Conflicts in The Early Years
Operation of the railroad was hampered by its partial government ownership. Of the thirty members on its board of directors, twelve were elected by shareholders while the other eighteen were appointed either by Maryland or the Baltimore City Council. These had conflicting interests: the directors appointed by the state and city desired low fares and all construction funded from corporate revenues while the directors elected by shareholders desired greater profits and dividends. These conflicts became more intense in the 1850s after the completion of the C&O Canal, which brought additional competition to the B&O for transport services. In 1858, after being nominated by large shareholder and director Johns Hopkins, John W. Garrett became president of the B&O, a position he would hold until his death in 1884. In the first year of his presidency, corporate operating costs were reduced from 65 percent of revenues to 46 percent, and the railroad began distributing profits to its shareholders.
Abolitionists stopped a train during John Brown's raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (later part of West Virginia). Garrett telegraphed the Secretary of War, and a B&O train carried federal troops led by Robert E. Lee to capture the abolitionists and John Brown.
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