The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-01-19
THE FORECLOSURES SUIT.
Thurston Goes to st. Louis to Pro-
tect the Receivers Interests.

Omaha, Neb., Jan. 1S.-Senator-elect
Thurston, with a number of other Union
Pacific attorneys, left for st. Louis to-
night 10 protect the interests of the re-
ceivers in the foreclosure proceedings
to be instituted there tomorrow. Now
that the entire ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the
''OVerland'' is about to be contaminated
1t is asserted ait Union Pacific head
quarters that 1000 men have been
affected by the disintagraMon of the
various branch lines, many of whom
made Omaha their home when the sys-
tenn was intact. A Union Pacific Of
f1cldl declared today that the inference
drawn that the scheme OF foreclosure
was originated IN order to hasten con-
gressional legislation looking to the
passage of the funding iblA, was entire
ly erroneous. IN view of the fact that
the Union Pacific board was pronounced
in its desire ito protect the government
debt, which. under foreclosure, would
suffer grea tIy.
The Union Pacific is essentially an
Omaha road. It's interest are Omaha's
interests and anything looking to the
segregation of the main lime should
be vigorously resisted by the people
of Nebraska. The purposes Of the
resolutions introduced in the Colorado
house are apparent, their design being
to make impossible reorganization,
for Colorado will be benefited in this
respect and Omaha lose just that
much through such influences. The
bill in foreclosure is a cumbersome
piece of legal machinery and involves
the entire range of legal action. Could
foreclosure have been resisted and the
government debt adjusted, it would
have benefited the whole western
| country. What will occur under fore
closure is matter for conjecture.
No part of the government debt is due
until 1895. Inasmuch as the act of
Congress requires the company to rem
der preferential government service,
and the government transportation
over the road amounts in each year
to 4 large sum of money, more than
enough to pay interest on the govern
ment obligations, and the company is
also required to pay 20 per cent of its
! net earnings TO the government, to
| be applied on the debt, the govern
ment, in any event. is in no danger OF
ultimate loss"
Since the Union Pacific system was
plated in the hands of receivers, ii
| has gradually been broken up by orders
! of various United States district courts
until, out of the magnificent
net work of that railroad that
was operated as one harmon
ious system at the time the bill
was filed, 3ittle is left but the origina
lines from Omaha to Ogden and from
Kansas City to Denver. Looping
branch after branch, the road has beer
stripped of friendly connections until il
now hardly merits the name of trans
continental. First. the Denver & Fort
| Worth line was given to separate re-
ceivers. This cut off The southwest
! territory and rendered the Julesburg
cutoff useless. Then the Oregon Raft
way & Navigation line of stean5o
was taken away and the Union Pacific
WAS left without independent connec
ton to San Francisco and other coas
points Now a, suit to lop off the Ore
gon Short Line and Utah Northern
branches is in progress and when thi:
is done the Union Pacific wild have {
line from Omaha to Ogden, able VI
handle local business. but cut off by
active competition of rivals from The
through traffic it has so long controlled
But the foreclosure will reach only
this line.
! However,, it is apparent THAT the road
will not sell under the hammer for more
than the sum represented by the first
mortgage bonds, on which December
| interest is due and defauited, in which
| interest the governments claim will be
! wiped Out, 1T being secondary. IL Is
thought. perhaps hoped, by those in
terested in the road that it can be
apparent to the members of Congress
that the general government is about
to be deprived of any possibility of Sc
curing any part of the millions owed ii
by the Union Pacific corporation, then
some immediate action will be taken
to pass a measure looking to the ex-
tension of the debt, providing for the
reorganization of the company and re-
funding of it's indebtedness on lines