Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-03-24

sums necessary TO oyertake and cancel said in
oebtedness at the date of maturity if invested in
sinking fund, with an interest accumulation
OF per cent semi-annualiy; that thereupon
the Treasurer of the company be and is hereby
authorized and required to commence such spe-
cial sinking fund by the first payment hereto on
or before the 1st of September next and to ar,-
ply like SIMS thereto on the LIST of September
and March thereafter by investing them, with
all accretion of interest thereon as it shall ma
ture, upon good and sufficient security to the
best advantage IS directed By the Finance Conn
mittee, 10 the end thatsuch remainder of the in
debtedness may be fully discharged and paid at
maturity from the proceeds OF sad sinking
fund.-
II made further provisions looking to the same
END which ] will not take up your time to read
now. Here we have the COMPANY asking Con
gress TO do the very thing which the company
Is blamed Tor not doing. and we have the com
pany, after Congress had refused to do it, Der
forming the act itself Doing, then, precisely
what these gentlemen now say they ought to
nave DONE II would have been more manly had
the Commission thrown the blame where il de-
served 70 rest.
THE THURMAN ACT.
The next important step was the Act of the
united states aorogating and setting aside the
action of the company. This was the passage OF
the Thurman bill You cannot fix upon the
company the responsibility for that absurd and
foolish action.
The company protested at every step against
the passage Of that measure and was denounced
for its protest. 1t fOresaw then what plainly is
evident, that such an Act could only result in
disaster. IL foresdw that as plainly as ! now
foresee that II you pass the measure submitted
by this Commission, the result Will be much
worse disaster. But the Thurman Act was
pressed as one in the interests of the people
and every man who dared to suggest that it was
as unwise and as foolish and as absurd as it sub
sequently proved 10 be, was denounced as the
corrupt friend of mon1polies.
AGAINST TIE CoMPANY's PROTEST.
The Government passed that Act against our
md 4Cfu
fund. IL has taken from our company money
which could have been invested and out OF
which millions could have been realized II
has placed the money in the Treasury of the
United States and as a result to-day it has been
q sinking fund i'll fact, because IL has been fast
sinking away. There are $500, coo less to-day IN
that fund, so far as availability is concerned
than we paid in, or in other words, if we had
taken the money and buried it in the earth
we would have been million dollars better off.
II we had invested that money as we invested
our other sinking funds, it would have in.
creased our other sinking funds. You forced
that Act upon US against our protest aud, in oul
Judgment, to-day II IS barrier against all fur
ther action of the United States.
1t altered and repealed the Acts of 1862 and
1854 in express terms 1t released us in eX
press terms from all obligations to make any
provision for the payment of the debt, and US
read that Act il does extend The time of nav
ment of the debt until it shall have been paid
out OF the proceeds of the money paid under
the Act.
senator trye-Mr. Raymond, If that be the
case, when VIII the Government be paid?
Mr. HaymOnd-Never SO far from the fnuC
accommodating, it is fading out of sight; but vol
passed the act You forced it upon u.s. IoI
declared 1t to be the hight of wisd N. YoI
ought not to beg out of it. / think | know some
thing of it myself l believe if had u creditor
within my power and should force him, agains
his will and against his judgment, to accep
conditions which he thought unjust and un
wise, would have too much manhood. when
found he was right and l was wrong to do a
the United States are doing to-day, plead the
baby act.
DETERMINED TO RESIST.
l assert here to-day that if the Government o
the United States is not bound and bound for
ever by that Act, it will be because this railroad
company relieves them from the responsibility
Whether the company will ever do it depends
tell you now, upon how the United States ma,
act. If the United States refuses to deal iustll
and equitably by us, if the United States stand
upon its bond and asks not only for the pounC
OF flesh but the blood that will follow, we arr
justified in the sight of God and men in inter
posing any shield that we can between ou
property and this attempted spoliation.
Make no mistake, gentlemen. The American
people have sense of justice exceeding that o
any people that ever lived, and they will in tn,
end place the blame and the responsibility
where 1t belongs. They like open and fair deal
lngs. You may deceive them for a time, but IL
the end never.
UNPERFORMED DUTIES.
New let us go back again for moment, be
cause there is much in this subject-more,
fear. than will ever be able to get before you
considering the fact that Senators of the United
States are overworked, and that your duties re
Quire you to attend to other things.
said in the beginning that we had dis
charged all our obligations. You have dis
charged none of yours. If you had patented t,
us the lands which you promised to patent, anC
had allowed us to sell them, we would hav,
had the money in our treasury drawing inter
est, and would have had an asset which woulC
vQ far I'd CHI fha
debt.
You solemnly promised that if we would &C
cept the contract you rendered Us, if we woulC
take your deprecated currency and build yol
a railroad to be used for your lawful purpose
in time Of war and in time of peace, that as sool
rs we accepted the contract and marked on
lines upon the ground, you would survey tn
lands, and that as fast as we completed section
of forty miles you would issue to US the patent
for these lands.
SURVEYS NOT MADE.
Twenty-six years have rolled their lengtl
along since you made this promise. Nearl
twenty years have elapsed since we completes
the last foot of that road. l point this commit
tee 70 a map issued last year by the Land De
partment OF this Government, upon which ar
marked all OF the surveys of the United States
That map stands as Il witness of this broker
promise for the Government has never evel
surveyed the lands. Worse than that you hav
accused us of refusing to take out patents
You have permitted to go abroad, without con
tradiction, that for the purpose of evadin
taxation, we have refused to take patents. W
have nothing to do under the law. with takin
patents You contracted with us to survey tn
land. You solemnly agreed with us that when
ever we completed forty consecutive miles O
road, at that hour and in that instant you woul,
issue and deliver to us these patents. InStea
of doing that your Land Office has surrounde,
the applications for patents with such difficult
and imposed upon us such burdens as to max
the very grant itself worthless.
1t was your duty, upon the completion Of eacl
nj h-fVN han Mt
ents for that land, and there is not Court il
Chrisyendom that, as you attempt to despoil u
of property, will not make you answer for tina
broken condition.
If A agrees upon the certain performance of
thing by b TO convey property to him, it is hi
duty TO make that conveyance The Court vii
refer him to that duty, and If he neglects for
time the Court Will not only enforce the convey
ance but will compel him to pay damages an
if the conveyance Is impossible, or if such
length OF time has elapsed that it vii
not amount To performance of tn
Obligation in its spirit, then the Coul
will compel him to answer him in damages
But we have done more than this. We have al
tempted to com ly with all the frivolous an
ridiculous regulations which the Land Depart
ment of this Government has thrown aroun
u.s. We were required by these Acts a
amended, to pay for the surveying of this land
wherever the Secretary of the Treasury Depart
ment demanded that we should do SO. He neve
has made the demand, but we have paid for tn
survey. We have received no patent in tire
years We nave aIpllCAIlOuS there now 10
patents on snrveYedland covering nearly mill
ion of acres.
USIssUED PATENTS
When this investigation was had in Califor
mia, Mr.. Mills, the General Land Agent OF tn
Central Pacific Company. in charge of that de
partment, was called as a witness and testifie,
TO AL these things. The records of the Govern
nnent show il. He testified further that it woul,
take the Land Department of the Government
at the same rate al which it was doing bushes
then, $50 years 20 examine the cases and issu
the patents upon the lands that we had applied
for. OF course. that is a long time to wait, bu
We have been very patient We. perhaps, wen
willing 10 wait.
Since have been in the city of Washington
see by the papers that Senator Cockrell ant
some of his associates have made a report il
which they STATE that the affairs of the Genera
Land Office have been so maladministratei
during the last few years that that Department
of the Government has virtually ceased to exist
As reported in the newspapers the statement o
that committee is that the affairs of the Depart
ment are in a chaotic condition. suppose tina
means that they have been resolved into thei
original elements; that darkness covers the fac
of the waters there.
To wait 100 years for patents for million
acres of land would be a long time to wait, bu
even that hope which was held out to us ha
faded away.
CONCLUSION.
The clock admonishes me that the time is a
hand for your adjournment, although l am jus
beginning to enter upon this discussion. hav
taken up much of your time, and yet the broaG
field still lies before me.
Again beg your patient consideration. for
II not alone money, but honor and integrity ar
involved here. The vindication ! have prom
;.ad voi1 will no full comDlete and triumDhaOt