Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-03-19
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC.
Senator Stanford and Creed Haymon
Before the Senate COMMITTEES,

Senator Stanford and Creed Raymond
Before the Senate Committee.
WASHINGTON. March 1Sth.-Senator STAN
ford yesterday appeared before the Senate
Special Committee, to which was referred
the reports of the Pacific Railway Commits
sion. He said that the Government had
reaped from the Central Pacific all the ad-
vantages any one ever expected it would
| reap, and now it had poor debtor to deal
With. 1t was question now whether the
Government would deal as generously as
| individual creditors would under like cir
| cumstances. There was an impression that
the road had delayed having its land grants
surveyed in order to evade the taxes. Asa
matter OF fact there has been no time when
the road was not ready to pay for them,
! but the Land Department would not survey
| them. Any burden now put on this road
must fall upon the people of Nevada and
ulah, who are already paying fair charges
! for services
The Senator told graphically the familiar
| story of the construction and completion of
| this line. He said the Government had
loaned its credit To the extent of S27 600 ,000,
and the company had issued bonds TO q like
amount. The Government bonds had been
sold at discount bringing it but little
over S2O,OO0,0O0, and the company's bonds
had brought little less than this sum. All
| the money so realized had been expended
! IN the construction of the road. 1t would
be seen that the wild stories that q hundred
millions had been made out of the Gov
| eminent were without foundation The
road was completed seven years before The
limit in time was reached. and before that
limit was reached the Government had
saved more in reduced charges for the
| transportation of its mail and troops than
It's entire Investment.
COMPETING LINES
The road was conspicuous success and
it could easily have paid of It's debt to the
| Government had not the latter by its own
act, fostered competing lines which divided
| lis business. He did not suppose any one
| expected the Govern ent bonds to be paid
at maturity. The first mortgage bonds were
due at the same time those of the Govern
| ment were due. The company's sinking
fund TO meet the first mortgage bonds now
amounted to 100000. Every dollar of
this made the Government security so much
| the better. The amount standing to the
credit of the road now in the treasury was
actually $780, 900 less than the amount paid
| In, by reason of investments in Government
| bonds at high premiums. The Government
in all its other dealings had sold its bonds
| tor what 1t could get, losing itself whatever
might be the discount. Yet the Central
Pacific had sold the Governments bonds at
! a discount and now was asked to paw their
face value. 1t might be said that the road
! issued large amount of stock. So 1t did,
but this did not affect anybody but the
share holders. If this Government debt
was paid the Government would have saved
over 500, 100000 profits of The road which
were derived not from the Government but
Solely from the values the road had created.
| GREED HAYMOND'S ARGUMENT
General Counsel Raymond, of the Cen
trail Pacific, followed Senator Stanford. He
said the Central Pacific could not, in honor,
state what it was willing to do as long as
the responsible men were resting under
| charges affecting their character. They
| simply appealed now to demand of the
committee an investigation of these
charges. Later, when the committee
| should acquit the managers of all wrongful
acts, the road would state what it would do
He said that in no single instance had the
road failed in It's obligations to the Gov
eminent or people, and declared that since
1862, in no single instance, from the be-
ginning to the end, has the Government
performed faithfully one single obligation
| that 1t entered into with the road He de-
! clared the Thurman Act was failure. as
| everybody knew it would be.
Senator Frye asked when, under the
Thurman Act, the companys Indebtedness
would be paid.
Never" rejoined Colonel Haymond;
and why" he asked, g should it be paid
| OFF,"
If the company owed hundred million
to the United States the thing to be argued
was to wipe it all out. Not one dollar ought
| to be collected. 1t was question of lew
| ing tax upon a local community to paw
obligations which the United States had
! entered into to save the Union with.
Take your Thurman Act" he said, and
let us give you so many thousand dollars
a year. and let us perform the services that
we are required to perform
| Senator Hiscock declared that he did not
see the force of the argument. An inventor
! whose invention had been disposed of to
the Government might as well make an
equitable claim against the Government
for the incidental benefits which accrued
to the citizens from its adoption.
! THE COAST AND THE UNION,
Colonel Raymond maintained that the
| road had been constructed to keen the Pa
| cific coast in the Union. Had those States
| gone out the Union would surely have per-
ished. Now the debt must be paid by the
| people at non competitive points, and there
were but few of these left. If this tax
was put upon the road it must be paid by
| the people of small portion of the coun-
| try, and there would, he assured the COM
mittee, be trouble. Twenty-four months
would not elapse before these people would
| be here, and they would be heard
The committee adjourned to a week from
! tomorrow, when Colonel Raymond will
conclude his argument