Evening star., 1895-01-31
.PACIFIC RAILROAD BILL
It Occupies the Attention Of the House
To-Day.
Most of the Speeches Were In OppOsi-
tiOH to the Proposed
Measure.

Speaker Crisp called the House to order
today. Owing TO the absence of Rev. Mr..
Bagby, DIR. Everett of Massachusetts, de-
livercd the invocation.
Bills were passed as follows: To adopt
special rules for the navigation of harbors,
rivers and inland waters of the United
States, supplementary to the act to adopt
regulations to prevent collisions at sea; to
fix the time for holding district court in
North Dakota: for the relief of d. Fulford;
for the relief of the Glenmore Distilling
Company of Kentucky; for the relief of the
First State Bank of Mound City, Ill.
An attempt to pass bill for the relief
of fifty army officers to give military in
struction at high and normal schools fall
ed, WhereupOn under the terms OF the Spe-
cial order adopted yesterday. the House
went into committee of the whole and re
sumed the c( nsideratiOn of the Pacific rail-
road funding bill.
Mr.. Harris Idea.
Mr. Harris (kan) completed the remarks
against the bill which he began yesterday.
He cited a specific case, where the con-
struction company composed in reality OF
the president and some of the directors OF
the road had protited to the extent OF
S1.6OO,OU on very short stretch of road
running through Leavenwortn county,
Kan. He asserted that the Kansas division
of the Union Pacific could have been built
and equipped for the amount of the gov
ernment subsidy and the first mortgage,
yet the people were compelled TO pay
freights and fares on the basis of cost OF
$lOJ,UUO mile. In addition, the manipula-
tors had the enormous land grants Inc
officers of the road milked the road ty
diverting the business to branch lines.
Charles Francis Adams had sought to un-
tangle some of the fraud, but he admitted
his incapacity to do so.
His tdea was that the property of the
roads should be roreclosed and sold. and
that the government should enforce It's
claim BY the expenditure Of $p,OO,Ocu
the government could acquire the roads.
and then either by lease or directly operate
them.
Mr.. Boatner in Opposition.
Mr.. Boatner Qa) followed with a strong
speech in opposition to the measure. he
called particular attention to the fact that
the conspicuous feature of every legfsla-
tive plan proposed for the settlement OF
the Pacific railroad debt had been the
abandonment of the proceedings begun
against the officers and directors OF these
companies Under the act OF 1913. In 1871
two members Of this House had been ex-
PEELED because they had been debauched
by the emissaries of these roads, The
court proceedings then had failed because
the suits were premature, ana now. Wheh
the bonds were about to fall due, when the
claims against them could be enforced. II
was proposed to abandon them and allow
these men and their heirs to escape with
their colossal fortunes. This, ne stated
with emphasis, was the milk in the cocoa
nut He was not opposed to the govern
ment ownership of the roads, but preferred
to see his substitute passed, providing for
an amendment to the original act by which
in case of the default of the roads the
companies should forfeit their charters.