The Arizona sentinel., 1878-02-02
Scott Agrees with the Sentinel More Southern Pacific Mirage than Mileage.

Washington, January 26.-Argument on the Texas Pacific Railway question was resumed this morning before the House committee on Pacific railroads.
 Storrs having finished his statement of legal points upon which the Southern Pa cific of California desired the right to build through to Fl Paso Governor Brown vice president of the Texas and Pacific road, discussed fully the broad general questions which had governed the policy of the government in aiding t1e c- struction of commercial highways Ilu Texas Pacific, he said, had built already 445 miles of road without dolla of aid from the government, and justice r.- quired the extension of aid asked by it, as the Union and Central Pacific companies had received $54,0O0,00O in bonds and 53,OOO,000 acres of land; the Northern Pa cifc 47,000,0OO acres and the Texas Pacific only 1S0O0,OO0 acres, no portion of which could the latter receive until it had built thousand miles through Texas.
 Thomas A. Scott briefly reviewed the grounds upon which government aid was asked and the advantages which the gov ernment and people would secure through the competing line He showed that with the pr esent prices of labor and material, and the ability to market bonds at par, which would be secured by government indorsement of interest, the whole amount of annual interest to be paid out of the earnings of the line would be less than S2,000,000 while the present transcontinen- that amount. He further claimed that un- der the plan proposed the interest would be paid each six months by the Texas Pacific, while the sinking fund would grad ually redeem the principal and leave the road ultimately without debt; that under the power reserved to the government to regulate rates so as to take care of the actual capital, these rates would annually be reduced, to the great benefit of the gov ernment and people, and that the govern ment alone would save S3,000,00O yearly by building the road-m more than the entire interest on the bonds, if it never returned a cent
 Scott c1aimed Mat the Central Pacific had TO intention to build c line to compete against ttenaSel0es, but merely Qfered to build the road to prevent its construction 6y others. They acere not bound 10 build C nsile and # Meir bill passed could simply st stM sir gears and during ttat time monopolize the entire trafic across the continent and td1 tt as onerouSly aS they aUe,'e nooc doing acithOut any action. The Texas Pacific Go. had spent S16,0O0,000 in good faith, and had it not been for the panic of 1873 would have had the whole line con- pleted by this time, and under the aid pro- posed would complete it by 1882. Scott closed with strong appeal to the con- mittee to look at the question not in the light of technicalities, but on the broad ground of the interests of the whole coun- try, and expressed the conviction that eve ry member of Congress who aided in se- curing this great highway on basis of justice to the people and to the interest of the government as a competing line be- tween the two oceans, would in after years regard it as one of the proudest achieve ments of his political life.
 The committee adjourned until Tuesday when arguments will be concluded.