The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1883-03-14
A PsrniciOus Scheme.


duced earlier in the session to authorize
the Southern Pacific and other Railroad
companies 10 consolidate 80 as to form
a continuous line of Railroad under one
management between the Pacific ocean
and the Mississippi river. The effect Of
the measure would be to enable the
Southern Pacific (Huntington's) to es.
tablish itself as a dominating corpor-
alton, not as now, having other lines to
cooperate with, but as controller of the
whole roulette consent of the other
companies having been purchased, or
otherwise procured, to the proposed ar
rangement The bill provides that the
consolidated company shall be "a body
polite and corporate of the United
States" II also PRESERVES to Congress
the right to fix, from time to time, the
rates for carrying passengers and
frcights' This cxpl aims one Of the OBJ.
ject5 of the bill 1t is to take from
the States the right to supervise the
combined corporations and vest ii in
Congress, which results have shown, is
slow to exercise the power. The States
through which the line runs, either have
adopted, or are adopting legislation,
asserting their authority which ia
likely to trouble the several corpora
tions in their effort to impose such
charges cas- the traffic will bear" Cali
ifornia has Railroad Commission, and
Texas has established a passenger rate
OF three cents mile, and other States
and Territories directly interested, it is
apprehended, will follow suit. As it
now stands the Southern Pacific Is a
local corporation subject to the laws of
the different States which it passes
through If the bill had passed, the
Southern Pacific would have been re-
moved from the Jurisdiction of the
states and made "a body polite and
corporate Of the United States" True,
it contains provisions which were APP
parently designed to obyiate this obiec-
ton, but they involve contradictions in
the bill, and the best that can be said Of
them is that they would inevitably re-
suit in litigation whenever the State
Legislatures assumed the right to inter
fere.
In the early part of the session, mo-
ton to suspend the rules to put the bill
on its passage barely failed; and on
the Sd of March, the same propos ition
received strong support showing that
the attorneys and lobbyists of the
monopoly had put in their work with
marked effect.
BY reference to the Congressional
Record for that date, we note that an
animated discussion took place on the
motiontosuspend thorules. Mr.. Sparks
(of lllinois) suggested that it would CON
fer the power of supervision and control
upon Congress and take it away from
the States. Mr.. Hammond (of Georgia.,
cited the Constitution of Texas to show
that 1t confiicted with the organic law
otthat State. Mr.. Dunn (of Arkansas)
said that it was full of unseen results
pitfalls and snares; that its cloven feet
peePed out, and that all its feet are
that among other advantages
arrived at was the preventing of compc-
tition, and the securing 100000 of
acres Of unearned public lands to which
the Texas Pacific had not secured its
title. Mr.. Gibson (of Louisianal, said
it presented questions of such gravity
that he was constrained to cast his vote
in the negative. Mr.. Culberstson (of
Texas said that the measure is contrary
to the policy Of the State Of Texas, and
Furthermore that he could demonstrate
that the object of the shrewd bene.
ficiaries of the bill was to strengthen
the claim of the Huntington company
to the 100000 of acres granted the
Texas and Pacific, to which the former
has not a shadow of right; in other
words to obtain status to contend for
the forfeited claim of that company.
MIR, Robinson (of Massachusetts,, would
pause before consenting to the scheme.
MIR. Holman (of Indiana), thought Con
gress, in view of the growing power Of
the great railroad corporations Of the
country should hesitate before CONSOLE
dating these corporations into one pow
ertul corporation, extending across the
Dir. Berry (of California;
said that his State was opposed to the
scheme, and in her name no protested
against it, The motion to suspend the
rules was lost by vote of 81 to 1876
not voting. But as grasping monopo-
lies like the prince of the fallen angels,
have the uncomfortable will, and
courage never to yield nor to SUBMIT
i reasonable to suppose that its fight