The daily gazette., 1878-04-15
The Pacific Railroad SWindIe.
Senator BaYard's Speech.
HE DENoUNCEs VAST AND EX-
TRAVAGENCE
Extracts from the Congressional Record
April Oh.

COST TO CONTRACTORS
Hoxie contract. 81 ,806,1 50
Ames contract. n ,2S5, Ill 80
Davis contract. 1868, ,633 62
-J0, 100, 1858 94
42,S25, ,328 "a
To this should be added
amount paid Credit Mobilier
on account of So miles, ,1O4 900 90
Total profit on construction. AZ, ,y29 1923 "a
There are other tables here showing the
dividends in stock made by this company
to these "contractors" in the Credit
Mobilier under the pretense of paying
them. find at page IA of the report one
Mr.. Ham, one of the accountants and ex-
perts, explained how upon the balance
sheet the aggregate profit of the Ames
and Davis contracts was S37 ,657 ,09543.
He was asked how much of it was money,
how much bonds and how much stock
He gave an exhibit, in which 1924 ,000, 900
of stock of the Union Pacific Railroad
Company was paid az a profit to "con-
tractors" to themselves. At page "a the
committee say, after repeating again the
cost of the road:
If no steps shall be taken and taken
promptly to arrest the present course of
the companies who are selling and divid-
ing everything they can among their
stockholders, in twenty years from now
no alternative will be presented to the
people and the Government of theIUn
ed States but that of losing their entire
loan, which with simple interest would
amount to IA sum over Sl20,000 600, or
else taking into their hands a railway two
thousand miles long, subject to a prior
lien of first mortgages, the principal of
which alone is far more than the cost Of
building new road. The United States
cannot become the operator of a railway
No government however consolidated
in executive power has yet done so sue
cessfully and individual interest and en-
terprise and the spur of individual profit
are essential for the proper management
of such undertakings.
Then / ask can Congress as the guar
dian of the money and the interest of the
American people stand by and allow the
great object of this work to fail? Can
they suffer this road TO be sold and pass
out of the hands of fcorporators with whom
there is such contract? Itseems to me
it would be the clearest default in duty,
to which every man among us would be
and ought to be held strictly answerable
to his constituency. The act of 1862 was
alterated and amended by the act of 1864;
| the land grants were doubled ; the half of
/ the Government transportation was re-
leased the iron and coal, those two twin
giants of industry and of necessity to a
people, on all the lands were given for
! the purpose of this act and for what OBJ
ject? For the profit ofthose corporators,
TO enrich the stockholders? No, sir
They were given, as were the original
grants, to enable the companies to fulfill
4 and accomplish the great object of their
agency. The learned and honorable
Senator from Georgia Mr.. Hill yester-
day in debate said that this company was
mot incorporated for the purpo Sc ofpay-
ing its debts y but would say it Uos in
| corporated to be and remain solvent
capable instrument of performing the OBJ
jects for which IL was created. Its sol
vency and its ability to payits debts are
essential for the performance of the great
object of its creation; and the power that
made it can promote the object by com
pelling such an administration of its
affairs Us will enable that corporation to
do its duty under the law that brought il
can can exist e n =
Mr.. President, there seems to me a
strange insensibility on the part Of the
American people to the immense practi.
cal importance Of this legislation. The
apparent Indifference with which the
people of this country witness the enact
ment of laws by force of which they and
enormous magnitude amazes me,-nor is
my surprise lessened to see members OF
either branch of Congress, who desire
and expect to be maintained in their
positions as popular representatives SO
hastily and recklessly, dispose of the
hard-earned property of the people and
yet expect to retain their confidence and
approval. When l contrast the GOODNESS
and Indifference with which measures
involving such enormous pecnniary in
terests to the whole people are acted
upon, with the excitement l have seen
in this Senate and in the other House
over some such comparatively small mat
ter as the payment of a few thousand
dollars more or less to the Chief Magis-
trate of the Union, when / have seen
special bills brought in here and valuable
public time occupied and an immense
degree of interest excited and sensations
al attention given to the question by the
press and people whether the Chief
| Magistrate of this country should re.
ceive $4,000 year or $4,000, or whe.
ther the Supreme Court judges should
receive two or three thousand dollars
more or less of salary, or whether the
Cabinet officers should be advanced to
a rate that would support them little
more independently without draining
their private resources to maintain the
official hospitalities expected from them,
or when members of Congress them
selves are to have their pay advanced sc
that there shall be an equalization of re-
ceipts by all as based upon the present
mileage allowance-when / see all this
popular interest and excitement on such
subjects and then see votes given and
bills passed which carry away from the
public Treasury and into the Golfers OF
Corporations and the pockets of skillfu
lobbyists-not money by thoasands-bui
millions, such sums as by comparison
render the expenses of the executive
branch mere drops in the bucket, can
not but be amazed. Here we are in thi.
bill dealing with sums SO great that tn,
question Of executive or legislative ol
Judicial salaries is utterly dwarfsd il
comparison and yet there seems to be nc
fpopular comprehension, and sometimes
think very little congressional compre
ibaps;on 80 tba syray;tv of the a,nounts