The $70,000 Rebellion: Olympia Refuses to Pay Its Railroad Bill

Subscribers to the Northern Pacific subsidy and bond, amounting in all to about $70,000, have decided that they are under no obligations to pay to the company the amount asked for bringing the road through Olympia, and will take the matter into the courts. About half of the subscribers and their representatives met in the First National Bank building last evening to discuss the matter, and after reviewing the facts in the case and the action of the railroad company, they placed the case in the hands of a committee consisting of Judge Robinson, R. G. O'Brien, M. A. Root, John F. Gowey and S. C. Woodruff, who will bring it properly before the court.

The gentlemen present came to the conclusion that the 30 subscribers to the bond were not liable, and agreed that the amount should not be paid. They acknowledge no indebtedness, because the railroad company did not sustain its part of the contract in completing the road within the specified time. On the other hand, there were those of the subscribers who, while they likewise acknowledged no indebtedness, realize the benefits the city derives from being placed on a transcontinental line and expressed a willingness to make donations to the company of lots and blocks of land. In doing this, it is with the understanding that it does not apply in lieu of the subscriptions made, nor on the bond, but merely an appreciation of the road's coming here.

When the Northern Pacific sought an inducement to come to Olympia, the citizens had already pledged $150,000, of which amount $50,000 was for the Port Townsend Southern, $50,000 for the widening of the narrow gauge, and $50,000 for the Union Pacific. Consequently, some difficulty was experienced in raising the $50,000 asked by the Northern, and in order to make sure of the latter road, thirty citizens signed a bond for $1,000 each, in addition to which the company was given terminal grounds 200 feet wide and 2,000 feet long. In consideration of these subsidies, the railroad company was to have its road running into Olympia by December 1, 1890, and to complete its entire system from Tacoma to Gray's Harbor by March 1, 1891. As a matter of fact, the latter part of the agreement is not in operation yet, while the company failed in the former part by not getting into Olympia until January 1, 1891. Even after that trains were not run regularly until June.

In view of these facts the subscribers to the bond and subscription take their present position. The subscribers to the bond were: A. A. Phillips, N. H. Owings, Geo. A. Williams, J. R. Chaplin, F. F. Williamson, M. A. Root, Thos. H. Cavanaugh, S. C. Woodruff, J. W. Robinson, J. L. Henderson, F. A. Howard, E. W. Andrews, R. G. O'Brien, Geo. B. Scammell, Philip Hiltz, Jno. F. Gowey, Chas. A. Billings, Edgar McGovern, O. F. Leavenworth, Simenson & Woodruff, Shoecraft & Wilson, E. S. Horton, J. W. Rankine, I. C. Ellis, Springer, White & Co., Jos. Chilberg, R. Massey, V. A. Milroy, Mrs. F. A. Turner, M. E. Reed, T. N. Ford, A. B. Woodard, J. M. Lanimon.

Those who contributed toward the $50,000 subsidy were Samuel Ward $150, Foster Laberee $100, J. W. Roberts $1.00, W. F. Keady $50, O. N. Hunter $50, J. C. Rathbun $100, Wm. Sternberg $50, Chas. D. Garfield $50 or right-of-way, D. S. Baker $50, J. R. Mitchell $50, M. A. Root $1,000, O. F. Leavenworth $250, J. S. Dobbins $50, J. W. Robinson $500, T. N. Allen $25, A. D. Glover $25, V. A. Milroy $50, J. W. Chambers $25, Allen Weir for syndicate $1,000, O. M. Moore $50, John F. Tweed $100, Thomas Prather $500, R. H. Massey $200, J. N. Squires $50, Arthur Ellis $100, N. H. Owings $1,500, A. A. Phillips $1,000, George D. Shannon $1,000, Chas. A. Billings $1,000, S. C. Woodruff $1,000, I. C. Ellis $1,000, T. I. McKenny $2,030, A. H. Chambers $1,000, J. R. Chaplin $500, John F. Gowey $1,000, Jas. Pattison $1,030, Springer, White & Co. $100, R. G. and A. H. D. Stuart five acres in the Mills claim, Daniel Gaby $200, J. F. Murphy $250, E. P. Ferry $1,000, State Printer O. C. White $100, Hugh Ross $100, G. Noschka $150, John L. Henderson $1,000, L. F. Henderson $500, George B. Scammell $1,000, John H. Wilson and R. P. Shoecraft $500, Thos. H. Cavanaugh $500, North Olympia Land Co. $500, W. F. Newell Co. $500, State Bank $500, G. A. Mottman 4 lots in Warbass Homestead addition, G. Kaufman pledged $500 if road did not go through Seventh Street, C. R. Simenson $500, T. M. Reed $500, M. E. Reed $250, Jos. Chilberg $250, O. B. Mann $250, Charles F. Lansdale $500, W. J. Craig $200, E. McGovern $503, A. Merryman one acre, B. O. Armstrong $500, G. Rosenthal $200, J. L. Brown $50, Georges A. Barnes $1,500, F. F. Williamson $300, Alfred Thompson $500, Geo. Williams $250, Gowey, Phillips and Scammell $1,000, J. M. Ashton five acres, Ben Vincent $100, B. F. Snyder $100, Chris Nonunenson $25, W. A. Van Epps $25, Williamson & Hoy $100, Frank Taylor $100, F. G. Blake $100, Dr. Riley $250, J. A. Silsby $250, W. J. Doane $50, Talcott Brothers $200, Mrs. W. H. Roberts $25, Philip Hiltz $250, Chas. H. Ayer $100, James Brewer $25, E. A. Stevens $500, John Shields $25, P. Dolan 5 acres, C. F. Holton $50, H. Ramm $50, E. J. Estep $100, J. W. Rankine $500.

Many of the subscribers to this amount were also on the $30,000 bond. Of the above subscriptions some of them are in land to the value specified. The total cash subscriptions amount to $25,700; cash or land, $2,700; and land only to the value of $8,700. The company demands not only the payment of the $30,000 bond, but also the above subscriptions, and the case is likely to be long and interesting.