The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-09-01
GENERAL PRESS REVIEW.
stock.Jobbing Legislation
New York World.

NSW iVlh TNNIlus
General Garfield chanpionee 4 he did not
invent one of the most scandslJ pieces of
stock iobbing legislation which w proposed
in the thirty, ninth congress.
The washington end" of this perform
ance he conducted as follows On May 30,
1866, he reported bill to authorize the
Cleveland and Mahonng railroad company
to continue its road into Pennsylvania and 80
on to Pittsburg. The point aimed at was to
organize y rival to the Cleveland and Pitts
burg railway, which already existed, and at
the introduction of the bill to depress the
stock of the latter road. The Cleveland and
Mshoning railway WAS then under ninety.
nine wears lease to the Atlantic and
Great Western railway, and Ger.
tain privileges of extension from Ohio
into Pennsylvania which the legislature of
PENNSYLVANIA had tn retotore granted, 1t had
repealed and refused to renew The bill i'm.
mediately gave rise to an exciting debate,
which was interrupted by the expiration of
the morning hour. The bill, however, came
up in the regular order on the succeeding
day, when Mr.. Garfield further moved to
amend his bill by providing for removal
into the United States courts of any litiga.
ton adverse to the road which might be b..
gun in any state court, and against objection
Mr.. Garfield refused to allow the bill, which
had never been in the committee of the
whole, to be sent there for deblte. His col
league, Mr.. lie Blond, denounced the bill as
embracing novel features in congressional
legislation" "If this power be exercised"
continued Mr.. LIE Bl md, 1--WE shall estab.
lish q principle which will authorize
congress to regulate all the internal concerns
of the various states" Other members
followed with remarks to the same effect,
after which Mr.. Garfield defended his
extraordinary bill, and at the close of his
speech moved the previous question. He
even declined to allow Mr. Randall to debate
the bill. The record SD ,ws that the bill
Congressional Globe, May 81, 1866.
page 1925 on being ordered to be engrossed
was instantly presented in the proper form
and passed. Among those who voted with
Garfield for its passage were such colleagues
as James NJ. Ashley, General Banks, Bing-
ham, Delano, Hale, Ketcham Latin and
James f. Wilson, while among the negatives
were Deming, Kerr, Marvin, Niblaek and
Window, AMI as many reputable Legislators
as could be gotten together in a thin house
with sixty.fve absentees, who numbered
within twelve of the members who voted to
give congress the power to allow railroad
to be run into Pennsylvania after that state
had refused its permission. Finally, to
cinch tho matter, Garfield moved to recon.
slider the vote, and further moved that this
motion lie on the table. In this manner a
jobbing measure clearly unconstitutional,
was introduced and rushed through in two
days time without any reference to the com
mittee of the whole, and without having been
printed and put upon the files, and with the
most important power of the bill interpolated
on its passage as an amendment.
Let us now look at the Wall street end of
this measure Reference to the stock lists of
the New York Exchange Of May 29-the day
before the bill was reported-shows that
over $4,000 shares of Cleveland and Pitts
burg were sold, the price opening at "a and
closing at 96s; that at the first board on the
ensuing day, and before the introduction of
the bill was known, sales were made at 80,
while after the introduction of the bill was
announ ed the stock fell to 93f with heavy
transactions. On May 81, which was tie day
of the passage of the bill, the stock fell to
S74-the Worlds money article remarking
that 'the Pittsburg clique is selling" In a
few days afterwards the price dropped to
81. and after decline of nearly 20 per cent.
the ''clioue" began to load up again and the
price to rise. OF course the bill never be-
came q law, and it probably lay upon the
table of Mr.. Garfield for the benefit of the
"cique," something in the manner of the
Hancock hill, which, as he observed in his
letter to Hinsdale he retained-"not so much
for the purpose of passing it as to show him
how much he was in our power.