Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-12-02
WASHINGTON VIKINGS.
The Government and Union
Pacific Railroads.
MUTUAL RELATIONS OF THE TWO.
Executive and Legislative Notes,
Monthly Public Debt
Statement.
Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD

Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, November 30.-The Gov.
ernment Directors of the Union Pacific
Railroad, in their annual report to the
Secretary OF the Interior, under date Of
November 10, 1888, say they have as.
sumed as premise now beyond the
scope of discussion, the necessity of an
adjustment between the Government
and the railroad company, for the pay.
ment of the funds heretofore advanced
as subsidy for building the road.
"Those moneys will be DUE" says the
report, "by the terms of the agreement
between the parties, in few years, and
it is now manifest that the road is moi
now, and will not then be in condition
tosatisfy its obligations 1t is equally man.
ifest should such an adjustment will moi
be effected, that the Government will be
compelled to take possession of the road
and operate it. The result is so full o.
dangers and embarrassments and diff
culties that it should not be allowed tc
enter into the discussion, except as last
unavoidable solution of a problem moi
otherwise to be solved"
The Government directors are etill O.
the opinion that it will be better for the
United States to lose every dollar of its
debt, aud execute a release to the com
pany, than to undertake the duties of 6
common carrier of goods and passen
gers, thereby establishing a preceden
which would surely create mischief fal
beyond the benefits to be reaped from &c
hazardous an experiment.
"It must be clear, too," says the re-
port, that every year that is allowed tt
pass without the liquidation and settle
ment Of the debt, increases to serious
extent the difficulties of the situation
The debtor company is necessarily under
a disadvantage, compared with it's un
fettered rivals. 1t owes large debt tt
the supreme power of the land; it can
not deal at arms length with its creditor
for the ordinary considerations tina
operate, as between individuals or cor
porations, do not, at least may not, appl,
when settlement is finally to b.
made"
1.-The question between it and tht
Government" the report says, "are t.
be passed upon and determined by
large body of men coming from differen
parts of the country, actuated, it may bs
in some instances, by the fullest pref
dice founded upon imperfect knowledge
or distorted representation of facts. o.
not infrequently by the conviction tha
some punitory measures should bt
adopted against corporation, even q
the risk of diminishing its ability tt
respond. That body of men meet only
at intervals, and it's attention is generally
engrossed with other more importan
subjects upon which legislation il
urgently demanded. These and othel
elements of uncertainty embarrass thu
movements OF the company and paralyz
it's freedom of action"
''It is as important to the Government
as to the company" says the report
''that all necessary liberty should b,
given the managers of the corporation Il
develop the resources upon which the
future solvency of the road must depend
1t is not possible that railroad com
pany, situated as is the Union Pacific
shall remain any considerable length o
time in the same condition. 1t mus
move in one direction or the other; i
must improve or deteriorate.'
The Government directors assume tha
some settlement should now be made
and commend the conclusions of tht
majority report of the Commission ap
pointed under the act of March 8, 1887
as sound, judicious and practical
and they earnestly hope that they
will meet the approval of Con
gress. BY adopting these conclu
sions they are of the opinion that the
Government will secure it's claim beyont
reasonable risks. 1t is liable, they as
sert, to be placed in such shape as tt
make enforcement of interest, and every
year in the future will make the ulti
mate payment of the principal more
probable.
Concluding their report, the Govern
ment Directors say, so far as they have
been able to ascertain, the Union Pacific
has been in the past year managed will
fidelity and intelligence. Everything
has been done that could reasonably be
expected to keep the road in the line O.
improvement and satisfy the Just re-
quirements of the Government.
The report is signed by A. G. Haskell
M. A. Hanna, F. r. Coudert, Franklin
Mac Veagh and S. w. Savage, Govern
ment Directors.
WASHINGTON WIRINGS.