whole road than has been hitherto submitted, but the progress of the work thus far shows that it will vary but little from the first estimate. Very respectfully, gentlemen, Your obedient servant, Geo. H. Hazlehuest, Chief Engineer. 14 SECRETARY & TREASURER'S REPORT. STATEMENT OF THE RECEIPTS OF THE MILLEDGEVILLE RAILROAD COMPANY TO THE 4TH OF OCT'R, 1862. Ain't Rec'd from Stockholders on ac-» countof Stock $651,938 34 ' Am't rec'd from Thomas M. Turner,for Stockholders in Hancock county. . 23,228 50 Rec'd from sale of railroad iron 28,039 67 Rec'd from Confederate Government for railroad iron seized, in Bonds $92,000, Treasury Notes $144,743* 42 236,743 42 Rec'd interest account 1,607 68 Total amount $941,557 «1 STATEMENT OF THE DISBURSEMENTS OF THE MILLEDGE- VILLE RAILROAD COMPANY, TO THE 4TH DAY OF OC- TOBER, 1862. Graduation $360,415 45 Bridging and Trestling 21,000 00 Superstructure of Bridges 1,025 27 Spikes 2.293 41 TrackLaying 2,890 00 Cross-Ties 3,037 73 Division Houses 537 36 Rightof Way 6,686 73 RealEstate 12,884 00 Engineering 20,000 00 Iron Rails 184,928 19 Office Expenses and Salaries 4,481 33 Incidental Expenses 872 13 Interest Account 3,612 68 Masonry of Bridges , 70 00 Total $624,734 28 Deduct stock received in the hands of the Company as per contract with D. W. Orr and others 39,447 78 585,286 50 15 ASSETS IN HANDS OF THE MILLEDGE VILLE RAILROAD COMPANY, OCT. 4, 18B2. South Carolina Railroad Bonds and interest- $111,638 35 Confederate States 8 per cent. Bonds. 92,000 00 " " 7.30 per cent. Trea- sury Notes 144,743 42 Wm. Mays' note for stock 2,500 00 C. Battles' note 100 00 Cash balance in Q. R. R, Bank 5,289 34 $356,271 11 Receipts : $941,557 61 Disbursements $585,286 50 Assets 356,271 11 941,557 61 Respectfully submitted, ~' •' .. . W. Milo Olin, Secretary and Treasurer. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. JOHN P. KING, President. BENJ. H. WARREN, WM. H. GOODRICH, HENRY H.CUMMING, STEPHEN D. HEARD, HENRY MOORE, M. H. WELBORN, JOHN D. SMITH, ROBERT H. MAY, THOS. M. TURNER, M. S. THOMPSON, B. B. DeGRAFFENREID. I* *