The Washington critic., 1886-06-19
AN ILLusORy SCHEME.

The inducement held out by the
overland railroad companies for the
passage Of their pet measure to extend
the time for paying their debt to the
Government is that they will give adj
ditional security by conscnting to an
extension Of the present lien on the
trunk line to all the branch lines. lu
asmuch as these branch lines are al.
ready heavily laden with mortgages.
and were built in part out of the very
resources which should now be laid
away for the purpose of meeting the
Government loan, 1t is brassy per
formance to make such proposition.
A private creditor would in such a case
have asked court of equity to prevent
such O waste of the debtors resources,
or to decree that the addition to the
estate should not be allowed to Inn
povcrish the original security. The
court would have either prevented the
construction OF the branch roads or
would have extended the Governments
lien to them.
The statesmen who are all with1one
accord fird,ng reasons for supporting
3his new demand of these fat corpora
Aions, will do well to look before they
leap. There is nothing in the bill
now pending which would prevent the
branch lines from being saddled with
new mortgages for untold amounts at
any time prior to the acceptance by
the companies Of the terms Of the pro-
posed settlement Has this occurred
tB. any of The new railroad recruits?
tits absurd to suppose that there is a
mile Of railroad in the United States
.g.ch is not already bonded as well as
stocked up TO highwater mark.
The Overland railroads are of course
like sucked oranges, but the hope that
y few more sucked oranges will be of
any use in securing the payment Of the
Governments claim against them will
surely prove illusory.
The only practical way to settle
ment would be through suits to compel
the managers to disgorge some of the
wealth which they have accumulated
solely by bleeding the roads on which
the Government had lien.
The facility with which the great
corporation cormorants have secured
the right OF way for their measure in
the House, does not promise well for
any amendment that will afford real
xrnta,tinp IN tha ~ Nuorpnnpt
On WHAT BASIS of right or reason
does Congress allow its members
upper and lower branch) mileage
rate of 20 cents mile? For short dis
tances this eXtravagant figure does not
amount to much. but on long distances
II counts up to almost criminal eX-
travagance. Take, for instance, the
rate to the Pacific slope. The entire
expense of making that trip both ways
for one person need not exceed $500
including the best of everything, yet
the Government allows 81 200 and up,
wards. Why should it? On what
ground is q Congressman allowed to
make from 5000 to 81 900 on two,
weeks run? The galliest man in the
Capitol. il allowed to present bill for
his personal expenses, when not travel
ing officially, would not dare to run
the figures up to the present legal al
lowance. If he did 1t would cost him
his seat as soon as the people Of hi'
district were apprised of the facts. If
therefore, there exists such dis
crepancy between facts and right, why
Is it allowed to exist2 A fair mileage
rate, actual necessary expenses, coult
not be objected to, but the present 90
cent rate is an extravaganza tha
paralyzes Jeifersonian simplicity ant
makes Democratic economy delusioi
and snare.
AN EDITORIAL article appears In tn
New York Star of Thursday rejecting
in terms Of great severity upon tn
street railway corporations Of Washing
ton as being grasping, unprincipleC
and autocratic monopolies. The oppo
sition of these comDanies to new rail