The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-12
PACIFIC FUNDING BILLS.
CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS BEFORE
THE COMMITTEE.

No Justification of the Past, but
Promise to Do Right in the Future
He Thinks the Committee More
severe Than Private Bankers Would
Have Been.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11.-Charles Francis
Adams. President of the Union Pacific Rail
wav Company, appeared before the Honse
Committee on Pacific Railroads to-day, and
arnlajned the attitude of that company to-
ward the funding bills pending before the
commission. Generally he favored the bill
with a few,slight amendments intended to
relieve the striking features Mr.. Adams
smoke an hour and a half. He be-
gan his statemeVt with a re-
minder to the committee that he
had appeared at its invitation, and said that
be did not come to make any extended re-
marks for the reason that he had made a
statement to the committee two years ago,
which. in it's essential features, he had seen
no occasion to revise. Meanwhile the bust
ness had become two years older and was a
matter of which not only the country, but
Congress and the press had become some
what weary. 1T is an old story, gone over
dd nausedm," said Mr.. Adams.
COMING DOWN TO THE PRESENT.
He did not intend to go over it again, but
would simply refer the committee to the
enormous record which exists, and which
has been increased by six or seven volumes
of the report of the Investigating commits
sion, He proposed to pass that over as
sufficiently investigated, and come directly
down to the point where the commission
had left the business 1t had left it in the
Z lie
He had read Chairman OuthWalte'S bill
which was before the committee. This
was, it seemed to him, purely practical
question. So far as matters that had taken
place in the past were concerned, he would
make no attempt to justify them, but so
far as the future was concerned, he had
made every effort to do right. Touching
the recommendation of the commission he
said. on the part of the company he repre-
sented, that it appeared that the commits
sion in its report and conclusions had en-
deavored to be just and reasonable.
CALLED SEVERE.
They had not come to the same conclu-
sions that foreign banking houses, such as
the Rothschilds or Barings, to which the
company owed large sums of money, would
have come under like circumstances. The
terms and restrictions which the commits
sion had imposed upon the Union Pacific had
/ been more severe and rigid than would be
imposed by banking house which wished
merely to get back its money. One of the
greatest difficulties in the way of the ad-
justment of the railroad company's affairs
was mistake for which the company was
in no way responsible. His attention had
first been called to it by John Sherman,
who, when they were travelling together in
4 Oregon one day, had surprised him by ask
ing why it was that in the case of the Pa
cific railroad loans, of all the loans made
| during the last war, the government had
deviated from its financial policy of obtain
ing an option of redemption. This was
probably due to the fact that the loan had
been arrang, - the Pacific Railroad Com
pany, not by the Finance Committee, where
the other loans .\A-a originated. If a re-
demption feature h1. been inserted in this
particular case, the 6 per cent. bonds could
have been replaced years ago by a 3
per cent. loan and the whole difficulty
between the government and the Pacific
railroads could have been solved Mr..
Adams said he wished to correct an impress
sion which had been conveyed through the
press and otherwise, not particularly com
plimentary to himself, which had taken the
form of language to the effect that he was
respectable figure head. He declared that
Hpce he had been President of the Union
Pacific he had managed the affairs of the
company absolutely, and had been respon-
sible for everything done or not done.
He had never been hampered, restricted or
overruled. When the time came that the
government saw fit to reject his policy and
recommend action it would signify that he
had lost its confidence, that his usefulness
was past and that he must retire.
THE SENATE'S SPECIAL COMMITTEE.
The Senate's special Pacific Railroad
Committee held preliminary meeting this
morning and voted to enter first upon an
Investigation of Union Pacific matters. 1t
decided to begin its hearings Feb. 25 and to
invite the Pacific Railroad Commissioners
and Gen. Johnston, Commissioner of Rail
roads, to appear on that day. 1t will bring
the commission bills before the Senate Mon
Day in order to have them printed for the
use Of the committee.