The morning call., 1895-02-12

from the Legislature of Minnesota characteriz-
ing the railroad pooling bill as an effort to
sslegalize gigantic trust and requesting Min
nesota Senators and Representatives to work
against the measure
Resolutions were presented by which the
Legislatures of both Kansas and Minnesota ex-
pressed themselves in favor of the election of
United States Senators by direct vote of the
people.
The Senate agreed to the conference report
on the bill for the removal and settlement of
Southern Ute Indians.
Gorman's motion to reconsider the bill affect
ing important railroad mineral lands in Mon
tana and Idaho was disposed of by amend
ments which led to the withdrawal of the mo-
ton to reconsider.
Pettigrew R.) of South Dakota presented the
following concurrent resolution:
Resolued, That the President is hereby requested
to employ counsel for the purpose of bringing suit
against the directors and stockholders of the Union
and Central Pacific railroads who received the
stock of said roads without paying cash for the
same; also to recover from the directors officers
and stockholders of said roads such sums of money
as were stolen by them or diverted and conIro-
yerted to any unlawful purposes and therefore not
placed in the sinking fund, as required by law and
the President is hereby authorized to pay to said
attorneys the sum OF per cent of all sums recov-
cred from said directors or stockholders.
The Acknowledgement is also directed to foreclose
the mortgage of the Government on said roads at
the earliest possible date and to take steps to pay
off the principal membranes on said roads and
to use the sinking fund for the purpose; to ascer-
tain the amount of money belonging to the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific railroads that has not
been invested in other branch lines and the
amount of bonds and stocks of other companies
the property of said roads, and to take steps to
secure the Government interest therein; to ascer
tain the amount of land the property of said
roads and recover the same protect the Govern
ment interest in connection Herewith.
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of
this resolution the sum of 100000 is hereby APP
propriated out of any money in the treasury not
otherwise appropriated
Pettigrew said he would at a later date
submit list of parties with the amounts of
liabilities. The Sc nator said the manipulation
of these railroads was disgrace to civiliza-
ton"
new phase OF the financial question came
up on the resolution presented by Hill OF New
York, defining the policy of the Government
concerning bimetallism, gold payments, ETC.
The resolution is as follows:
Resotved df the House of Representatives. con-
curs) That it is the OF Congress that the true
policy of the Government requires that its efforts
should be steadily directed to the establishment of
safe system Of bime tallism, wherein gold and sill
yer may be maintained at parity and every dollar
coined may be the equal in value and power of
every other dollar coined or issued by the United
States; but if our efforts to establish maintain
such bimetalsm shall not be wholly successful
and IL for any reason our silver coin shall not
hereafter be at parity with gold coin and the equal
thereof in value and power in the market and in
the payment of debts, then it is hereby declared
that the bonds of the United States now or here
after issued, which by their terms are payable in
coin, shall, nevertheless, be paid instead in gold
IL
that its creditors shall at all times be paid in the
best money in use.
Hill asked immediate consideration of the
resolution, but Butler 3D. of South Carolina
objected and ii went over.
Stewart at once supplemented the Hill reso-
luton with one as follows:
Resolred, That there is no authority or law to buy
gold coin in preference to silver coin for any pur-
pose whatever.
The resolution also went over and the Senate
took up the postofice appropriation bill
Lodge made point of order against the first
Senate amendment giving the Postmaster-Gen-
eral discretion in expending the SO, ,25 o, 900 for
railway postal service and an animated discus
sion arose over the item.
Allison said as a member of the Committee
on Appropriations he protested against this
change of existing laws.
Vest said this was another instance of the
manner in which the railroads fought every
measure they conceived to be against them.
The Government should own postal-cars just as
it owns postoffices. The railroads seemed deter
mined TO control all the traffic over their
roads. He had found III the course of an in
vestigation of the livestock traffic that the
roads would move no cars except those operated
by the Armours, Swifts and others of Chicago.
With their capital and their power they CO.
creed the roads to handle their cars to the eX-
clusion of private shippers. Mr.. Pullman, with
his great capital, was also able to coerce
these roads into running his ears. "And then
he turns round said Vest, land imposes upon
people who use Pullman cars When the Sena-
tor from Ohio (Sherman) proposes to regulate
the Pullman cars we are at once told we have
no right to touch them"
Vest continued in a severe arraignment of
the railroads for advancing or retarding legis-
lation as it suited them. Allen urged the Gov
ernment ownership of railroads. he soon
diverged from the discussion into the claims
of election frauds in Alabama, and spoke until
tka Senate adjourned.