172 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 



passed by the decisive vote of seventeen to twelve. 

 Senator Mattoon had not listened to the debate in vain. 

 Perhaps his reason was convinced, or perhaps he had 

 sold out new ' points' and was again cheating himself 

 or somebody else ; at any rate, that thrifty Senator was 

 found voting with the majority. The bill practically 

 legalized the recent issues of bonds, but made it a felony 

 to use the proceeds of the sale of these bonds except for 

 completing, furthering, and operating the road. The 

 guaranty of the bonds of connecting roads was author- 

 ized, all contracts for consolidation or division of receipts 

 between the Erie and the Vanderbilt roads were forbid- 

 den, and a clumsy provision was enacted that no stock- 

 holder, director, or officer in one of the Vanderbilt roads 

 should be an officer or director in the Erie, and vice 

 versa. The bill was, in fact, an amended copy of the 

 one voted down so decisively in the Assembly a few 

 days before, and it was in this body that the tug of war 

 was expected to come. 



" The lobby was now full of animation ; fabulous 

 stories were told of the amounts which the contending 

 parties were willing to expend ; never before had the 

 market quotations of votes and influence stood so high. 

 The wealth of Vanderbilt seemed pitted against the Erie 

 treasury, and the vultures flocked to Albany from every 

 part of the State. Suddenly, at the very last moment, 

 and even while special trains were bringing up fresh 

 contestants to take part in the fray, a rumor ran through 

 Albany as of some great public disaster, spreading panic 

 and terror through hotel and corridor. The observer 

 was reminded of the dark days of the war, when tidings 

 came of some great defeat, as that on the Chickahominy 

 or at Fredericksburg. In a moment the lobby was 



