St. Paul daily globe., 1888-03-04

| ing laws afforded complete, adequate
and speedy remedy. Instead of hang
ing the victim first and trying the ques-
ton of his guilt or innocence after
wards, it would be better to try the
question first and punish or
not see the necessity Of en-
cumbering the statutes with page after
page of legislation when better result
could be accomplished by single
section, the necessity of loading a Col
| umbian to shoot a canvas back. He
| then proceeded with legal argument,
in which he contended that under the
terms of the contract between the Union
| Pacific company and the Western Union
company, vested right had been
created which could not, under the de-
cision of the supreme court, III the
| Union Pacific sinking fund case be i'll
terfered with by congressional action.
He wished, he said, to present some
statistics in regard to the Western
| Union Telegraph company-this ogre,
this octopus giganticus, this devil-hsh-
which has been brought before the bar
of the house for condemnation for hav-
ing preyed upon the blood of the
country and sapped its vitals. Those
statistics covered twenty years, and
showed that while in 1867 the Western
Union had wires enough to go three
times round the globe, and made
an average charge per message OF
| S1.04, in 1887, it wires could
encircle the world twenty-one times,
and the average rate per message was
80 cents. No other country, he said,
| enjoyed such facilities for telegraphing.
AS to cost, the figures showed that tele-
graphy was really cheaper than in
| INT afa in nd
| for $50 miles was 8S cents for twenty
| two words: the rate from jacksonville,
Fla, to Oregon-the longest district in
this country was $1.21 for ten words of
message and the entire address and sig
nature. Mr.. Belden, of New York,
asked why it was that higher rate was
charged between Washington and Cort-
land, N. Y, tAan to Syracuse, more
distant point? Mr.. White replied that
that was q matter of interstate COM
merce. Mr.. Belden replied that the
| fact was that the Western Union raised
rates within week after opposition
ceased. Mr.. White said he had statls-
ties at haud to answer for him, and upon
them he was willing to rest. In conclu-
sion, he said that
HE WAS HERE TO PROTEST
against anarchc and communistic legis-
| Iation, which would seek to legiSlate
away the property of a man acquired
honorably and honestly under the forms
of law. Mr.. Symes, of Colorado, said
that the purpose of the bill was merely
to compel the subsidized railroads to
comply with the conditions and pro-
visions of the grants creating them.
The contracts between the Union and
Central Pacific Railroad companies and
Al al
were void ah lnitio, and no lawyer in
America knew it better than the gentle
man from New York (White) They
were at the time they were made, and
| they still were, in direct violation of the
| express provisions of the statutes, and
| the grants creating the Pacific railroad
| and telegraph companies and were in
| violation Of public policy and against
public law. There were numerous
authorities to show that all
pooling contracts, with certain limita-
tions were void, and no contract could
be enforced if it's conditions were
against the general good. The contracts
under consideration had been made
with the object and intention of defeat
| ing every substantial requirement OF
the grants. After Jay Gould and his
ring had conducted the Union Pacific as
| it he had walked Off, leaving the COM
pany bankrupt and taking with him
| among the assets the telegraph lines,
with which he levied discriminating
| tribute from the people west of the Mis-
| souri, river. Mr.. Dockery, of Missouri,
said that under the granting acts the
| Pacific companies were required to con-
struct not only railroad lines but also
| telegraph lines. Instead of doing so
| they had assumed to diveSt themselves
of their obligations by contract with
the Western Union Telegraph com
pany, comforting upon that COM
pany the exclusive right of
way along the railroad lines. The acts
of congress requiring that the telegraph
| lines along the Pacific railroads should
receive all business without discrlmina,-
| ton were nullified by this unlawful
contract with the Western Union COM
pany. Upon these unlawful contracts
| the gentleman from New York (Mr.
| White) had erected superstructure OF
vested rights. The very language of the
| contracts showed that the railroad COM
panieS had no right to enter into them.
| He did not share in the unreasoning
| prejudices which were manifested in
some quarters against corporations. But
| the people had rights which the corpor
ations must respect. The danger to
corporations lay in their disposition to
overleap the confines of statute law and
set at defiance the will OF the people.
Vaulting ambition was liable to over
leap itself, and Jay Gould had better
take cogniZance of that fact.
THE PEOPLE HAD RIGHTS,
and if trod upon might go to extremes.
The people of the United States were
| patient, but their representatives upon
| this floor, without distinction, had thus
| far in the conduct of this debate mani
| tested disposition to put bit and
| bride ON further encroachments of the
| Western Union company. Jay Gould
| and the other managers OF that COM
pany must no longer attempt to evade
| the statute law, but must bow in grace
full Difference to the will of the people.
! Competition was essential to the highest
| and best interests of the whole people,
| and If necessary (he believed it to be
necessary the power of that govern
| people that perfect equality, without
| discrimination, which was the very basis
upon which rested the whole fabric of
our institution. The pending bill was
an initiative measure OF reform
which speaking to Jay Gould,
said in no uncertain tone:
"Thus far shalt thou go and no farther"
Monopoly was plant of foreign growth.
1t was an un-American, unrepubllcan
growth, and should not be allowed to
take root in American soil. He
! desired to appeal to no predJu-
dice in the discussion of this question,
| but he was in earnest about this propO-
sition, that no one man in this country.
although he was worth $30,000,0U0,
should dominate the country and sue
ceed in his attempt at universal mon
opoly. Let congress pass this bill and
say to Mr.. Gould that if ne did business
in this country he must do iton business
principles. recognizing the right of com
petitors to exist, and that though his
millions might be invoked in behalf of