Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-06-05
A Non Remunerative Labor.

An investigation of the affairs OF
the Central Pacific Contract and FL
nance Committee seems to be deter
mined upon. The Committee may
not be appointed at the present ses-
sion of Congress; but the next session,
if composed of the same class of men
as the present, and there is little room
for change, will no doubt go into the
business with will and investigate
to the full satisfaction of the several
anti-railroad journals. The diagno-
sis-for we consider it such-will, we
anticipate, show mass OF facts to
prove that the horse died on the mans
hands-that he was fraud at the out
set and maintained his character UNI
to the end. The Credit Mobilier and
the Contract and Finance Committee
were couple of schemes gotten up
for the attainment Of the same end
swindling the stockholders and the
Government. They were twin rascal
tiles and both succeeded. The first
has been investigated, and beyond
proving what everybody already knew
amounted to nothing. 1t was a clear
case of swindle, but did the swindled
recover their money or were the swim
dlers punished? We never heard OF
it. A thousand Federal officers have
defaulted; the fact has been proven,
and the amount they stole figured out
to cent, but we all know not a dollar
Of the stolen money was recovered,
and in nine cases out of ten the thief
was permitted to escape with his
booty. We are wonderful people
for locking the stable door after the
horse has been stolen. A man or
corporation steals a few million
dollars and we vapor day or two
over the loss, but we seldom punish
the thief and never recover the stolen
money. How much better off is the
country or people for the Credit Mo-
bilier investigation? The money is
lost. We knew that before. The men
who stole it are still our leading men.
They committed the crime but they
are not made to suffer for it. A like
result will follow an investigation of
the Contract and Finance Committees
acts. We all know the principle up
on which the committee worked. We
know that the purpose of the commit
tee was to make it appear that the
building of the Central Pacific cost
about three times as much as it really
did. We know that the Company
pocketed the difference between what
the road actually cost and what it was
made to appear to have cost, and the
manipulators cleared the difference,
which was about two hundred per
cent. loss to the government and the
outside stockholders. But how are
we to get this money back !? Does any
one suppose we shall ever recover a
dollar of it? Then where is the use of
spending time and money in an in
vestigation that will prove nothing
more than what is already known.
Why should we cry for spilled milk.
1t is gone and though we may swear
at the stumbling-block over which we
fell, from now to doomsday, we shall
not recover a pint of the lost milk. 1t
would be better if Congress should APP
ply itself to the enactment of laws that
will prevent the organization of an
other Contract and Finance Commit
tee, than to the digging up Of a dead
smallpox patient. Everybody knows
what he died of, and no one cares to
run the risk of catching the disease by
digging up the putrid body.