Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/390



Salem, Oregon.

Oct. 10-1868

My Dear Sir: Can you in justice to yourself write a few lines confidentially to David Powell, urging upon him the propriety of his sustaining the East Side Company in the matter of the United States Land Grant? If you can—you will confer a lasting favor upon myself—and the Company I represent. As to the rightfulness of this course—by the present Legislature I do not see how there can be two opinions—the facts are simply these eight men on the twenty-sixth of September 1866 agree to associate themselves together and form a corporation under the name of "The Oregon Central Railroad Co." They drew up articles in triplicate and signed them and handed them to Mr. Gaston, who is a Notary—with the understanding that he attach his certificate and seal and file them.— Mr. Gaston, instead of filing them, goes before the Legislature and its Railroad Committee, and represents to them as did all the gentlemen named in the articles, that those gentlmen had formed a corporation under that name. The committee acting upon this made a report (see Journal of last sessions Page 256) wherein they stated that the gentlemen named in the articles had formed a corporation under the name and style of "The Oregon Central Railroad Co." the gentlemen named therein supposing all the while they were incorporated, the fact being however, that Gaston never attached his certificates or filed its papers until over a month after the Legislature adjourned. The Legislature on the tenth of October, 1866 passed a joint resolution designating "The Oregon C. R. R. Co., as the Company that should take the Land Grant, supposing all the while that the eight gentlemen before named were duly Incorporated; After the Legislature adjourned, Mr. Gaston, without the knowledge, or consent of the gentlemen who had signed the papers—obtained the signatures to the same articles as additional corporates the following names: M. M. Melvin, Geo. L. Woods, R. R. Thompson, J. C. Ainsworth, S. G. Reid, Jno. McCrachen, and C. H. Lewis and J. Gaston and on the sixteenth day of November he, Gaston, attaches his certificate and seal (This too after his commission as Notary had expired, and the twenty-first day of November over four weeks after the adjournment of the Legis-