Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1884-09-04
RI.AIyE AND THE IHURMAN

ACT.
The attitude OF James g. Blaine toward
great and wealthy corporations interested
in Congressional legislation Is revealed
as clearly in his attempt to defeat the
Thurman Sinking Fund bill, says the
New York Times. as it is BY the Null
ligan letters. He who reads the report
of the memorable debate in the Senate,
upon that bill. can easily see why Sena-
tor Edmunds-who stood by the SIDE Of
Senator Thurman in the fight against
the greatest and most unscrupuious
lobby that had ever besieged the Capitol
urged the men chosen to represent the
Republicans Of Vermont in the National
Convention Of 1850, TO withhold their
votes from Blaine because he had op-
posed righteous legislation, proposed for
the purpose OF forcing two corporations
to pay the money which the people had
lent them.
The government had loaned TO the
Union Pacific and Central Pacific Rail
road Companies $3.50 l92 in bonds,
and bad agreed to pay the interest On
these bonds for 30 years. At the end OF
that time the companies debt 70 the
government. principal and interest,
would be 1854, 25s.o S9. There was a
prior lien upon the property amounting
to about SIS. 600, 900. Could the gov
rnmen expect 10 recover its money !,
The companies were required 70 pay 20
the government, TO be used IN settling .
part OF this encrmous debt, 5 PER cent OF
their net earnings and ons-hslt Of the
sum paid BY the government for trans
portation. II the companies should make
these payments faithfully the Union
Pacihc's debt would be thereby reduced
in 30 years by 100000, and the
Central Paci6c's debt by l 5.oo0,0 900, so.
that at the end Of the period the amount
due and unpaid would be about $780,
O00, 600, oyershadowed by . S5,000,0O
mortgage. When the debate began in
1878, the companies had been paying
dividends Of from S 70 IL per cent 70
shareholders, but as Senator Thurman
said, had not provided . dollar Of
a sinking fund to pay their indebtedness
to the government" They had been
evading the Law. The Thurman bill,
prepared by Thurman and Edmunds, and
reported by the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee, provided that the companies
should establish ; sinking fund for the
payment Of the debt, by paying a sum
equal TO p per cent Of their lie. earn
ings. Even under this arrangement the
entire debt would not be secured 1t the
end Of tie period, but it was believed
that it would be impossible to pass a bill
requiring a larger contribution.
Immediately another bill. prepared by
the companies, was introduced by
Stephen ". Dorsey, then a Senator from
Arkansas, and . subseryiens railroad
committee reported, through Stanley
Matthews, > similar bill, which provided,
as one Senator said, for ''an indefinite
pos.ponement OF the rights OF the peo-
pie" and Is Senator Beck said, for "a
surrender OF from $40, 600, 900 to s4l,-
0D0, 600 Of our debt to these companies.
The debate began, and had been in
progress for three weeks when Senator
Blaine took part in it. 1t Is
very plain that the authors Of the
Thurman bin regarded him as the most
dangerous Of the companies friends.
He at first carried on a kind of guerrilla
warfare against the bills advocates. He
did not openly support Dorsey's bill, nor
did he openly oppose the Thurman bill,
but he offered an amendment to the lat
ter providing that after it should become
a law Congress should bind itself to legis-
late no further in regard to the CON-
panies for 20 years if they should com
ply with the law. The railroad lobby
and the railroad Senators hailed this
with Joy. for they saw that neither the
Dorsey bill nor the Matthews bill could
be passed. Congress was asked to tie
its hands for 20 years without any pro-
vision as to the changes that might occur
or the fraudulent acts the companies
might be guilty Of. 1t was made known
during the debate that Blaine had taken
this amendment to Thurman, at the lat.
ter's residence, and urged him to accept
it. 81 have seen. said the Ohio Sena-
tor in one of his speeches, Senators be-
sieeed at their own houses by the rail
road lobby"
As the end Of the debate drew nigh
the advocates Of the Thurman bill, by
common consent. trained their guns on
the Blaine amendment, as the most
dangerous proposition then in sight.
Matthews withdrew his bill, and the
companies, whose lobbyists thronged the
galleries, staked their interests upon the
fate of Blaine's proposition. Thurman