Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1879-02-05
ayers he has been for so long. And now con
LECTURE .

The first half of the discourse was com
posed of statements and conclusions, criti
cisms and figures referring to some of the ex
tortions and determinations and other hurt
full practices of the Central Pacific Railroad
Company. The vast grants of land bestowed
upon that corporation aud the very liberal
aid given by the National Government were
alluded to and mentioned as reasons why that
company should have pursued a generous
course with the public instead of taking ad-
vantage of their position to exact excessive
rates of freight and fare from the merchants,
shippers and travellers with whom they have
dealt. The Pacific Railroads, he declared
with truth, were built by the peoples money,
while the treatment imposed upon the people
was that of an oppressor who owed nothing
to it's helpers. The enormous wealth Of
Stanford & Company was limited at in his
reference to their great palaces upon the
summit of Mob Hill, in San Francisco.
Dir. Masons review of the Central Pacific
Company s e1tortionate practices and III furious
determinations against our State were very
just and timely. He was in error, however,
in his structures upon the Senate of the
United States with reference to the Reagan
Bill. He said that that bill was slumbering
in the hands of the special committee COM
posed of Spencer, Mcmillan and Dennis.
On the contrary the bill was reported back to
the Senate some days since without COM
ment
The Towne interview as reported in the
Sacramento Record Union of Friday last was
taken up, criticised and ridculed 1t was
shown that the gist of Dir. Towne's e1plana-
the interests of Nevada was merely an adms
sion, in substance, that people situated as
We are, without any facilities for competi-
tion-such as canals, navigable rivers and the
sea-are the legitimate prey of such monop-
oily as the Central Pacific railroad. And
such, indeed, is the meaning of Mr.. Towne's
strange reasonings, if they mean anything at
all That is to say, people who cannot pro-
ect themselves are fair game for the rail
roads. Certainly the practices of railroads
in this rather arbitrary doctrine,
AS to whether the Legislature has the
power to prescribe restrictive legislation for
the regulation of freights and fares upon the
Central Pacific, Mr. Mason expressed no
opinion, He thought, quite rightly, how
sver that it were we'll worth while to try.
The foregoing is, SO far as it goes, fair
nd truthful summary of Dir. Masons
,uents upon the Central Pacific Railroad, and
its management and customs.
NE V AND T. f. r. AND IFS MANAGEMENT.
Mr.. Mason said that he was moved to say
something about the Virginia & Truckee
Railroad forasmuch as there seemed to be a
raid making upon that institution with view
to crushing it. One would think he said
that certain persons who had been its stl
pendiaries, and who no longer enjoyed their
stipends, and certain persons who had been
in the habit of travelling by means of free
passes, and who no longer had any passes,
had turned against the road. This, we take
it, was intended to indicate the animus of the
movement which looks to a better and more
equitable regulation of the charges for
ireghts and fares maintained by the "local'
roads. If there is anyone to whom these in
uendoes may be rightfully directed, It is
hoped that he will consider himself duly
staglnatized and rebuked.
Mr. Mason ventured the rather wild state
ment that the V. & T. Company, tho au-
thorized by law to charge 20 cents per mile
for freight and 10 cents per mile per passen-
ger, charged but half these rates Now in
view of the fact that the company charges
IS per ton for freights from Reno to Carson,
80 miles, and that the charge for every pack
age of 100 pounds and less weight, is So
cents for the same service we incline to the
opinion that Mr.. Masons arithmetic is in
fault
Following some illusions to his own rela-
tions-of a political Misunderstanding refer
ence to the V. & T. R. L. Company, Mr..
Mason proceeded to criticise the CASTOR
Bill, whose provisions he seemed 70 regard as
calculated to work injustice to the " local
roads.
AS to the balance sheet quoted by Mr.
Mighels. Mr. Mason made the entirely I'M
warranted and erroneous statement that the
same was furnished ny Mr. Geo. A. King, of
Virginia City, and that the figures quoted