The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-03-17
An AppALLINa MONOPOLY


When we realize the fact that the
Central Pacific Railroad Company alb
solutely controls the trade OF the CON
tnent which GIBBS and flows between
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and IL
gathering In It's Unsuitable grasp the
entire railway interests Of California,
we may well ask what will be the re-
suit of this stupendons monopoly upon
the commerce OF the United States.
The road has purchased or acquired
control by consolidation or merger Of
all branch, parallel or competing roads,
among which are the California aud
Oregon road; the California Pacific
road; the San Jose branch road; the
Alemada branch, and the Oakland
branch roads, and the Sacramento Val
ley road, and In addition to these roads
it has acquired by consolidation or
purchase the property and franchises
of five other and different railway cor
porations.
1t was this company which recently
received from the hands of the
Supreme Court a decision in its favor
to the effect that said company conld
not be required to pay the interest on
$25, 1881 900 ia bonds OF the Govern
ment loaned under the act Of 1862 for
thirty years upon eight hundred and
eighty-three miles of its railway be-
tween Ogden and Sacramento, and
that the Government itself would be
required to pay the interest on the
bonds so loaned for the coming thirty
years. trusting then to get back prin-
cipal and interest II 1t can. How much
likelihood there is of getting back this
principal and interest may be gathered
from the statement that by the time
the thirty years will have expired the
government will have advanced over
$72, 45S, 800 to this company, which il
upward of $4,000 per mile Of road,
just $50 900 mile more than the road
Its property and franchises are worth.
And when we consider the fact that the
Government lien on the road Is sec
ond mortgage and that first mort
gage to secure the payment ofan addi-
tlonal S25, SSl 900, with interest, must
be satisfied before the Government can
obtain one cent, we may well eXclaim
with Jim Fisk, that the S72, 45S, 800 of
Government money has gone where
the woodbine twineth." NOtwith-
standing these vast issues the Central
Pacific road is again entering the mar
ket and endeavoring to place addi-
tional bonds. This last move of the
company has called forth n bill intro
duced by Senator Dorsey, of Arkansas,
restraining and prohibiting the com
pany from issuing these bonds, and
thus further jeopardizing the security
of the United States.
The result of this grand and unscru-
lous aggregation ofpower and wealth
uEOn the commerce of the continent
has long been felt, and felt In "a most
emphatic manner upon the defeat of
the Texas and Pacific bill at the last
session OF Congress when the Central
roads Immediately increased their tar
III of charges ninety eight per cent
What the result will be of shelving
or killing the Texas AMI Pacific bill
this session, can at this moment be
scarcely estimated, but 1t Is possible
that without any material increase of
charges this great monopoly will quiet
ly, persistently and steadily continue
to build up its proportions and add to
itself far and wide every prospective
competing line, 80 that when the next
Congress meets 1t will present front
so massive and impregnable as to defy
even the constitutional powers of the
Government. To-day the history of the
world presents no instance of such a
powerful and INSCRIPTIONS monopoly.
and what II will be thirty years hence,
should the Government be powerless
to resist its onward advance, Is u prob
lem we leave for the rejecting minds
of the Republic to solve.