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Office South & North Alabama R. R. Company
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Montgomery, April 17, 1863
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| Hon. O. M. Avery {President,
Alabama & Florida RR (of Florida)} |
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| Sir, |
| I have intended writing you for several
days, but have been delayed from various causes I told Mr. Huton the
substance of a conversation that occurred between Dr. Griffin &
myself at Pollard relative to your iron. Mr. ??? said he had discussed
with you at last. I asked him how? He answered he had paid the
Government for the iron already at ??? I answered that he had tried to
buy the iron from you, but could not do it. I asked if the iron was
now his property or the property of the Govmt? Answered his as he had
paid for it & had got it by aid of Govmt at this same price he had
offered you. Says I this, you tried to purchase private property at 84 dollars, the
price you paid Govt for Avery's iron & couldn't do it. But Govt
seizes it & let you have it at just half what the citizen could
get from Government itself for iron whereas you paid for it. Says he
goes and thinks that Govt had done you a service & him too by
interfering in the transaction. That you utterly refused to sell the
iron at any price & it was earning you no interest where it was
& that he needed it badly to complete his Road. Says I ???
would give ??? for the ??? your iron locomotives or even ??? Nifes
Porsey now. He answered ??? would not sell ??? at any price
Says I probably so I nos Mr Averys condition He might have been waiting
for the rise in iron or for something else which no man had a right to
determine or question. He maintained that the Govt had done a service
in forcing you to sell & had done ??? or sooner in selling him the
iron at 80 $ p ton. Now if our Confederate Government sanctions such
deliberate Exercise of Might against Right I am clearly & unequivocally
in favor of Lincoln or any other government in preference to it. I
don't own a dollar of your stock but I am opposed utterly &
finally
to any such transactions. Mr. Pollard has an order to take iron from
yours, the Marion & Cahaba or the Newbern Road for his. Gen
Bruckner is charged with the execution of the order & has
appointed me to inspect Mr P's Road & see whether he needs the
iron & how much he needs. I cant say whether I will accept or
not. If I do I will examine every bar on the M & W. P {Montgomery
& West Point} RRoad critically. If they do absolutely need
it, all right. |
| Yours truly |
| John T. Milner |
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