J. M. Walker was first involved with the CB&Q while a partner in the law firm of Walker, Dexter & Smith, who were the solicitors for the company. He was also a close associate of James F. Joy, and Walker was elected president of the CB&Q upon Joy’s resignation of that position in 1871. Joy still held a strong advisory role in the CB&Q while by some accounts Robert Harris made most of the day-to-day decisions. According to Overton’s Burlington Route, Walker’s role was to act as a liaison between CB&Q and the Forbes group of Boston investors, and J. F. Joy himself. After the River Roads “Revolution” in 1875 which resulted in a split among CB&Q investors, Walker’s role was further minimized and he was eventually relegated to general council in 1876 when Robert Harris elected president. This series contains some of the earliest material in the Correspondence record group, and covers the time of the River Roads financial controversy when conflicts of interest arose between investors in the CB&Q and River Roads, and the leadership of the CB&Q was in flux.