The Labor enquirer., 1884-11-01

| FarnsWorth, Of Illinois e. B. WASH
tburne fought it from the beginning, and
even at the last moment moved tostrike
out the most objectionable section. That
vote, which was ths test. vas the only
lone upon which the yeas and nays were
recorded. Prominent among those who
voted against the Washburne amend
ment was Mr. Blaine, Of Maine. Voting
in favor of striking out were Represents
tives Holman, Herman. Boutwell,, Dawes,
both the latter prominent Republicans,
but Mr., BIaine's voice and vote we're for
the bill as it came from the Senate. The
Washburne amendment was rejected by
q vote of 81 yeas to 81 nays.
Congress by this bill had given the
promoters of the Pacific railway enter
prise all that they asked They wanted
tno more legislation. All they needed
was to be protected in what they had
and to this end the efforts of the COM
panies. their attorneys, their agents and
corruptionists were for the next ten
years directed.
For purposes of convenience we have
aggregated the Pacific railway subsidies,
under the acts of 1852 and 1864, under
one head. As they came from Congress
! they were divided thus: Union Pacific,
$27 ,236, 900; Central Pacific, s25,ss5, 40;
Western Pacific. $l97O,56o The men
who were at the head of the Union Pa
| lcific enterprise were T. G. Durant, Cakes
Ames, Oliver Ames and kind of secret
syndicate of Boston capitalists, acting
through Cakes Ames. At the San Fran
cisco end, leading the Central and West
ern Pacific enterprises were Leland STAN
ford, c. P. Huntington. Stanford. at the
time this legislation was being procured,
was governor of California. He was the
first republican governor of that state,
an intense Union man, an ardent be-
lieYer in the destiny of the Pacific coast
and warm personal friend and political
adviser of President Lincoln. Years be-
| fore they had formed friendship at the
East, which was preserved through the
trying times of the rebellion, and to a
man of Mr. Lincoln's simple nature the
rugged, stalwart force of Stanford's char
acter appealed. The presidents sigma
ture to the bill of 1864 was procured by
Stanford's personal influence with Mr..
Lincoln-that was his task. He secur ID
it Oh his simple assurance that it was a
great and patriotic measure, and one
needed in the interests of the Pacific
coast.
/ 1t is unnecessary at this time to give
recital of the details of the great
scheme by which the people were rob-
bed of nearly $1oO,OO0,OOO by Ames,
Huntington. Croker and others through
connivance with congress The inyesti-
cations of the house judiciary committee
in 1875 brought much that was horrify-
ing to the public to light, and their re-
port on the Credit Mobilier is not yet
forgotten by the thinking people of the
nation. To give an idea of the magni-
tude Of the steal we. have but to mention
that the fortunes of Stanford, Crocker,
Huntington, and the widow of Mr.. Hop.
kins are estimated at from S20,0O0,0 900
to S30,O00,O00 each. When Mark Hop
kins few years ago died with an
estate valued at $30,OO0,0OO, Messrs.
Stanford and Crocker each iusti-
| fed on his widows bond as
-executrlx for $50,0O0,O00. The landed
possessions alone of these people in Cali
fornis is almost incalculable. They are
close-mouthed, but their joint wealth is
well represented by the difference be-
tween the cost of the building that rail
road and the amount which the benefice
of the government allowed them to capi-
talize it at. And yet, in 1864, whenSMr.
Blaine voted for their bill Crocker was
aretail dry goods merchant in Sacra-
mento, worth perhaps $4,000. Mr..
Stanford was dependent upon his salary
as Governor, and Messrs. Huntington
and Hopkins were hardware merchants,
selling plows to farmers and tools to
miners, The joint capital and credit of
the whole lot would not aggregate $780,
600. Not one of them but has since
then spent more than that sum for dia-
monds and horses
The limits of small newspaper will
not permit an article great enough to
give all the figures showing the extent
ofthe great robbery.both in construction
and afterwards in operating the road.
1t is enough to say that from. the pas
sage of the act of 1864 until 1878, peri
cd of fourteen years, neither road had
ever repaid one cent of its indebteness
to the government, save. by the small
sums Withheld for militay transportation,
and that their Joint Indebtedness amoun-
ted to 500, 100000 of bonds and 500, ,953,-
sos of accrued interest Neither coms
pany seemed to be preparing to meet
this obligation in 1884, "n the contrary,
twas growing larger and larger each
year. The old Union Pacific crowd had
long since scattered The Credit MobiHar
"a
Investigation, with its exposures of cor
ruption in high place, broke the heart of
Oakes Ames and he died. The enor-
nous quantities of bonds and stock is