The morning call., 1891-10-29
OUTHERS PACIFIC COMPANY.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
% BROAD STREET, NEW YORK. Oct. 10, 1891.
Hon. jeremiah lynch, Chairman Of Commit
tee on Legislative Abuses oJ the Grand Jury Of
the Cty and County Of san FrGHciScO-DEAR
SIR: Your Valued favor of the 7th Is received
and It's contents are carefully uOted had also
heard, through The public press OF California,
much OF The matter referred 10 In your cOmmuni-
cation, 10 wit: that the Grand jury Of the city
and county OF San Francisco were in session and
were making Inquiries 10 ascertain whether
there was any truth in the IumoIs that were
floating about the State TO The effect that certain
members of the last Legls lslature and others III
high places had done things that were ! galIy
aud morally wrong; further, that S. I. Gage and
X, ,chatd Chute had failed To answer the CAL OF
Tie Graud Jury. You then write, referring 10
the legal advocates of those parties: - he
foremost OF these professional peTsOnageS is NJ To-
Greed Raymond, who Is understood To be he
leading counsel IN California Of the Southern Pa
cihc Company You are the p esident OF that
corporation, and therefore | address you, deslr-
OuS 10 know II this action Of Mr. Haymoud Is OF
your knowledge and sanction"
Replying 10 this qu, stlUn answer no. l did
not know that Colonel Raymond was IN tile case
until | saw IL iu the California papers. and Will
say 10 you that am very sorry he las had any
thing TO do with the matter. ! cannot, however,
control Mr. HaymOnd'S action, as The Southern
Pacific Company has been IN the habit OF allow
Ing any OF It's counsel heretofore to take outside
business where lie could attend TO 1t without
nesleetlng The interests OF our company.
| particularly regret this action by Colonel
Raymond because | nave been tOld-and, |
think, saw in some of the California papers
| that the matters eferTed 10 in your letter had
! taken political iurn. SO 10 speak, and, while
cannot believe such 10 be the case, yet the sug-
| gestiOn of 1t has made me more anxious THAI no
one connected with me IN the active management
OF Tie Southern Pdclte Company should allow
himself 10 lake part III this or any other move
meut in California that was even suspected OF
having political inclination. have been, aud
SIM am, determined 10 get the Southern Pacific
Company ont Of politics and eOBtue 1t 10 its
legitimate business Of transporting persons and
property. 1t has been meddllng with It TOO
long already.
Every officer OF the company has much as
lie can DO If lie does his duty In taking care OF
| the properties that are controlled by The parent
organiZat on as the greatest possible economies
| must he pTdctlced In Orcer 10 give any returns
! TO tie shareholders. Therefore the employees Of
the Southern Pacific Company have no time, or
should have none, to give 10 matters political.
know, also, that the people are jealOus-and
Ilghtlully 50, thlnk-oi any interference by
| corporations With their political prerOgatives.
which Is one OF The reasons why rates have been
forced down 50 as not 10 remunerate those who
have speLt so much lime and invested so much
capital 10 create these properties. But the good
Of the people Will soon correct tile evils Of
low as well as high rates as soon as they know
that CORPORATIONS, as such, are not used Tor pur-
poses other than those for which lie law allow,
them TO be created.
notice your It quest that do what ! can TO
assist the Grand jury by "instFucting the en-
plOyes OF the Southern Pacific Comp ny TO rem
der roner and necessary assistance 10 that
body"
l will write to Mr.. A. n. TOwne, our General
Manager, and ask him 10 do all that he can con-
SlsteuL WIFI his uuty 10 so assist you ana VIII
send him copy OF this letter.
You ask. further, that IaliOw the Grand Jury
to examine certain books OF the Southern Pacific
and Pacific Improvement companies. These
books cannot be taken from the offices where
they belong without great inconvenience To the
companies that keep their accounts in said
books Many OF the books Of many OF the COM
panIes in California that l in part control. In.
GLIDING The Two above Damed have been taken
from Their proper custodlans into courts, and l
think Grand jury rooms, 10 the very great an
convenience of the companies, and thlnN In no
case was the public benefited; nor has the pub
lie as / rmber, ever claimed that they were
benefited.
Nevertheless, l would willingly give to the
Grand Jury. and of course through them to the
public, all tile books Of the cOmpanies named IN
your letter IL l thought they would show where
any money had been used for dishonest un-
lawful purposes l have been opposed to using
any money from the cOmpany's treasury for any
political purposes. l am, yours very truly,
G. +. HUNTINGTON