1116 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 31,

Mr. Robinson, from the Committee on Railroads and
Canals, presented the following:

WASHINGTON, D. C., March 28th, 1892..
S. Gambrill, Esq., Laurel, Md.

DEAR SIR:—In the amendment of the charter of the
Washington and Western Maryland Railroad Com-
pany now pending before the House Committee of
Congress for the District of Columbia, I notice
through the press that at the hearing before said
Committee on Saturday last, Mr. John K. Cowen,
counsel of the B. & O. R. R. Co. did you great in-
justice, in that he charged that you were one of the
incorporators of the Washington and Maryland R. R.
and to your efforts was due the passage of that Act
by Congress, and that afterwards you sold the charter
to the B & O. R. R. and was now, endeavoring to de-
feat its objects, &c. The facts in the case are these:
In 1886 I prepared a bill for Congress to incorporate
the W. & Md. R. R., with the following incorpor-
ators: T. H. Dowling, H. P. Gilbert, Austin Herr, G.
S. Dunlop, J. W. Walsh, T. L. Cropley, F. A. Miller,
of the District of Columbia, L. P. Wright, of Illinois,
Frank Hume, of Va. and Spencer Watkins, A. B.
Cropley, L. Victor Baughman and S. Gambrill, of
Maryland, requesting the use of your name. The bill
failed in 1886 and 1887 and was finally passed March,
1889. The object of the bill was to build a railroad
from Georgetown to the Great Falls, where it was con-
templated to make a pleasure resort. It was intended
to run from the Alexandria Acqueduct Bridge along
the line of the canal, between the canal and the river
to Chain Bridge; above the Chain Bridge we were to
cross the canal to the east side and beyond the canal
line run the railroad to Great Falls. After we ob-
tained the charter we called a meeting and organized
the company, each member paying in the first assess-
ment of 10 per cent. We had several meetings
afterwards without practical results, one or two of
which you attended. At our last meeting Messrs. J.
J. Darlington, J. Murry Dove, John Leitch and J.
Stelanger offered to pay us what the charter cost if
we would turn it over to them.

This we decided upon, and the transfer was made,
whereby the B. & O. R. R. became its owner.