The record-union., 1894-08-10
A CASE OF CHRONIC MANIA.
Ten Propositions Worthy of Calm
Consideration.
Government Ownership of RailroadE-
Encouraging LawlesSneSs-A
Vicious Agency.

from the San Francisco News Letter
A newspaper whose policy is to be
popular rather than right can never
WELD the power to institute wholesome
reforms, The San Francisco Ecaninea'
has abandoned conservatism. and has be-
come so rabidly radical as to inspire dis
gust among all except the needless and
| ignorant. During the great strike the
daily papers of San Francisco, excepting
the Chronicle and the Post, were the only
newspapers of any consequence in Cali
fornia that urged on the strikers and
heaped contuInely upon the lawful or
ganized forces of the Government oppos-
ing instruction and murder. The E.c-
ami1.er has constituted itself the leader OF
the lawless element. Every day it is tor
turing all its resources to prevent harm
| TO the murderers who wrecked the train
| near Sacramento. Although it has re-
ceived several thousands of signatures to
its memorial to Congress praying that the
Government assume control OF the
Union-Central Pacific roads, it ruefuily
acknowledges that the leading business
organizations of San Francisco, includ-
| ing the Merchants Exchange, the Pro-
| duce Exchange, The Chamber of Com
merce, and the Traffic Association, refuse
| to sign the petition.
| The Examiner is cheered to observe,
| however, that gentlemen who make cigar
stands their headquarters are eager to
sign! In that the Examiner has consti-
| tuted itself the organ of strikers and tae
defender of murderers, it can hardly be
expected that the cool, sensible, law
| loving men of the community will follow
! its leadership. The Examiners violent
animosity against the Southern Pacific
clearly takes the form of desire to injure
| that corporation without reference to the
public benefit, for it deliberately con-
ceals some vital facts and grossly distorts
others.
Here are some salient facts which it
dares not touch upon:
EirSt-By assuming control OF the
Union-Central roads the Government
will have to take $60,000,000 bodily and
Immediately from tie Treasury for the
extinction of the first mortgage debt on
those roads.
Second-It will be assuming owner
ship of property for which it must pay
SlS5, 100000 being the S60,000,000 first
mortgage added to the Sl25, 900, 900 which
the roads owe to the Government.
Third-In the absence of any hope that
the roads could be operated by the ex-
travagant methods of the Government in
competition with seven competing lines
so as to produce fair interest on that
enormous investment, the plan as a
financial proposition is wildly absurd.
Fourth-The Reilly Funding Bill pro-
vides for the payment to the Government,
| by gradual extinction, of the whole debt
| of Sl25, ,000, 900, with graduated interest
which will average two per cent. per an
mum for fifty years on the debt, and will
relieve the Government of the necessity
of taking S60,0O0,00O at once from the
| treasury to pay off the first mortgage
debt
| Fifth-Assumption of control by the
Government would withdraw S25, ,000, 900
| from the taxable property of California,
compelling a corresponding increase OF
taxes to supply the deficiency.
| SiXth-Government control of one over
land line to the exclusion of seven COM
peting lines held in private ownership
will make the Government competitor
| for transcontinental traffic with those
| lines. with the result either that the COM
| peting lines may force the Government to
operate its line at heavy loss or that the
| Government may force them into loss
and bankruptcy-in either event entail
| ing heavy loss on the country at large,
and introducing factor in business
| II
lean institutions and to the common sense
of enlightened citizens.
Seventh-It being inconceivable that
| the line could be operated by the Govern
inent without heavy loss, this deficit must
| be made up by the country at large,
without reference to the fact that Cali
| fornia would be practically the only State
receiving financial benefit from the ar
rangement, and would be in the position
of asking the other States to open their
treasures for its benefit.
| Notwithstanding, for the sake of
argument, that Government ownership
| would be profitable to the Government,
the profit would have to come largely
| from the industries of California, and
hence California would be paying an un-
! Just proportion of the return on the
Governments investment.
Ninth-Experience having demon
| strated the impossibility of railroads
operating without trallic agreement be-
tween common points, and it being as
sumed by reasoners of the Examiner
type that such arrangements are in re-
straint of trade and hence unlawful, the
Government would have to enter into
traffic arrangements with its competing
lines and hence would be indulging in
unlawful practices and restraining trade.
Tenth-Any petition from California,
Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, from which
the Examiner is drawing its signatures,
would amount to nothing in Congress in
view of the fact they represent merely a
sectional feeling and raise sectional
issue in matter which financially con-
Germs the whole country-even though
the Examiner may secure the 100000 sig
natures in that section to affect a constitu-
ency representing II, 900, 600 voters.
These ten propositions, none of which
has received the slightest attention from
the Examiner, reduce the whole matter
to reductio ad dbsurd,t8a, and ought to
make the gentlemen who have signed the
petition feel foolish. In the meantime, in
view of the fact that thoughtful men and
men of affairs and business organizations
especially the Traffic Association,
which was organized to combat the
Southern Pacific-are ignoring the
movement" it deserves little attention.