Los Angeles herald., 1890-04-20


be Friends-The Political Signifcanc
of Mr.. Huntington's Attitude-A Caus
tic Review of Powerful Association O
Railway Magnates
EDITORS HERALD-With a great many
Huntlngton's obsequious apology for th
! truths he seems to think or to confess h,
injudiciously uttered when accepting tn,
presidency which he had for some tim,
adroitly planned to wrest from the MAJ
whom for long time-as he admits il
his Apologize had agreed with to dis
agree" elicits mingled surprise, disgus
and indignation-not that it puts Stan
ford on top again, politically or other
wise, or that it mitigates Huntington's
otlensc OF truth-telling, every once in q
while-but that it betrays a weakness in
the old man that was not expected in
any quarter. Furthermore, it immedi.
ately complexities the high-toned dis
turbance, inasmuch as the hatred each
has for the other will still exist,
although Huntington declares he will
love his enemy as much hereafter as he
has heretofore-that is, will still agree
to disagree, in fact.
The whole thing, from beginning to
end, is the one engrossing topic OF con-
versation here-at the hotels, clubs.
barrooms, in the family circle and else
where. And the railroad men, too, while
they are generally not in harmony with
each other regarding Huntington's atti-
tude, express themselves in no mistaken
way. Among this latter class Hunting
ton has the greatest number of substan-
tial and intelligent friends-not because
he has given them fine dinners annually
for number of years and exhibited
more true human nature than the
others, but because he is gracious and
manly and ''seems to be one of them"
whenever he has business or pleasure
that brings him into their midst. Be
sides, the majority of the really brainv
men who are eminent as employees,
such as Towne, Stubbs, Mills, and many
others, are Enthusiastically Huntington
men upon most issues, while the great
majority look upon Stanford as crafty,
insincere and ungrateful. They. in
common with most everybody, know
that Stanford bought his way into the
United States Senate, and that at the
very moment Huntington was telegraph
ing that Sargent must be returned to
that autocratic body, at any cost, on
account of undoubted perseverance and
faithfulness for twenty years, etc. Vroo-
man, Dave Mcclure, Steve Gage and
Stanford were planning for the election
of the latter, and were putting coin
where it would do the most good in
furtherance of this sublime object. 1t
was the meanest piece of political busi-
ness ever carried out by the railroad,
although it was only one of 10000
pieces OF dirty betrayals and to some ex-
tent ten times that number of knavish.
treacherous and ungrateful acts con-
ceived at Fourth and Townsend streets
for these many years. At this very mo-
ment the company, in it's usual way, is
spending money, or planning to do so
for the reelection OF Stanford. Rail-
road money and bundles of free passes /
to its strikers and retainers sent both
Stewart and Stanford to the United
States Senate, and they were the only
it must be remembered.
who voted for the confirmation OF
Lamar.
There are many here who consider
this whole foolishness as put
up job to blind the people into
the belief that the railroad is
going out (ah-ha) of politics."
when, really, it is again getting good and
ready to put up the next Legislature so
as to elect Senators OF it's choice, one of
whom shall be Leland Stanford. 1t is
also making its preliminary arrange
ments to secure Governor who will do
It's bidding, and the control OF the Boards
of Railroad Commissioners and Equali-
zation. | rather like Huntington, on
the whole, but l can't help concurring
in the remark of an old member of the
Pacitic-Union Club this evening-an
eminent jurist and now on the bench
who declared, after listening to the con-
versation OF others touching Hunting
toms abject apology: "Well, there's one
thing certain; if he isn't devilish slip
perry. he's damned old ass"
There is one thing, surely-the contro-
versy has injured the railroad in the
estimation of the people, and Stanford
in the estimation of the Republican
party, and no dissimulation in the shape
of apologies or hand-shaking on the part
of its two big ones can repair the damage
already done. Indeed, the affair has
from a serious to serio-comic
situation, and the whole gang is making
itself the laughing-stock OF the State,
and row and a makeup in Barnum's
celebrated Happy Family" is dime
show advertisement in comparison.
1t is conceded that Huntington has
bluntly told the truth; that he meant
exactly what he said, but that a tre-
mendous pressure has been made upon
him to tone down his sentence, or to
as much as is possible under
the circumstances, the truth. Beside.
threats have been made by Stanford and
Gage, as / have been informed, to get
ready for publication his kilograms to
'Spare no money in the election of Sar-
gent" Sargent must be sent back to
the Senate at any price," etc. Then, on
the other hand, as retaliation, it might
be shown that a certain State Senator
received salary from the railroad com
pany, and that the name of an
independent" editor of great
weekly paper might be often found
upon the books, much to the opposition
of Crocker and Huntington; and a
whole carload OF Kilkenny-cat dis
turbances might be the result. 1t is the
greatest row the virtuous owners of the
Southern Pacific Company have had for
many years that has been gazed at bv
the people, and no apology Of Mr.. Hunt