| Annual Report of the East Tennessee &
Virginia RR |
| as of July 1, 1866, |
| President's Report |
| |
| Report of the President and Directors |
| Jonesborough, Tenn., November 29th, 1866 |
| |
| To the Stockholders of the East
Tennessee & Virginia Railroad Company: |
|
Gentlemen:
|
| This being the time selected
by your, and the fixed time for the regular Annual Convention of
Stockholders, the duty has again devolved upon your Board of
Directors, through their President, to submit to you for your
consideration a report of the past operations, the present condition
and future prospects of your road. you have been furnished with no
printed Annual Report from the officers of your road since November,
1862. This has been the fault of no one connected with the road, but
circumstances entirely beyond our control have interfered and
prevented it. To enter into a full and elaborate statement of the
operations of the road since July, 1862, to the time when it passed
out of your hands in September, 1863, would require too much of your
time, weary your patience, and would, in the end, be unprofitable and
unavailable. Let it suffice to state, that between the dates already
referred to, the currency of the country, (which the Company was
compelled to receive,) had become so much depreciated that it was
impossible to use it to much advantage. But a large amount was
expended to keep the road and the property belonging to it in a state
of good preservation, and to prevent the same at any cost from going
to destruction. A very large amount was also invested in the purchase
of materials and supplies for the use of the shops and road. I will
here venture the assertion, without the fear of successful
contradiction, that no road anywhere in the South was in as perfect
order, or had a larger quantity of materials and supplies on hand,
than your road had when it passed out of your hands in September,
1863. |
| Still, embracing the same
period of time, your floating debt was reduced $402,947.94, a dividend
of 20 per cent. was declared on the capital stock of your Company, and
the sum of $488,582.80 was invested in cotton yarns, sheetings,
tobacco, &c., for which you have realized, in the payment of
Company Bonds, Debts, &c., after a large amount of which was lost,
stolen, destroyed, &c., $100,277.11. There remained on hand,
uninvested or appropriated, $78,958.66, which was an entire loss to
your Company. The committee appointed by your Board to make an
examination of the books of the Company made a full and satisfactory
Report upon this subject, which Report was spread upon the minutes of
your Board of Directors. |
| I trust it will not be
improper in this connection to call your attention to the fact that
the undersigned had, a short time previous to the occupation of East
Tennessee by the United States troops in the fall of 1863, received
reliable information of the movement of said forces, whereupon he
called a meeting of your Board of Directors at Rogersville Junction,
in August, 1863, and there made known the fact to them. The object of
the meeting being fully stated and understood, it was the unanimous
sense of the Board, and a resolution was adopted to that effect, that
we would not voluntarily send or cause to be taken away any of the
rolling-stock or property belonging to this Company, off of our line
of road; that the road, with all of its appurtenances, was the
property of its stockholders, a large number of whom were citizens of
East Tennessee, and that all of their interest were identified with
the welfare of East Tennessee, and that any other course than the one
mentioned would involve the good of the country, prove detrimental and
ruinous to our road, as well as affect our own private interests. But
we had no idea or inclination to adopt any other measure, as we had
ample notice, if such had been our intention. |
| We were further assured by men
occupying high positions, both civil and military, that for whatever
property turned over to the United States authorities for the use of
the Government, or for whatever property by them destroyed, when, in
their opinion, the good of the cause demanded it, then ample
remuneration would be allowed and paid by the Government to our
Company. We voluntarily placed in their hands our road, machine shops,
machinery, tools, &c., a large quantity of materials and railroad
supplies, then on hand and in our shops and on our line of road, with
other property and other rolling-stock, such as we could control. This
was all done in good faith on our part. And the United States
authorities held and operated the road for two years, using our
rolling-stock and other property, and entirely exhausting our large
quantity of materials and railroad supplies. And, in addition to all
this, they destroyed the road and other property belonging to our
Company, whenever, in their judgment, the exigencies of the case, by
the withdrawal of the forces from any portion of the road, or whenever
in their opinion the good of the cause demanded it. And further, our
attention was called to the Act of Congress approved January 31, 1862,
entitled, "An Act to authorize the President of the United
States, in certain cases, to take possession of Railroad and Telegraph
lines, and for other purposes," which act fully authorized and
empowered him, when in his judgment the public safety might require
it, to take possession of any or all of the Railroad lines in the
United States, their rolling-stock, their shops, offices, buildings,
and all their appurtenances, and to place the same under military
control, subject to all the restrictions imposed by the rules and
articles of war. In my humble judgment, I am of opinion that the faith
of the government is expressly pledged to this effect, to remunerate
our Company for the use of their road and its appurtenances, for the
consumption of materials and supplies, for all the damage done to our
property, and for losses of every character sustained by us whilst the
road was in their hands and under their control. |
| ***** |
| We found the condition of our
road, when we received it, quite different to what it was when it
passed into the hands of the United States military authorities in
September, 1863. At that time, as before stated, its condition was
equal to, if not better, than that of any other road in the South,
neither expense having been spared to keep it in perfect order. The
road track was in excellent condition, there having been a large
quantity of new ties put into the road. The bridges were all good, the
depot buildings in good repair, and also all the water stations. A
large quantity of wood had been procured and placed on our line of
road, sufficient to have operated it for twelve months. Also a large
quantity of timber that was intended for building wood-sheds,
repairing our trestles, stock-gaps, &c. |
| ***** A portion of our engines
and cars had been taken and used on one of the Virginia roads, by
order of the rebel government ***** |
| Respectfully submitted |
| John R. Branner |
| President |
|