Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-02-10


Go into the foothills since the mines have beer
worked out, and you find orchards and happy fami
les Could they exist there for day if they diC
not have the means TO transport their fruit anc
vegetables to market by railroad Have they no
been benefited by the railroad
Let US go down to San Francisco, and consider tht
wheatearrying business. had little supposed, un
I'll we got into this discussion upon this ioor that
anything which served to reduce freight rates. that
anything which saved to the producer and consumer
dollars and cents, was anything but benefit to
taem. had supposed thai any thing which saved
70 the people Of this State five millions OF dollars in
the tfanspO tation OF their wheat crop would be q
b nefit. The Senator from Mono sad this would be
an &C c9nomical measure-it was AL economical meas.
ure for the railroad company
Let me give you the exact figures In September,
1881, freight on outgoing caar:er 75s. For the
same month in 1882 it was 53s. I'd, reduction OF
one-third. And thus freight charges have been
cons 'antly decreasing until they only 37s.
aud fraction, and this reduction in freight has
been been brought about BY the construction OF the
southern Pacific Railroad, which you are
now trying to cripple. | say to you Sena.
tors who represent agricultural constituencies You
viii save on tine transportation Of your wheat crop
county that will be collected in the State this
year. Viii Senators tell us'that this is an undesira-
BILE thing
In orafr to show that have not falsiiied this
matter, desire 10 read resolution, and ca your
attention to it. get this from the record. IL sub
stantstes every word that have said the feduc-
ti0n OF freight outward cargo by the building Of
this road. Ii comes from the Board Of Trade, the
Chamber of Commerce, and the ship.owneTs. /
don't suppose there s any Senator this Dor who
will say they in favor of the railroad company
L. reads Resolved that the aggressive attitude Of
TIE overland railroad toward the shipping Now
why why should producers complain ii the az
gressive policy OF the railroad fgainst somebody
else, who a common carrier, if freights and fares
are thereby ieducedi Inward freights and fares
nave been reduced TO such limit oY the conpsti
ton of the railroad that vessel pay expenses,
including port charges, which the dearest at San
Francisco OF any other port in the world AS read
that resolution, says Resolved, that the rail oad
company can transport commodities into this port
cheaper than the ships can do it; thereto e, the
ships going to stop coming III they could carry
it cheaper than the railroad they would come here.
Now, nere We have the statement of two PROPOSE
tons First, that the railroad company, by compe.
t tion, has reduced ffeightI below what the pro-
ducts be carried Tor by sea ; and second that
because they have done so, they will n the future
be in position to transport your productions at
les rate than vessels can transport them don't
see anything injurious about that.
There is another proposition RI ght in that cOnnec-
ton as has besn suggested by the Senator from the
Tenth and charge you, Senators, before you vote
upon thi- question TO weigh all the facts that have
been stated to you. 1t Is an III deniahe fact that
the vessels that have come to this port-that the
We sells that have been engaged in this carrying
trade of CaliformG-have been under the British
flag. 1t is fact that 90 per cent. Of the freight
money that has been paid for transporting the pro
ducti0ns of this State ha4 been paid to ship owners
euston among or cwn people IS the little that the
pilots have ived from these same foreign ship.
owners, and efforts are now making TO raise a fuss
about that.
Now, how about the money paid to the railroad
Every dollar is paid to men who reside
in this Stlte paid TO who have their homes in
this State In the city Of Oakland the railroad
pany has invested more than million dollars in
arfo of
olt every year to men who have their homes and
families ttere.
Should any man hesitate as to where he should
place his vote, when the question is TO wsether
he shall continue to pay freighbs to British ship
owners or to men who spend their money in this
State, and to corporation that must of necessity
pay over to citizens 90 per Of tie re-
celpts in operating expenses? 1t should not take
great while to determine the question upon this
proposition alone
Now, desire 10 call your attention to another
proposition embodied in this resolution. / would
OF vote for the resolution with the preamble
stricken out. do not believe it is right. l think
the policy OF il is wrong understand the objection
made to the bill now before Congress is that il will
allow the consoiidation OF continuous line of rail-
r3ad between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. l
understand the objection is that by this consolda
tion great monopoly viii be created. Now, l sub
nit that in legislating we, young State-Ee an in
experienced State-in legisstng upon these ques-
tions should try to profit by the example and eXpe
renee Oh older states and communities. j take it
that when are legislating upon question OF elis
kind, involving a doubt as to whether Will be
benz fitted or injured by the cons s)idation of the rail
road companies, We ought to look to other ceun-
tries and what the effsct has been of consolda
ton there and whether it is going to be iujuTi-
Gus or otherwise; whether 1t is going to create
great monopoly. Let US see how it will work. Now,
in England they have what they call the North
western District In that district there thirty
seven competing lines ef railroad. l call the SEN
ates attention to the set Of thirtyseven competing
railroads. What was the RESULT The result was
imperfect service, many accidents and no dividends
Finally, under many Acts of Parliament those
thirty. seven lines of railroad We're amalgamated
(they use in that country the word anal gamate "
instead OF our " consolidate y all into one great
monopoly ali into one grand moaopoy all under
the control Of one msster-Inind. What was the re-
suit OF that amalgam ton or consolidation The
result was better service, fewer accidents lower
freights and fares, and higher dividends. They bad
the same ideas there when these roads commenced
to agitate the question of amAlg lgsmation. When
Parliament first commenced to inquire into the
matter OF consolidation, some of the members had
this idea, that it would be injurious but after
the system had been in operation few years, Par
laTneRt appointed committee TO examine into the
effect that this amagamation had had upon the
country.
1 call your attention, upon this point to an arti
Gle in the Railroad Journal lecture by Atkin-
son. | lay this down proposition, that wherever
there has been CONSULTATION of railroad lines, con
solidation has been for the hsnefit of the people,
Nov air President, this railroad il e, this railroad
across the continent, built for the purpose of
beuef.ing this State and can any man say that it
has not done sof
"A motion to adjourn is made, and lost
Sir. VrooHan, continuing: As | was remarking
when gave way for motion to adjourn, upon he
completion OF the Suez Canal the people OF the
United States realized the fact that order
trol the trade OF china and OF India, it was neces-
sary to construct railroad the continent It
has been constructed and the trade Of those coun-
benefit OF foreigners, passes over the American
continent and that could never have been brought
about but for the fact that this railroad had been
c3nstruci ed aud still they say that the construc.
ton OF the railroad was an injury to the people OF
this state.
Now. Mr President l desire to refer briefly to
another matter, which would not have referred to
but for The fact TINT great deal has been said upon
thus floor az to what the people 6esi-e in this con-
nectou. At San Jose, in June last, one of the
great 20 tical parties of this State placed upon its
ticket, their standaIa-5elrer, a gentleman who
had held q position for years as Rsilroad Commits
souer, q whose public acts, SO far as / kn 'ao
and far as the people of this state
at that time knew, had never been
sgainst the interests Of the railroad people.
The party paper, on sthe morning after the Con-
vention adjourned, announced that that gentleman
had placed at the head Of the ticket with the
aid OF the active ifueuce of the railroad company.
Now, wish it distinctly understood that what am
saying in this connection is said critical spirit
the people. | do not say whether they are true or
false, because know nothing about it, and am not
expressing any opinion about it AS say, then the
party paper announced the next morning that the
gentlemin nominated had been nominated by the
railroad influence. That paper, go far as | know.
declined from the start to indorse oue-snd, per.
haps, two--of the candidates upon that ticket for
the office of Railroad Commissioner. In Seytember
of that year the Convention of the Republican part
met ia this city, and they placed at the head OF
their ticket the original anti-r4ilroad
man Of this State. They placed ct
the head OF the ticket a man who never in public
private had said or done one thing in the inter
est o. the company but always had been against the
company on general principles. Now, that was the
condition OF things So a these two great political
plr-ies We're concerned. They went before the peo.
pie upon that issue. Toe Republican leader made
his campaign purely upon the anti-raiiroad issue
didn't talk about anything else, and don't think he
kaew anything else. The other gentleman be-
lieve, did not make amy canvass but it was stated
IN one OF the principal papers San francisco that
few days before, this candidate had had an inter
view with the President Of the railroad company at
hotel in san Francisco. don't say whether that
is true not, but it was announced in the rapers
In da.T Of bo