National Republican., 1884-11-24
THE MAN ON THE AVENUE.
Small Talk About the Men and Measures that
Pc nnle IIke TO Think OF.

Small Talk About the Men and Measures that
Pc oplc Like to Think or
The Pacific railroad problem is an interest.
Ing study The United States has already paid
out in interest on the guaranteed bonds Of the
subsidized Central and Union Pacific and
branches the enormous sum of $50, ,222 0g3, and
II will have TO keep on paying per cent. per
annum on s6i ,623,5l2 until the expiration OF
the thirty years the subsidy bonds had TO run
from the dates ofthoir issue in ls65-'69 These
bonds will mature in great part in 1898, and
when the date for their redemption arrives
the companies will be required to refund the
amount the government has paid out in inter.
est and redeem the bonds, the bonded debt
and interest becoming due at the same
moment The roads now owe the
government O2376,3l29i, counting in
all the credits In favor of the corporations. In
fourteen years tho debt will have increased to
about sl25,0OO,OOO. What the sinking fund
will amount to in 1898 is something no fellow
can guess. Last January It had reached &c..
| SlO99.S2 IL took sixteen years to accumu-
late that sum. In fourteen years more the ag-
gregate should be something like sll,-
OOO,OOO if the same rate OF accrotion is main.
tanned.
Several schemes are before congress to swell
| the sinking fund faster than the law now pro.
| vides, viz, % per cent of the net earnings,
The Thompson bill, which passed the house,
provides for the setting apart ofij or 30 per cent
OF the net earnings. II this bill becomes law 1t
| will be the same thing as foreclosure. The
| companies will have to quit business as 1t
would be impossible to pay the fixed charges
with the remainder of the net earnings.
The sinking fund might bo swolled at
one end, but the government would have
a
on sGO,OOO0OO first mortgage bonds and big
| issue of land grant bonds, or stand from under
and let the bondholders have the property, or
else run the roads ITSELF and send another
hundred million or two after the good dollars
already invested.
| - a.
Ifa settlement could be forced to-day with
| the Pacific railroad companies the gov9fnment
would bo many millions the gaiuer, in all
human probability. If compelled to take and
run the roads the net investment would be less
than at any future time, II, on the other hand,
congress should wash its hands of the whole
business, pay out and clear up, the contribu.
ton to the national experience flind would be
materially less than 1t would foot up fourteen
| years hence. How the government Gun hope
to get out whole, or with any anything except
| Ing mere fng end of the capital invested is
1
first mortgage bonds which come in ahead of
the government are secured by the roads and
fixtures and the land grant bonds ore secured
| by the land grants. These bonds call for very
nearly all the property would bring The
| government is secured by whatever Is left
after everybody else takes everything in sight;
but bad off as the government is the holders
! of the Sl20,0O0000 stock are worse off, The
| government Is liable to lose all II has put in,
besides being obliged TO redeem the subsidy
bonds in ls9j-99 and ifthe government gets LEFT
the stockholders will have nothing to hold on
TO more substantial than the little end of
nothing. They can rejoice In the recollection
that they have received sil, rs 600 In dividends
on their stock, and that that money cannot be
taken away from them, although, as u matter
of fact. every dollar OF the money thus dis
trlbuted in the form Of dividends belongs to
the United States, and should now be in the
national treasury. The Sil 7l5,G0O represents
clear steal from the government The dividend
paying days of the Pacific railroads are over,
however, as the companies cannot borrow any
more money in the markets of the world for dis
| tribution among shareholders. That certain of
the shareholders can deludc themselves into the
faith that their stock has the slightest intrinsic
value merely serves to illustrate the gullibility
and blind hopcfulness Of human nature. To
make their stock worth anything they must
assume the debt of sl5s,O37,5i3 that weighs
down the Union Pacific and the debt of Sl6,-
AS, S0i owing by the Central Pacific, and men
who will attempt to carry such tremendous
loads must expect to fall by the wayslde
crushed under Il mountain weight.
"a
The Pacific companies have been disposng
oftheir land grants with all possible rapidity.
OF the Union Pacific grant OF about 81, 900, 900
acres S,OOO,0OO acres have been sold for s2l.-
100000. The Central Pacific has sold Goo, 600
acres of the 100000 acres embraced in its
grant for sG,l9O,42 The best land belong
ing to both companies has been sold, but there
isenough left to stock kingdom with real estate
of an indifferent sort
The reciprocity treaty between the United
States and Sandwich islands will be forced
upon the attention of congress by the jobbing
lobby again this winter and for succeeding
sessions. Whenever business gets slack, and
the whisky intercstsand the railroad interests
decline to be bled, the lobby puts up a job on
Carl Spreckels and assails the reciprocity
treaty, under whose beneficent provisions the
sugar king of the Pacific slope has made him
self n twenty millionaire in the last eight or
nine years This treaty allows Mr. Spreckels
|
in this country free of duty, and by reason
of the exceeding cheapness of labor on
these Islands he has been enabled to drive
southern and Cuban sugars out of the market
west of the Missouri river. Every year the
eastern sugar reiiners and the Louisiana sugar
planters combine to force the abrogation OF
the treaty, but Mr.. Spreckels succeeds in head.
ing them off and defeating their purpose, al
though tremendous influence Is brought to
bear upon congress by the opposition lobby.
Whether he viii be able to hold his own this
winter remains to be seen. Those who arc
familiar with the way things are done and not
done in congress say he will.
~
| American interests in Mexico are In the
gravest jeopardy. The native population
hates America and Americans with holy
hatred. They have never forgiven the Yankees
, for hogging the northern and big end of theii
territory after the Mexican war, and they hope
one day to be reyenged. The ambitious
money grabbing men who have been in con
troll Of the government for several years pas
are In danger of overthrow on account of theii
friendship for Americans and the Amer car
government, and If they should go the hun
dreds of millions ofAmerlcan dollars that have
gone into that region since 1872 will be swep
away-contiscated. The incoming admins
tration may find war on its hands. The
country will hardly feel like sitting quietl,
and allowing its enterprlsing citizens to b,
!. robbed on the wholesale by Il semibarbarou,
neighbor
r ~
A wise man has discovered that the figure
"22' occupy considerable space in Presiden
Clevelands history. To begin, there are Q
letters in his name. He was born on the pc
: day of the month, is the 22d president of tn,
United States executed q man on the 22d o
the month, and there are just % letters in Rev
, Mr.. Burchards celebrated alliteration
Army sCadet ~ Paw