The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-11-11
HARD BUSINESS SENSE.
The Government and the Pacific Rail.


The Government and the Pacific Rail-
roads.
From the San Bernardlno Times-Index1
The adjustment of the obligations of
the Pacific railroads to the General Gov
eminent is one OF the important oues-
tions which will present itself before the
coming Congress. The Sacramento Rec
ord u MON states the case in it's various
aspects as follows:
Shall the debt due the Government be ex-
tended and leave the property in the hands
OF its present managers?
Shall the Government pay off the first
mortgage, amounting to S55,OO0,OOO, and
take the road and operate 1t for the benefit of
the people OF the Pacific Coast?
Shall the Government pay the first mort
gage Indebtedness, take possession of the
roads and sell them at auction?
! Shall the Government pay or the first
mortgage, take the roads and lease them to
operating companies for term OF years
Finally, shall the Government pay the first
mortgage, take possession of the road and
sell them to some railroad company on long
time?
| The disposition to be made of the Gov
ernments claim is purely a business
proposition and should be dealt with by
Congress ss such. The situation has
been made liberal use of by demagogues.
! but that does not solve the problem.
/ That must be done upon strictly bust
ness principles.
| the payment OF the first mortgage and as
Stunning the ownership of the road are
! open to two objections. 1t means for the
/ General Government to ex pend $50. 000,-
/ 000 more on the property and TO inaug-
urate new policy In this country that
! OF Government owership OF railroads
] While that policy is advocated by some
we doubt il the great mass of the people
would approve of the Government in
yading any further the realm of private
/ enterprise. There is a strong feeling that
we have now all the Governmental ma
chinery that 1t is safe to trust politicians
! with handling. In any event it is not
likely that Congress will commit the
| country 10 any such radical innovation
| at the present time.
| The proposition to take up the first
mortgage and sell to another company
involves large expenditure OF public
! funds with no better prospects of the
| final payment OF the debt than at pres
| ent.
Besides the first mortgage is believed
| to represent the full value of the property
at present, and probably about all the
! Government could sell it for to a new
| company. This proposition could hardly
! be considered, except as q dernier resort.
| The difficulty OF dealing with the ques-
[ ton as it should be from strictly busi-
ness standpoint is that it has been
dragged into politics and the public mind
has become befogged, and Congressman
! hardly dare TO handle it. as IL IL to-day a
| plain business question, in the same
manner in which it would be dealt with
| If the parties were ptivate individuals.
| II a private individual sustained the
same relation to the Pacific roads that the
Government does, holding second
mortgage on property, almost the entire
value of which was covered by first
mortgage, he would be very apt to try to
recover by the policy of extension. In
fact, that appears to be the only way by
which the Government can hope to re-
cover anything.
1 Va nn,x hat fhfa vio Oft IN aifnat;ov,