The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-28
LOST, STOLEN
OR BOUGHT Up.
Mysterious Disappearance
of the Pattison
Report.
rs NOW OUT OF SIGHT.
Mayor Sutro Tries to Get the
Railroads Confession of
Guilt.
J. q. BARRY HELPS HIM OUT.
Nearly Ninety Thousand Books Miss.
ing From Public and Private
Libraries.
J. h. BARRY HELPS HIM OUT,

A startling as we'll as puzzIing state o.
affairs has been discovered in connection
with the recent hearing before Judge Nc.
Kenna of the railroad injunction suit tc
restrain the Railroad Commission from re-
ducing freight rates.
The affidavits filed by President La Rue
on behalf of the commission were based
principally upon the testimony taken in
1887 by the Congressional committee and
embodied in what is known as the Pattison
report on the Pacific and aided railroads.
This report, so far as the affairs of the Cen
trail Pacific and Southern Pacific COM
panies and their various branches are con-
cerned, is contained in six voluminous
books. the value of which is incalculable
just now by reason of the puzzling state
of affairs heretofore alluded to.
There were 1900 reports published by
Congress, giving the full testimony of c..
P. Huntington, Leland Stanford and their
associates and employees, showing how
money had been spent with lavish hand
buying up adverse legislation, and how
the building of the Central Pacific road
had cost double what il should have cost,
causing an initiation of expenditures on
which the company Is now seeking to base
its freight rates, to the detriment of the
people Of California. There were nearly
10000 volumes of these reports.
The books were sent broadcast, but
principally to Californians, who cherished
them as the only documentary evidence
on which they could rely as public
record exposing the corruption OF the
railroad.
They were filed away in public and pri-
vste libraries and were there forgotten for
the time being. until the present suit re-
lad fhaT-
OF libraries went digging among their
shelves 10 refresh their memories, and il
Is safe TO state that nine out of ten men
who were positive of being the possessors
OF these important volumes discovered
that they had disappeared.
Senator Stephen NJ. White two weeks
ago learned that his reports were missing,
and he wired from Washington that an
other set be purchased and sent to him.
His friends here ransacked all the book
stores and private libraries without sue
cess, and Mr.. White will have to go on
with his fight against the funding bill
without the aid he requires.
1t appears that the books have disap-
peared from the Government library at
Washington.
They are not to be obtained at the Pub
lie Library here, and United States Dis
trict Attorney Foote very feehngly an
nounced TO Judge McKenna a few DAYS
elkO lllo- Ac " do COtll pS1ISQ " DISH LUdL Ine
full report be read in the case az issue, be.
cause the United States Government was
unable 10 furnish him with the necessary
report for his perusal. Hence, he must
depend upon counsel for the defense who
were more fortunate than he, in so n uct
as they were the happy possessors of ont
copy.
The question now arises as to where al
the Pattison reports have gone.
Have they been lost, destroyed, stolen Of
bought up? In either case there is but
one institution having interest in getting
them out of the way, and that is the rail
road contingent.
Mayor Sutro until few weeks ago wor.
ried himself sick thinking that among the
hundreds OF thousands of books he in
tends presenting to this City and County
he did not have copy of the Pattison
report. He searched high and low fol
one, and offered any price that might be
asked for the six volumes.
1t was at this juncture that he was
saved from positive illness by James H.
Barry, editor of the Star.
Barry had been quite outspoken at the
time OF the killing of JudgeDavid S. Terry
by Dave Maggie. He claimed that it was
murder pure and simple. This touched a
tender chord in the heart of Reel B. Terry,
the nephew of the dead man, and he pre-
sented Barry with the report, which he
had found in his uncles library Barry
in turn, learning what rare gem he pos
sessed, presented the books to Mayor Sutro
TO be handed down to the people of this
City with the Sutro Library.