The morning call., 1893-08-07
WHAT'S THE AMOUNT?
Glib Talk of Purchasing Western
Railroads.
Uncle Sam to Issue Bonds and Notes
in Payment for Continental
Lines.
Special to The MORNING CALL.

CHICAGO, Aug. 6-Since the close of
the silver convention, George F. Wash
burn Of Boston. chairman of the Eastern
division of the National Committee of the
Peoples Party, and Colonel A. c. Fisk Of
Denver. Cole. president of the Pan Ameri-
can Bimetallic Association, together with
other prominent Populists of the West.
have been in consultation with bankers,
capitalists and railroad men of the West.
devising a gigantic railroad scheme Of
Government ownership, which, they
think, will afford financial relief to the
country and make at once an issue of two
OF the pet planks Of their platform. j. a.
Davis of Texas. who was the Populls IS
candidate for Attorney General year ago,
is the legal counsel for the Populists
1t is alleged that the money stringency
has effected trans portation so greatly that
the receipts Cf many Western roads have
fallen off fully third, and receiverships
Tor some of them have already been asked
for, which would also mean the ruin Of
commercial and industrial interests of
every Western and Southern State.
Washburn states that most of the stock
of these roads is held in New England.
they being Boston enterprises. and the
Gss OF dividends and the threatened ruin
is rapidly changing the sentiment in that
section in favor of the Government owner
ship Of railroads, as we'll as for Dimetal-
lism.
The plan proposed is for the National
Government to issue bonds for all legal
and just indebtedness. being governed by
the same tenure and contract which now
exist. This amount is estimated to be
about two-lhirds of the value Of the rail-
roads. Legal tender treasury notes or sill
yer certificates are TO be issued 1or the re-
naming oDe-third.
An objection was raised TO the PepulistS'
plan to pay ODe-third in treasury notes,
which would greatly increase the price of
products in the country. but it is claimed
that this issuance of treasury notes would
afford immediate financial relief aud inau-
gurate period Of prosperity unparalleled
in the history of the world.
The PopulSts do not propose that the
Government shall buy all the railroads at
once. but SO gradually that no shock will
be felt in the money market. The Popu-
lists say that while their party is opposed
to any new issuance of national bonds, no
objection could be offered to an even ex-
change of bonds which already exist The
bonds could be gradually paid and in a
few years the Government would OVID the
railroads.
1t is claimed that the plan would not an
tagonize existing railroad interests, and il
the Government owned all the railroads
west Of the Mississippi River, instead OF
being competitive to Eastern roads, they
would be distributive and could be used by
the Government to move crops to the mar
kets at the coast, and in this way to de-
velop the resources of the great Western
country and thereby stimulate trade. The
uninhabted section could be colonized.
thus relieving the cities from their present
| congested state. Several additional argu-
mentS are adduced.
Washburn will leave for Washington
tomorrow to have the matter presented to
Congress-.