The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-01-19
HUNTINGTON.
He Appears Before the Honse Com
mittee,
And Makes His Little Speech 10 the
Members.
The House Committee and FORE
Prohibition.
Huntington Shows Up

Washington, 1S.-At the meeting OF
the House committee on public lands, @.
P. IHuntin pton appeared in behalf OF
the California s. Oregon Company. The
first intim alton mem bers OF the commit
tee had of bis presence WAS when he was
introduced by Chairman Cobb. He
came, he said. as representative OF
corporation that had always performed
it's col tracts in toe time required; had
never asked additional aid nor leniency,
and for this reason he thought Congress
ought not to interfere in this one instance.
A general outline of the work Of the Cali
fornia s. Oregon road was given. he said
work was suspended because the line
could only be butt to the Oregon State
line, where it was to connect with the
Oregon s. California. Work on the lat.
ter, however, had been suspended, max
ing the building of the road he repre-
scented inexpedient.
He should not endeavor to touch
upon the legal question, but had
something lso personal to say about
his associates and himself. Said he:
owe have always built as the law
required, aud this is the first con.
sideration we have ked in the way
of extension of time. We think we
are entitled to more from the Gov.
eminent than any other class OF
people, for there has bsen no con-
servator of the public peace and
prosperity In the largest sense of the
word, like railroads. We ourselves
were thefrst people 20 commence the
Central Pacific railroad. When that
bill passed it Was considered great
thing to do, and We did 1t notwith
standing the fact that people would
break US. When we commenced TO
build, rails were S3s ton.
They went to Sl25 before we
were through buying, but We asked
no more from government on that
account. Before the war 6, Z, s, or
10 dollars was about the minimum
rate OF ship tonnage around Cape
Horn. We paid $34 during the war
instead Of ~ per cent. insurance
around the Cape at the time the act
was passed, we paid as high IS Is
per cent. We did not ask govern
ment for additional aid, we paid
$32, 800 for locomotives In the war
times which could have been
bought previously for $4,000. We
crossed the Sierra Nevada against
the predictions and advice of all
our friends, because we stood ~ the
work honestly and manfulIy and
cared fer every interest we mad in
charge. We endorsed the paper Of
the Central Pacific when it had no
credit and We personally
had finished this work in
the time required by law.
/ mention these things to show that
We have worked hard and honestly,
asking no favols, but accomplishing
what depended on ourselves, and in
the recent case we were stopped
from carrying out our purposes
through no fault or misfortune of
our own. We built 152 miles from
the Central Pacific line, northward,
at a tremendous cost and effort. We
were on the way through the
boundary and proposed to 60 right
up there, but when the other
line failed of completion, We knew
there was no local interest to COM
pensate us, and the road to the State
line as q terminus would yield no
return. We stopped aud waited.
When the sister company was ak Ia
to 20 to work sgain, we got every
man we could raise and put him on
our line. The 100 miles we built
from Reading 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 is no
ground, equitable, moral or flnan-
cia], on which this land can be
taken away from us. Some politi.
cal reasons may exist; If go, l have
no interest in or influence over
them.