Cannon_Letter103_49361

C-1-6M

State of Tennessee Hardiman[?] County

I have this day read a Communication signed by many of the Stockholders to the Bolivar Sommerville & Memphis Turnpike Company setting forth the circumstances that took place in regard to the Election of officers of siad Company on the 30th day of June in Sommerville having signed that paper of course I concur with their statement & go further than they do being eleceted a Director in said Company we immediately organized and appointed John Pope Prest. & myself Secretary. I was then directed to procure the Books of Fayette County I immediately proceeded to the [Counting?] Room of W. A. Jones in said town whom I knew had kept the Books previous to the election where I met- Mr. L Sd Coe. I inquired about the Books Mr Coe answered he had put them out of the power of the Directory to give up, that his firends in taking Stock in their name & he was going to protect them & appeared astonished that we should request the Books at all when he had just handed in a paper binding himself for the ballance of the Stock to which I answered there were a few Bonafide Stockholders that would want the benefit of their Stock one was W. A. Jones fifty shares who was present & claimed it. but he argued

with Jones that he ought not to claim it as he was the cause of Jones taking it & c but he wholly refused to produce the Books

And he further alleged that he could not Stand up to his subscription or anything (lined thorugh) the Directory as he said that we had eleceted such Directors as would put [?] every old Farmer in the Country on an equal footing with him in Bidding & this he would not stand as they would work with their hands on Short sections of road when out of their crops for half of what he would work for, I left him on his promise of meeting the Directors at the Court House in a few minutes or at Brookers Tavern after supper, after Supper I met him in the Street without any apparent intentions of complying with the promise & I invited invited him up to Brookers in presence of the 6 Directors who were there Setting I offered a few reasons for not giving up the Books got up left the Room without Saying any thing since which I have not seen him and have been told he has made a statement to you this is my reason for trougbling you with this Statement I here annex a copy of the Communiciation that Mr. Coe alluded to when I called on him for the Stock Books

as follows:

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