Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-21
c. P. HUNTINGTON INTERVIEWED.
his Views Regarding the Texas Pacific
Land Grant.


Land Grant.
[By Telegraph
WASHINGTON. January 19;h.-Yesterdsy
G. Z. Huntington sppesred before the Com
mittee on Public Lands and made an argu-
ment against the forfeiture of the land granted
to the California and Oregon Railroad Com.
pany. He left last night for New York, but
before going away was interviewed. In the
course of conversation Huntington said the
Southern Pacific Company proposed to hold
on to the Texas Pacific grant of Il, 000, 600
acres, as he had the opinions of four of the
sblest lawyers in the United States that the
land belonged to the company, and that no.
body could take away it without paying for it.
IF Congress declares the grant forfeited 5"
he said, it will merely keep the matter in
the Courts for a few years and prevent the
land from being settled upon. This would
injure the territories through which the
Southern Pacific runs more than it will the
railway company"
In answer to the question whether Con-
gress would pass a forfeiture of the bill,
Huntington said mot if these youngsters
stop to think about it. This country is not
ready yet to override all vested rights. The
equities are all with US, and the law is with
us. We have earned that grant. 1t was
made to the Texas Pacific Company, or its
beSlBu66t, Oh CUEulLlOu luaL IL Dullu Iub EUdu
over certain land in certain time. We are
the sssignees of the Texas Pacific. We have
built the road over that line, and we built it
within specified time. To be sure, they say
[ said l would build the road without any
grant, but that makes no difference. No,
the Government didn't accept any such prop
osition from me. If the Government had
told me to go on and build the road without
any grant, and had brought me contract,
perhaps | would have signed it ard perhaps
l wouldn't What l say l could or would do
has nothing to do with the matter. You
can't make a trade without there are two
parties to it. There's ne equitable reason,
no Just reason, no financial reason for trying
to forfeit that grant. There is not any
political reason for doing it, except, may be,
in some very small kind of politics"
Don't you think the publication of those
letters of yours will have a bad effect on Con-
gress and make the passage of the bill forfeit
ing your grant more fav0rable?"
" [ don't believe it. At any rate, there was
nothing in those letters that [ want to take
back or apologize for. If l wanted to write
them now l would speak differently of some
men, because l know them better now than /
did then but don't want to change a word
in them. They were reflex of that day and
expressed my feelings at that time, and l
think there are some pretty good things in
them"
Mr. Huntington took on a very cheerful
expression as he continued "Four men came
to me about those letters at different times
before they were published They said they
were friends of mine; that they had not got
the letters, but they thought .hey could get
them. l told these men it would be good
idea for them to get the letters. They said it
would cost something, they supposed. l said
[ thought they could make something out of
them. Even if they had to pay something
for them, they were good spicy letters, and
probably somebody would like to buy them.
Then these friends of mine got closer TO me
and explained l was to buy them. The
devil, said [ what do I want of the let
tiers? Why, wrote them L know what's
in them; let some one who has not had them
buy them. There's lots Of good things, lots
OF spic3s5n them" Then Mr.. Huntington
said, seriously: "No, don't believe these
letters have done me any hurt; l rather think
they will do me good. l have had half
dozen letters about them from men il Cal
ifornia, not exactly friends Of mine, but men
know, who say there are many good things
il the letters"
Huntington said he did not think Congress
would pass the interstate commerce bill this
session, and in response to question whether
he would take part in the discussion of the
measure, said Il don't think | shall. l
have been fighting here in Washington for
twenty years now, and when this interstate
commerce business came up, [ said l should
stand idle and let the fighting be done by
some other fellows, and who have dollars in
interest where 1 have mills. Let the Penn
sylvania Railroad, for instance, or the New
York Central, do some fighting. Why, the
New York Central does more business in a
day than the Central Pacific does in a week
1t is more interested than we."
viii not all these things have the effect
of depreciating tee value of railroad prop
erty?'
"They have done 80. There has been con-
siderable shrinkage during the past year. but
think it is about over. We are at the low
est point. and 1 shall look for rise in values
rather than fall. Prices are like the tide
there's low tide and high tide. But it
don't cause me any anxiety; l never specu-
late. l never bought anything l didn't paw
for, and 1 never sold anything I didn't
own"