The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1878-01-27
The Texas and Pacific Railway
Question Before tho House
Committee.
Col. Scott, Under the Aid Proposed,
win Complete the Road TO the
Pacific Coast In Less than
Six Years.
The Government win Save Three Millions
by the Building OF the Road More than
the Entire Interest Asked by the
Company on their Bonds.

Debate IN tho House ON tie RemOne-
Iizaiion Of SiINer-No seasion OF the
BenRte--NOtes and Gossip.
WAsnINGToN, January 20, --IestcI.
days vote, and the gossip relating
thereto, indicates tifty.two votes for the
silver Till, but Secretary Sherman Is
going TO feed the financial com mlttees
OF the house and senate Monday night.
General Sherman, in letter to
Schur2, confesses the integrity but
questions the efficiency Of Indian Com
missioner Smith,
The senate was not In session to-day.
House-Mr, Bright, of Tennessee,
spoke upon the reconciliation of the
silver dollar, which he was earnestly
in favor of He commended that It's de-
! mon, tizat.,E WAS in violation of the
constitution, and fraud upon the poo.
pie and the legislation Of the United
States, aud fraud upon posterity,
The national convention Of the
steamboat inspectors, In session here,
endorse and recommend the adoption
OF Professor Gorande's automatic
alarm, 1t Ia q safeguard against fire
and registers the depth of water in
holds of vessels.
The committee on elections of the
house considered the California case
five hours and will decide the matter
to-day.
Argument on the Texas and Pacific
railroad question was resumed before
the house committee on the Pacific
railroad. Mr.. Storrs having finished
his statement of the legal points upon
which the Southern Pacific of Califor-
MIA desired the right to build through
to III Paso, Governor J. G. Brown,
vice president OF the Texas and Pacific
road, discussed fully the broad, gems
eral questions which had governed the
policy of the government in aiding the
construction OF commercial highways.
In this connection he argued that
all statesmen of the school of strict
constructionists, with Calhoun at the
head, had maintained the absolute
power of the United States to extend
this aid, and that one of the main in
ducements of the recognition of the
Gadsden treaty had been Il question of
territory along the thirty.second par.
allel, through which ran the nat
ural route for traps.continental rail.
road.
He then maintained, by the decision
of the supreme court, that congress
had full power to authorize the cree
ton of bridges over navigable streams,
and that the Southern Pacific, OF Cali
form Il, had no authority to bridge the
Colorado so as to come eastward, the
Texas and Pacific alone having than
authority.
He quoted from the sworn reports of
the Central and Southern Pacific rail.
road companies, that joint ownership
was practically in Messrs. Stamford
Huntington, Croeker and Hopkins,
showing their present floating debt to
he nearly $4,000, coo, besides a debt of
nearly $50, 100000, on the construction
of the Southern Pacific road. He ar.
gued from this, that these gentlemen
had neither the money nor the credit
to build any more lines, and that their
only purpose in appearing hear, was
to prevent the construction of line
that would compete with the Central
Pacific.
He then discussed the various bills
presented by Messrs. Stephens, House,
Chalmers and Willis, and showed that
they all favored the construction ofthe
competing line between the Mississ'
ippi and Pacific ocean, differing only
as TO the branches to be built from the
terminus OF the Texas and Pacific to
the river. Also that none OF them
shall he permitted single bond to be
issued by the company, except to rep
resent actual cost, which could not
exceed S23,O 900 per mile.
That the Texas asd Pacific had built
already four hundred aud forty-6ve
miles OF road without a dollar Of aid
from the government, and that justice
required the extension Of aid asked by
Il. Ms the Union and Central Pacific
companies had received S54,OOO,OOO Of
bonds aud iifty-three million acres Of
land, the Eotthern Pacific forty.seyen
million seres Of land, aud the Texas
and Pacific only eighteen million acres,
no portion Of Fhich could the latter
receive until after it had been built one
thousand miles through Texas.
Mr.. Scott, president Of The Texas and
Pacific road, then briefly reviewed the
grounds upon which the government
aid was asked, and the advantages
which the government and the people
would secure through competing line.
He showed that, with the present