The record-union., 1893-03-14


Southern Pacific Railroad Company, or
any other corporation, or any man or
woman living upon the earth have ever
paid me one farthing, or that 1 have de-
manded. or expected to receive one farth
ing-the statement is absolutely and un-
qualitiedly false to every extent that
human language can state ii. If it is
merely asserted that I am, in my profess
sion, one of the attorneys OF the Southern
Pacific Company, that is true. That
have retainer from that company, that
in my practice 1 do business for them,
try cases in the courts and receive my
lees, is also very true. Why is it that l
am assailed in this way?"
SOME PRECEDENTs.
Senator Ford of Sierra might be the at
torney for mining companies up his way,
and the gentleman from Napa might
represent the Traffic Association, contin-
ued Mr. Carpenter, but that did not mean
that they were hired 10 do the bidding of
their clients on the floor of the Senate.
Nearly every lawyer on the floor repre-
sented some corporation or corporations,
yet they had not been subjected to any OF
the filings that had been made at him.
But" he resumed, 81, forsooth, who
am an attorney and receive fees from and
am employed by every industry of the
country and by all classes and conditions
OF men-simply because 1 attempt to ex-
.ercise my right of Judgment upon this
floor upon question affecting a railroad
corporation, must be denounced upon it
as hireling of railroads. For my
nHTlnaratIp fNin do I
dents that l hope they will not reject"
He then referred to the fact that Stephen
NJ. White, whom the Democratic Sem
ators all revere, and whom they re-
Gently honored with a seat in the
United States Senate, was an attorney
for the Southern Pacific Company. Ros-
coe Conkling, Edmunds and other states
men were attorneys for railroads, yet
they had never been assailed. Senator
White held the same position in the
Senate four years ago as did the speaker
and was an attorney of the railroad but
he was never called hireling. Now
Sir" he said, ''lf Stephen NJ. White could
do that upon precisely the same retainer
that L have, doing precisely the same
service, how dare you tell me that I am
the hireling of the railroad? 1t is false
utterly, malignantly, damnably false"
WILSON GETS INTO TROUBLE.
At this juncture Senator Wilson jumped
up. Are you a railroad attorney to-day?"
he sputtered.
YES" replied Senator Carpenter.
''Um, you acknowledged that the other
day, didn't your"
'Yes."
"Well, how can yo6 serve two masters?"
Il am not the general counsel of the
Southern Pacific Company" replied Mr.
Carpenter. 81 do not represent their po-
ltical interests. try cases for them in
the courts. On this floor represent the
fourteen thousand intelligent, able and
enterprising voters that sent me here, sir,
snd not the railroad at ALL"
You stand in with them, though"
snapped the Tehama Senator.
Senator Carpenter turned to the body
Of the Senate. 1.-The Senator SAYS I stand
in with them," he said, with a wave of
his hand. 'When think they are right |
against the denlagogues, idiots and fools, !
yes; when L think they are wrong, no. |
never"
A-AS 'AAOO NOiil flCbSiy IdNlltu w tlSOll. |
He began to grab right and left among |
the papers on bis desk and then got up to
speak. Somebody pulled his coat-tails, |
however, and he sat down again, amid |
the laughter of the big audience.
THE ROCK OF HONOR.
When quiet was restored Senator Car
penter resumed. ''If upon this floor" |
he said, 'at the last session Of the Iegis- |
ture and at this session have voted for |
honest legislation; if have voted to pro- |
tect every industry of the State of Cali !
fornia; if 1 have voted against every bill |
to throttle one of them; if my votes and |
my voice have been raised for honest leg |
islation, against dishonest legislation, sir |
if have done that?-I stand upon the |
rock of immortal honor and the waves of |
calumny and vituperation will break |
against me as billow breaks against the |
rock in mid-ocean only to fall back in |
weakness and defeat. If my life has |
been other, if experience has failed to |
bring me wisdom, if age has failed to |
bring me charity, if my life has been the |
reverse of what L have stated, had 1 the |
tongue of men and of angels all could |
tinkhng cymbals There is the record, |
sir. 1t is there in the reports of the State |
to which l refer; they can be found in your |
library and read by whoever chooses. 1t
is in the archives of this State, tho rec |
ords of this body. will stand by the
record, and as the record decides | will |
be honored by men or consigned TO in
fanny by them. [ am content, sir, with
the record.
HIS SUBSTITUTE.
NOW, sir, presented to this body, as
Chairman of the Committee on Corpora
tions, substitute for Assembly Bill No.
10. That bill is no longer before this
body. 1t has no longer anything to do
with the matter. 1t was, in my iudg-
ment, defective. 1t didn't seem to dis
tinguish between assessment and levy.
The want of legal points, accuracy and
acumen in the bill, in my judgment, rem
dered it an unsafe bill to pass. l wished |
from the first-and think it will be de-
termined before 1 shall have done that l
still wish-for an adjustment. for the
final adjustment of this question. L in
sisted on this when l introduced the sub
stitute for that bill to the gentlemen who
opposed it; I said it was a matter in
which the Senate should take the best it
could get. The House, instead of stand
ing by the Shanahan bill, put this as
sessment back to the year 1882; by the
way, sir, there never has been a reassess-
ment bill introduced into this Senate that
pretended to so back beyond the year
1882.
WILSON AGAIN.