New-York tribune., 1895-12-17

parliamentary tactics adopted by two or three
demagogues. whose hostility to the roads consti-
,ucd their political capital.
II is unnecessary to repeat the arguments
which have been used against the several propo-
si,ions offered. The chief Of them has always
hcen that the Government would suffer more
or less loss by any adjustment that did not IN
cl,de full payment of the subsidy deDt, WIN
accrued interest Strictly speaking. in the long
RIM the Government can suffer no loss. for us
own transportation between the Missouri River
and the Pacific Coast it was paying S'o"'V'"
onmolly at the time the roads were chartered
II is an easy computation to show that in the
,h;rtv wears since the roads were begun. or the
twenty.sevcn since they were actually COM
nletcd the Government has saved many times
ovcr IFS original investment in the enterprise,
oven II II receives not dollar In return Tor the
investment or interest thereon Had any lndi-
vidual or corporation offered in 1861 to build
railroad from the Missouri River TO the Pacliic
Ocean. and upon payment Of SGOOO0OOo agreed
TO do all the Government transportation be-
tween those points. including army supplies
mails etc. for thirty years no one can douDl
that IT would have been eagerly embraced. The
men who did build the road were looked upon
as Missionaries. Until they had actually accom-
plishcd the task. they were either pltieh or
laughed at So soon as 1t was found that IN
stead of being fools or Missionaries they were
shorp business men, who had driven profit
ohln trade with the Government and made I'M
mcnse fortunes out Of the transaction, laughter
and pity gave way to anger and resentment
since that first discovery it has not seemed pos
tl,o c,rhi nrhp
any allusion to it without losing its head.
No better illustration can be afforded OF the
feeblcness with which Congress fumbled the
whole matter than the muchyauned Thurman
act which supposed at the time OF It's pas
sage to be most statesmanke and satisfactory
solution of the whole question. Its purpose was
TO provide for the accruing interest on the bonds
hv setting aside % Ter cent Of the net earn
incs which should be invested in Government
bonds and held in sinking fund. Within Il
year after it went into operation 1t was dis-
covered that the Government. by dlvefun2 the
earnings OF the road to the purchase OF us own
bond issues in the market, was engaged IN the
uphill work of making 30 per cent income
from sinking fund pay 6 per cent on lis own
issue of subsidy bonds. All the same the act
continued and is still operative. The sinking
fund now amounts TO little more than 81 l,Ooo,-
o0o when if the companies themselves had
been permitted to make their own sinking fund
investment in their own bonds or those cf theif
branch lines it would have been at least double
that amount Only one thing has been gained
by the experience of the last thirty years in the
attempts Of Congress to adjust the relations OF
tho Government with the subsidized roads.
That is the actual demonstration Of the fat
that whatever the Congress Of the United states
NAV he competent and qualified for. IT certainly
is not competent TO conduct the business OF
great corporation or manage It's financial alfairS
We are free to say in the light OF experience
that we do not expect any satisfactory ADJUST
ment Of the Pacific Railroad debt at the hands
Of Congress. The indications are rather that
the whole deb. will be sacrificed Should thlS
he the case. we have the consolation of Knp"-
ing that taking 1t all in al, the Government Ads
not been loser, but very great gamer by the
building Of the roads.