Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-10

phia, to Broad street; but they did not pay a
cent for the occupation Of the mall at Wash
ington. Not one cent,
BULLDozlNG BUSINESS MEN.
Continuing he said: Now, gentlemen have
said that the southern brethren were interested
in the passage of this bill for the reason that
the fast freight, the perishable freight. from
the southern states coming north was blocked
by the local freight here. That is not the fact;
not a bit of it. The through freight does not
or need not leave the main tracks or enter the
freight yards at all. The assertion is railroad
CANNON and solely for effect on the House.
My attention happened to be called to this
question before the House met in December,
at which time allegations were made of the re-
tusal by the company to handle the freight.
The Baltimore and Ohio was in it just the same
as the Pennsylvania road and both companies
withheld cars from Washington shippers. OF
course the company deniesi it. A very reputable
gentleman In the employ of the company de-
MED that to me, but then the Pennsylvania
Company employs a great many agents, and it's
right hand never knows what its left hand is
doing. so that no one Of them can tell what the
rest have done.
Il saw letters from a dozen men who had cor
responded with lumber dealers in this city, and
found out that dealers in Virginia or North
Carolina who were there engaged in the manu-
facture of lumber could obtain cars and ship
them to Baltimore and Philadelphia through
Washington without the slightest delay, when
they could not obtain a car Mt all to ship lumber
to Washington. and there were hundreds ofsuch
cases. The railroad company was setting itself
up as a bulldozer for the purpose of forcing
the business men of this city into such a reali-
cation Of their weakness against the power of
the corporation as would compel them to use
their influence with Congress to secure such
legislation as the company might want. There
can be no greater outrage than that. This COM
pany Is occupying public property that is worth
millions of money.
1.-The depot of the Pennsylvania Company
on the mall anywhere else would cost 81, OOO.-
600 III such a city as Washington. They say to
the lumber and other merchants of Washing
ton: You shall not have lumber from the
south. We will not bring you lumber from the
north; but We will carry lumber from the
south, and between the south and Philadelphia
and not permit you to get it I made an in
vestigatlon of that myself ana saw the letters:
and all the railroad men in the employ of the
Pennsylvania Company may deny that as much
as they want 10. saw letters which satisfied
me that it was q fact, and | never saw any
righteousness i'll Il railroad Con. pany yet which
would prevent them from being devilish if it
paid. The gentleman from Missouri tMr.
Heard disposed of this charge by saying that
the company would not allow cars that were
worth 20 a day to stand idly on their tracks.
oh, no: they would not do that unless they
made more money by doing it.
Here is a bill worth to them in solid cash
SIC, 600. 600 as you read it today, anu what it will
amount to in years to come no one knows.
They could very well afford to allow their five
dollar cars to lie idle for some days"
MR.. M'coMAs' SPEECH.
Mr.. McComas was yielded time by Mr.. Ander-
son. when ] served several years ago on the
District committee" he said, this same ques-
ton was before that committee, as it has been
every y ear since, but l think it has never hap
pened befofe in Congress that there has been
,,al f-4.L - "A
railroad company as We have here now in this
bill and in this map. This railroad company
first reached across the mall and girdled this
great public park between the White House
and the Capitol building, tying up that
great public park about the center like a bag
of meal tied in the middle. They went there
by permission and under a charter which con-
templated that the arrangement should be
temporary and that they should fall back when
required. But, Mr.. Chairman. instead of fall
ing back from the reservation, Congress has
been unable to drag them back from that pub
lie park, wherein they ought never to have
been admitted"
Mr.. Blount-I wish to ask the gentleman
whether it is not a fact that in 1872 Congress
expressly authorized the building OF "a depot
where the Baltimore and Potomac depot now
is, without any conditions as to its future re-
mOval.
Mr.. McComas-I think my friend will find,
either i'll that bill or very soon after, a provis-
ion looking to to the restoration of that pro-
perry public use and compensation for the
building whenever Congress desired to take it.
MIR. Biount-I do not find it in this bill.
Mr.. McCOmas-I think the gentleman will
ind 1t either in that bill or in one that was
passed soon after. But, Mr.. Chairman, this
company has not only remained upon the res
ervation. but they have gone further: they
have laid they tracks on the southern side OF
the Capitol and have increased them all the
while; they have gone across the mall, along
the streets on the other side of it. and have
occupied the middle of those streets so as to
deprive the public of their use; and now that
they have been indicted because of their mis-
use of the streets, avenues ana squares that are
marked in red upon this map, what they do?
Why, they come to Congress and ask for
the passage of q bill by which they shall be
fortified in the holding of the property which
they thus guilty occupy. If they stopped there
they would be bold indeed.
But they do not stop there. They advance
still further and take the property that is
marked on this map with yellow lines and ask
for all they wrongly and defiantly hold, and
demand the use of many other streets besides.
There is no parallel to such boldness on the
part of a railroad company in any other city
Ill any part Of the country. There is, how
ever, one very modest provision in this bill,
namely, that nothing contained herein shall
authorize the condemnation of any church or
school property My only fault with that is
that, having taken up SO many of the streets
OH the front from the Capitol to the river, they
should have put in Il reservation here that they
would not condemn this Capitol building.
tLaughter.1 They have girdled the Capitol or
that side with their tracks. their sidings and
their switches and have been advancing stead
lily In this direction, and | think they ought to
have been considerate enough to put in "a pro-
vision that they would allow the Capitol build.
ing to stand uncondemned. Laughter
'Gentlemen say let them come near. How
near? The idea Of some people seems to be tina
a man who comes here from Oregon ought 70
be able to get out OF tho railway car at the Cap
itol step and go right up to the Speakers gal.
lery on an elevator. But people cannot come
quite so near as that by rail. Let them do AZ
people do in other cities, III London or in Paris
where they go to the center of the city by un.
derground railroads and various other expedl
ents. Mr.. Chairman, the thing to do now is t.
say to this railroad company: Put your
freight depot over there by the river. on the
dry ground near the bridge, aud then so bach
and away from this great public park TO a poin'
where your own and the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company can have Il joint depot
Il appeal to this House that it do not sacrifice
square after square and street after street. anC
look down at last from the dome of the Capito
upon the fretwork OF railway tracks girdling tn,
base OF this Capitol Hill upon the heart of thi
city surrendered TO the greed OF a railway com
panyupon the pretense of public use, but for pri
vate benefit" [Applause.l
MR.. MILLEKIN's CRITICISMS.
Mr.. Nillekin, who spoke next, said: I'm tn,
first place this company does not come her,
with clean skirts. 1t comes here having vic.
lated its promise of 1871. and when it is aske,
OF the gentlemen who represent the compan,
III this House. or, as / understand from tn,