Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-04-13

o
and is required to pay it into til
sinking fund, where it is put at il
tereSt compounded semi-annually.
The Judiciary Committee est
mates that this payment should b
I 81 ,l66, 900 per year, and the iutel
est on this sum calculated with an
nual mot semi-annual) rests unit
the year 1000 will be more than $50,
I 000, 900.
The interest that will have beel
paid on the lst of January, 1898, b.
the Government in excess of all re
payments by the corporations vii
not be less than $50, 600, 900, and &C
c0rding to the principles settled by
the Supreme Court of the United
States in the case in Otto will beal
interest from that day.
This interest for two years anC
nine months, for which time the
payment is postponed, by the pro
visions of the Railroad Committee
bill, will be SIS, 1870, 900, which adj.
ded to the $50, ,000, 900 alone, makes
total exceeding $45,000,000 to be
relinquished by the Government.
But assuming that the Judiciary
Committee is mistaken and has es-
timated the payment too high, and
that it should be one million per an
mum instead of 81, 100000, the gift
of these companies would still
amount to sum exceeding 81, 900,
600. H Eff i'
The Government has already
been too bountiful i'm its favors To
these corporations, and it cannot
afford to make no such other gifts
to them as they have made in the
past. i take it that surely the rep
resentatiyes of the people of the
United States, those who are here
acting to-day as their trustees,
charged with the disbursement of
moneys taken from their earning
and with the duty of preserving
and protecting their rights and i'm
terests, are not prepared, in view of
the present condition Of these cor
poration, of their enormous wealth
present and prospective, of the
fact thatthat they are able to declare
and have for two years each de
clared dividends and paid to its cor
porators from to 10 per cent. per
annum upon the nominal amount
of stock, a fictitious stock as ] be-
lieve and as is believed by the
eountry-surely then, / say, here
representing the people, the Senate
is not prepared to enact this bill into
a law, ,7a ir.f4 e,i,5 t .I.f
The only question remaining is,
shall Congress adopt the Judiciary
Committee bill? 1t proposes to
compel each of these, corporations
to pay into a sinking fund a sum
including the 5 per cent. of
net earnings, and one-half the
account, will be $2,-
O00, 600 for each year, but the pay
ments to be made in all shall not
exceed 25 per cent. of their net earn
ings. The committee proposes this
legislation for the reason that the
two companies, after paying the
operating expenses and all interest
on their bonded debt, have a net in
come exceeding $l3,000,O 900 per an
mum and have been paying divi-
dends of 8 8, and 10 per cent. upon
a stock account which it is believed
does not represent capital actually
paid down. With enormous i'm
comes, they refuse to make any pro-
vision for the payment of the Gov
bonds when they come
due. At that time the mortgage
debt of the two companies and
having a prior lien will be $55, ,0S7,-
300; the Government debt, princi-
pal 500, 100000, and the interest, If
no part of the 8 per cent. or one
half transportation account shall be
paid, win amount to $S6, 1000, 900
more making a total of $l97 ,000, 600,
which at per cent interest would
require payments each year to the
amount of $11 ,824, 900. The directors
themselves say the revenues of the
will not be sufficient to
pay these sums and the stock will
be entirely lost. AS a consequence
he mortgage will have to be fore
,losed, the property sold and passed
rom these corporations to strangers,
not in privity with the Government
nor intrusted with the great work
md duty of managing and control
ing this important highway, to
which the country has attached in
he past, attaches to-day, and will
n the future attach so much Import
lnce.
1t is objected, however, that Con-
yress has no right to enact the
Judiciary Committee bill; that il is
to defeat the meditated
'raud, and it must quietly per-
nit its complete consumption. 1t
s said by some that by the provi-
ions of this bill an attempt is
made to make a new contract be-
.ween the Government and the cor
They affirm that by the
erms of 1862 and 1864 the debt OF
he Government will not become
lue until 1898, and that the bill in |
substance and effect makes it pay |
lble to-day. Others maintain that |
~ the terms of these acts or by Inn
IlicatiOn of law the corporations !
rave a right to distribute the earn
ngs of the road without regard to |
he claims of creditors; that this is |
vested right which cannot be |
AIKEN from them by Congress, either !
n virtue of its powers as legisla- |
i've body or by force of the reser-
yation ofauthOrity ''to alter, amend,
n repeal' the acts.
If these affirmations be true i will |
gree that there is no power In |
there Is no power any
where that will authorize or justify |
n excuse the legislation that is pro- /
,osed. But what does this bill pro-
DrOse to do? / do not see anywhere,
n any clause, a change in the terms |
# the contract. ]. find only that,
warned by the declaration that the
,fficers of the companies have made |
# the danger, indeed of the almost
.ertain insolvency to follow the un-
wise course of distributing from |
year to year all the earnings Of the |
Congress simply re-
Iuires that they shall pay any part |
II the debt, but shall establish a
linking fund, into which part Of
he earnings shall go. The distinc-
ion between the payment of debt |
,r a portion of a debt and establish |
/ sinking fund to provide for its
uture payment is not a mere ver-
Ial distinction. 1t has been recOg-
lized by every government and by
.very people. In requiring this,
congress only requires these cOrpo-
'atiOns to do that which our own
is doing to-day; only
hat which every corporation,
-. III A.aew