Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-19
AMBROSE BlERCE TALKS
His Views on Pacific Railroad Legis-
lation.
Caltft.l nia's Most Caustic Writer En-
gagged In Fighting "a Con-
scfenccless Monopoly.

| to pay the United States the money he
owes it, he did something which makes
him responsible for the presence of Am
| brose Bierce in Washington. Maybe that
result was surprising; it certainly was un-
Welcome, for of all the clever takers and
| forceful writers with whom this country
is blessed there are few who can excel the
man who was sent here by the San Fran
cisco Examiner to oppose the funding bill
which gives to Huntington & Co. one hum
dred additional years OF credit.
Ordinarily soft of speech and possessed
of a charming manner. Mr. Bierce is not
one who would al pear on casual inspec-
| ton 2s man Of war. His appearance IS.
therefore. deceptive. He is. emphatically.
fighter. He was during the war Of
| the rebellion, servifg z much of the time on
| the staff of the late Gen. HaZen, and al
| though ne ceased 10 be soldier when the
great conflict closed he has carried into h S
journalistic career the methods of Skillful
combatant. But he is not a mercenary.
During his thirty years of residence in
California he has undoubtedly had many
opportunities to enter the service of the
gigantic monopoly he has fought and is
now fighting, but those opportunities were
neglected So persistently that he is now
here as the David of the San Francisco
Examiner and the people of California.
Mr.. Bierce's curly hair seemed to de-
velop new kinks and his sandy-gray mus
tache was positively fierce when Star
reporter chatted with him about Hunting
ton men, means and methods a he Iiotd
Page this morning.:
California said he swinging one hand
as though 1t was a sabcr busiy engaged
in choppnS the heads off the Pacific rail-
road hydra, has a grievance against
Huntingdon grievance so great and 80
intensely real that no language of mine
can adequately describe ii. j might write
about it with the utmost industry for a
month and yet the half would not be told.
Here in the east, there seems to he moth
ing like a reasonable conception of the
injustice that has been Gone and there is
what seems to me to be strange lack of
interest in question of extraordinary. mo-
nent to a large percentage of the Anne ri
can people. On the Pacific coast il is a
prime topic, and it will continue 10 be so
long as those who are. nos of the railroads
are being ground in the mills of .noEopoly
IN California the interest is intense. At
meeting held to voice San FranciSco's op-
position to q measure similar to that now
favored by Mr.. HuEtinGton there abso-
lutte unanimity, both indoors and out: and
there were fully l3.oGo persons who could
lot secure admission TO the big hall.
What Those People knew.
The great majority CT those actively
concerned folks knew, Cf their own knowI-
| edge, how much of wicked greed was cen
tered in the group of which Coils l.. Hunt
.n;,ton is now the only surviving figure: they
knew how the directors of the central
Pacific Company had transferred 10 them
selves, as directors n Z cioSeiy-related or
ganizauon, everything that could ie re-
| this col.scienceiess gang had entered upon
| the work OF ra..Goai corstrlo tion and opera
ton poor men AMI had somehow or other
| the details read Ike The report of "A grand
| larceny tr.al-acqured from fifteen to t,lir-
| ty HnllicrS each; they Knew that compe It.
ton in fre!ght-caYrying had been and st:ii
| is syste:!la tically and muri"roUsly cholled
o,t of eH stence to The end that Hunt gton
and his associates may become more ard
more wealthy; they knew-tlfl these people
Of whom thirteen thousand could no; crowd
| into the meet:rg-ifat they i'm common with
| the entire population of the coast. had been
and were being robbed; and the. knew also
| that. unless strenuous protest made
| the carnival Of dishonesty would know no
present end.
"Of these things The good people Of the
| east seerl to he entirely unaware. Fee!
with faisehooa by the Huntington literary
bureau. branch of which unuuestionably
exists in Washington, there is i'm the po,ai-
lar mind idea here that California wants
| the funding b'l to become law. Such
conclusion is entirely at variance with the
| facts. Why, the Examiner secured more
than 2GhGtD SIGNATURES TO an anti-fuu,iing
| petition. and did it in an incredibly short
space of time. without extraordinary effort.
Moral Argument of Little Eject.
cone OF the rather surprising features of
| the campaign is the unwi,lingness of the
! average legislator to admit testimony bear
| ing upon the moral phase Of the contro-
| verSv II ought 10 he quite plain that these
| who Hnr.ghteously possessed themselves of
| $joW0,M' thirty years ago, ard who have
| never given up one cent of either principal
! or interest have ho claim upon which to
base demand for an extension that would
continue the present outrageous conditions
! for a hundred years to come. We. there
| fore, plead with Congress-we who have
been legally robbed-to foreclose the mort
| gage, and give us government railroad
| from Omaha to San Francisco.
| ITO exaggerate the extent of the evil
| against which we cry aloud is hardly pos
- h..G l.s
| likely to be so long as Huntington is in
| ccntro'. = large proportion of California =
freight passes its ultimate destnat :on he
| ing pushed right through to San Francisco
| and then sent back in the slow and fear
| fully expensive process of distribution. In
some places the dealers have hee,i compel
| led, in self-defense. to resort to the oid-tine
siN-nlUie wagon as means of TRANSPORTS
| ton; ii could hardly he otherwise than
| cheaper than the eXorbitant rates assessed
| by the railroad monopoly. For awhile there
| cleaned forth in the darkness the possible
| ity of water competition, but the Hunting
| ton crowd eNtinguished the gfimmering
| light by subs u ziny the steamboat lines to
| the tune of $13,On month. These truths
however, seem to be without interest to
| very many Senators and Representa- tives
Good Word for senator Morgan.
Senator Morgan of Alabama is a not
able exception. We're he a Senator from
California he could not be more enthusias-
uc- should he ever be 2 candidate for ma
t.onal suffrage he can get all the Caiifor-
| MIA votes that are worth having.
"No! we have no barrel: no open sai.k of
| golden coin. We are doin. our best 10
have the case considered on its merits and
our only arguments will he those of rel-
son. Whether We win or lose there VIII he
| no taiEt upon our plea, no suspicion pt
dishonest motive; our garments Will De
| devoid even of the smell of fire.
How Ambrose Eicrce Writes
Specimens of Mr.. Bcrce's caustic ability
! appear daily in the San Francisco Exam
| lner. Mr.. Bierce believes I'm personalities
| and his paper prints them conspcio.,sIy
| and with evident relish. Commenting on
| the appearance of Mr.. Huntington before
| the Senate committee on Pacific railroads
| Mr.. Bierce writes:
ITO that august body he eXpound,.,l him
| self with considerable prolixty and II
listened to his tale of woe with the respect
due to his wealth and the synlpa Thy com
PEELED by his reluctance TO die and leave it
| The sympathy, it may he remarked is
| wasted on an imaginary disaster Before
! this good man shall have been long in the
| new Jerusalem he Will undoubtedly find AN
| opportunity to pull up hackload OF oiocks
| from the golden pavement and retire to
Hades to enjoy them like a gentleman
Mr.. Huntington is not aitogethe
| bad. Though severe, he Is mercfful He