The Chandler News. (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 13, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 24, 1903 Page: 1 of 20
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THE OFFICIAL PAPER OF LINCOLN COUNTY.
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The Chandler News
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VOL. 13—No. 14.
first paper published in lincoln county. h. b. gils! rap, editor and publisher.
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CHANDLER, OKLAHOMA, DECEMBER 24, !903.
$1.00 A YEAR.
THE'CHOCTAW BONUS-
SEVERAL weeks ago a meeting
was called for a conference of
he persons who signed the contract
with the Choctaw company guaran-
teeing the payment of $25,000 bonus
in case the road was completed to
Chandler according to the terms of
the agreement. It will be remem-
bered that the amount of the bonus,
and more, was subscribed by several
hundred citizens, who gave their
notes for the several amounts
pledged. The attorney of the rail-
road company, however, did not like
to accept these notes, and preferred
to deal with a smaller number of
people, and he asked, instead, a
guarantee to be signed by represen-
tatives of the three banks#of Chan-
dler and other business men, offering
to assign, as a consideration of such
guarantee, all the notes given for the
benefit of the Choctaw company as a
part of the bonus. The proposition was accepted.
A contract was signed on the part of Chandler by
nearly fifty citizens and on the part of the rail-
road by its attorney, J. W. McLoud. The citi-
zens of Chandler guaranteed the payment of the
sum of 525,000 to the Choctaw people provided
they had their line of road completed and in
operation from Guthrie to Chandler by January
1, 1903; the railroad company, in consideration
of this pledge, assigned, transferred and set
. over to the citizens signing the guarantee, with-
out recourse, all of the notes before referred to.
It is a matter of'general knowledge that the rail-
road was not completed within the time specified.
In the opinion of many, the signers of the guar-
antee thereupon were relieved of the obligation to
pay the $25,000, but there was a variety of
opinions as to what should become of the notes
that had been assigned to the guarantors. At the
meeting of the guarantors some time ago, about
half their number being present, a letter from the
attorney was read, asking that the signers of the
guarantee re-assign the notes to the railroad com-
pany, and a committee was appointed to prepare
a form for such assignment. An assignment of
such notes to the railroad company is now being
presented to the signers of the guarantee, and it
has, we are told, been signed by many of them.
These facts suggest'several questions. To whom
do the notes legally belong? If they belong to
the railroad, why do they need any assignment
from the guarantors? If they belong to the
signers of the guarantee, why should they transfer
them to the railroad? If the railroad, on its own
proposition, exchanged notes which contained no
time limit for a contract which die contain a time
limit, should it not abide by the result, without
asking to trade back, especially since the forfeit-
PLEASE DON'T FORGET
about our map and don't fail to
speak of it to others. It will be
ready for delivery very soon, and
everybody" in Lincoln county
should have it.
ure on account of the failure to complete the road
in the time specified was not the fault of the
signers of either the guarantee or the notes? Is
not the request that he notes be re-assigned to the
railroad company an admission that, in the opin-
ion of the railroad's attorney, they now belong to
the signers of the guarantee and not to the rail-
road? And if they belong to the guarantors
why should they be given to the railroad? Not
to release the guarantors from any obligation on
the contract, which obligation is understood o
have expired last January, for, were these men
who signed that guarantee still legally liable for
the bonus, would not the company still prefer the
\ agreement signed by the few to the notes signed
by the many? Should these notes be turned over
in fulfillment of any moral obligaeion? Did we
get the road we were promised? Dii not every
man who signed a note for a part of this bonus
understand that we were to get a branch of the
Choctaw, an independent system, the branch to
extend from Guthrie to a connection with the main
line at some point in the Indian territory, east of
Holdenville, and was this not expressly stated in
the contract? Did we not give our notes to secure
the benefits of direct connection with the coal
fields of the Indian territory? Have we received
any of these benefits? And if not, are we under
moral obligation to pay the notes in case we are
not legally bound? If the title .to the notes is in
doubt, would it not be better to have^it determined
before the notes are delivered? Should the notes
be given back to the railroad and be collected by
the railroad, would it be possible to make the
award of town lots promised to the makers of the
notes without a violation of law? The News
wants to see the fair thing done by the railroad
and our people—but especially by our people.
SOME CITY MATTERS.
THE MATTER of the sale of the
waterworks and street improve-
ment bonds, which seemed to be
pretty nearly disposed of a week or
two ago, is still hanging fire before
the city council, two different propo-
sitions being under consideration .with
a possibility that still others may be
presented within a short time. The
members of the city council are not
quite agreed as to the best course to
pursue to realize the best results for
the city. One firm proposes to take
the entire issue—the $35,000 water-
works bonds and the $15,000 street
improvement bonds—on an exchange
basis, or, in other words, these people
will put in the waterworks system
according to approved plans, and will
furnish bridges for street improve-
ment, taking the bonds in payment.
Another firm offers to take the water-
works bonds at par, paying cash for
them, and is willing to put up a certified check as
as a forfeit in case it does not carry out its
agreement, bu this company does not seem to
want the street improvement bonds. It is hoped
that an opportunity will be found without too much
delay to dispose of all the bonds on a cash basis,
for, while the exchange plan might result in get-
ting just as much and just as good work for the
money, a majority of the people of the city would
probably prefer to see a contract made upon a
cash basis, believing that in this way the range of
competition might be wider. We believe that the
members of the council are endeavoring to do
I what will be the best for the city. Perhaps it
would be well for those who feel an interest in the
matter to assist the council in securing a satisfac-
tory sale of the bonds. This would be better^ at
least, than to indulge in the time-honored custom
of giving advice and suggestion after a definite
action has been taken. I he council has under
consideration another matter which is of consider-
1 able local intsrest—the proposition to establish a
market for cotton, corn, etc,, on west Tenth street,
just north of the Union National Bank, and making
it a finable offense thereafter to sell such commo-
dities upon the streets anywhere else in town.
While not denying the advantages of having a
market-place in a weil-regulated town, we do not
believe this would be a wise step. The purpose
would be misconstrued and the effect would be to
' prejudice farmers against the town. It may be
inconvenient at times to have the streets crowded
with cotton wagons, but it looks mighty good, just
the same, and so long as there is no available
vacant land of sufficient area for an adequate
market-place, .The News is inclined to belive
that the present arrangement is best for the
time being.
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Gilstrap, H. B. The Chandler News. (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 13, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 24, 1903, newspaper, December 24, 1903; Chandler, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc117738/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.