Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-01-19
WASH tNQTON.


The Retaliaiery Measarea.
WASHINGTON, Jan. ls.-The Hous
committee on commerce 10 by no mean
uiianiinous concerning immediate retail
ta.ofy measures against France aDt
GERMANY. 1ownseud's bill vas defeat
60 In tie com1ittee today, and ia,
~noie matter was postponed until Tues
day.
Committee.
A. the meeting of thu House commit
Tee on p1tisc l.nds c. z. Huntington
appeared IN tehaif of the California and
Oregon company. The first iutimatiou
which the members of the COMMITTEES
had OF his presence VAS when ne was
Introduced BY Chairman Cobb. He
Came, he said, As representative of a
corporation which had always perform
ed It's contracts in the time required.
and had never asked additional aid OF
leniency. For this reason be thoaghi
that Congress ought not 10 interfere In
this one instance The general outline
OF the work Of the California aud Ore
gon road was given. He said that work
was suspended because the line could
only be built to the Oregon State line,
where II was to connect with the
Oregon and Callfor.iis. The work on
the latter, however. had bsen sus-
pended, making building the road
which he represented inexpedisnt.
He should not endeayor TO touch on the
legal question, but had someteing also
personal to say about MS associates and
himself. He said, We have always built
as the law required, and this Is the first
consideration We have asked for IN the
way OF An extension of time. We think
We are entitled ~ more cousidera-
ton from the General Government
than any other class of people. for
there have been no couservators of the
public peace and prosperity in the lsrg-
est sense of the word than the railroads.
We, ourselves, were the frs. people to
commence the Central p .ci lc Railroad
When that bull was passed /. vas cor
sidered great thing 10 do. but We did
1t, notwiths' anding the fac; that people
would try to break US. When We Com
menced 10 build rails were f33 per ton !;
they went to fl25 before We were
through buving, but We asked no more
from the Government on that account.
Before the war seven, eight or ten dol
lars WAS about the minimum rate for ship
tonnage around Cape Horn. We paid
f34 during the war, and instead Of ths
2x per cent. for insurance around the
Cape At the time the ACT passed. We paid
az high AZ L. per cent. We did not ask
the Government for additional aid. We
paid So. 800 for locomotives in war times
when they could have been bought
previously for 5000. We crossed the
sierra Nevadas against the predictions
and advice Of all our friends, because
we stood BY the work honestly and man
fully and cared for every interest We
had in charge. We endorsed the paper
Of the Central Pacific when it had TO
credit, and We personally had finished
this work in the time required by law.
IneatiOn these things to show that We
nave worked hard and honestly, asking
no favors, but accomplishing what de-
pended on ourselves. and in the present
case, We were stopped from carrying
out our purposes through no fault or
Of our own. We built 1852
miles from the Central Pacific line
nOrthwari at tremendous cost and ef-
fort. We were on our way through 10
the boundary and proposed to 20 right
up there, bu. when the other link
failed of completion we knew
there WAS no local interest to compen-
safe Us, and the road to the State line
IA terminus would yield no return, so
we stopped aud waited. When the sis
ter company was able 30 work again we
got every man we could raise and put
him on our line. The 100 miles we built
from Redding to Mount Shasta WAS the
most difficult work We have ever done,
embracing heavy cuts. fills and tunnels.
We have done the best We could, and
there ia no ground, equitable. moral or
financial, on which this land Can be
taken away from us.
the Committee On Commerce Discus
seS Retaliation.
The House Committee on Commerce
discussed for two hours the proposed
measures of retaliatian against the pro-
Of American hog products by
France and Germany. The sub-com-
mittee. consisting of Clarey, Long and
Davis, appointed to consider the sub
ject, reported favOrably with several
Townsend which authorizes the Presi-
dent in his discretion to prohibit the
of goods reported by ex-
kbci tS W Oc WuCu iOIcIRu COUu-
tries prohibited the importation of
American goods said to no deleterOus
to heath.
Reagan, Dunn and Stewart opposed
action in the absence of cOmmunica-
ton from the Secretary of State.
Dunn insisted that sufficient infor-
IN ,tion was not at hand to properly con-
slider the measure aud seemed to donbt
The propriety of the action. He init
m. ted that facts might exist which
would authorize the action taken by
foreign governments, and in connection
With this idea he favored government
inspection Of meats.
Reagan believed that facts existed
which would justify the passage of such
but said the correspondence
between the United States and France
and Germany should be examined, in
order that intelligent action might be
taken.
Clsrey said that all the information
hid been given by the Score
Lary of State in former report. show
ing the existence of the discrimination.
The Consul at Frankfrrt-Ou- the Main
md Mr.. Sargent at Berlin had not only
sailed the attention Of the Government
TO the fact that the action Of Germany
wAs without warrant. and was mere
on pretext To evads treaty
but also that the German
peopic. as shown by the procedure of
the Rsichstag, know that il wis to pro-
tect their own productions, and was not
to for sanitary purpose.
The same is said to be- ne in France.
Davis, Of Illinois, said the pork inter
ests Of tins country were demanding
that, If necessary. Congress enact retail
iatory measures. He believed that the
would be justified In going
much further an was proposed in the
resolution. 4 number of con-
sular reports were referred to, to show
that the prohibitory measures by the
French and German governments were
for the protection of their own prod
uc's.
The proposition tn adopt the original
resolution of rownshsnd, was lost by a
vote of B to 10. Ii ia believed by RUM
Der of members favorable that the
amended resolution could have been
adopted but we're anxious to have united
action, 50 that when the measure Was
reported to the house. il would not be
antagonized by mem sers of the COM
mission. The vote ON the report was
postponed to Tuesday, when an effort
will DO mad to introduce such amend