The herald., 1896-02-18
Stalks Before the Senate Reor=
ganization Committee
SENATORS FEAR SCANDALS
If Government Ownership OF Pacific
Railroads Is Assumed
Of Discussion, and No Conclusion
Is In Sight
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-THE Credit Mo
bilier scandal figured in the hearing of the
Pacific railroad reorganization question
before the senate committee on Pacific
railroads today and brought out the
incidental reference to the possibility of
such scandal in the Nicaragua canal.
| Mr.. +. b. Thurber, chairman of the ma
| tional board of trade committee on trans
portation, was before the committee and
Senatar Morgan was questioning him
about the relative possibilities of corrup-
ton in the senate under government con-
troll and under the management of private
individuals. Reference had been made to
the Credit Mobilier by Senator Morgan,
whose evident purpose was to draw from
Thurber an expression of opinion that the
Credit Mobilier could never have occurred
if the entire dictatorship of the roads had
been composed of men appointed by the
government, when Senator Frye inter-
rupted to say that the Pacific roads
been no Credit Mobilier.
mo more,' he added, ''than can the
Nicaragua canal be built without the CO.
operation of some company under the
plans proposed"
much as l am interested in the Mica
ragua canal.' replied Mr.. Morgan, II
should abandon its advocacy if believed
it to be true that 1t would be bult under
circumstances likely to develop such a
condition of affairs as grew out of the
building of the Pacific roads"
He added that in the bill which he had
reported at the last session of congress it
had been provided that the United States,
Nicaragua and Costa R,ca should have a
large majority of the directors. This, he
thought, would prevent any Credit Mo.
bilier scandal in that connection. Mr..
Morgan said he had proposed to find a way
of preventing the recurrence of any such
disgraceful state of affairs In connection
with the Pacific roads, but when Senator
Gear, chairman of the committee, asked
how lie proposed to accomplish that desr-
able result, Mr.. Morgan replied that he
would enlighten the committee in an en-
ecutive session.
Mr.. Thurber read a paper in the state
ment in opposition to government owner
ship of the Pacific roads. The report on
which it was based had, he said, been SUBJ
mitted to the board of trade.
The object of MIR. Morgan's questioning
of G. p. Huntington, president of the
Southern Pacific. who was next called, was
to bring out the facts as to the ability of
the Southern and Central Pacific roads to
L
Mr.. Huntington was inclined to be evasiye
and declared that the question of rates and
competition by the Canadian Pacific,
Northern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe would determine.
Senator Morgan then directed his in
uuiries to the ascertainment of the trans
portation lines controlled by the Southern
Pacific under the kentucky charter, the
result being to show that the company con-
trolled lines through an exchange of stock
from New Orleans via San Francisco to
Portland, Or, and owned not only line
of steamers from New Orleans to New
York, but had business arrangement
from New Orleans to Enrope. The Ken
lucky company had, Mr.. Huntington said,
issued stock amounting to about = Sl00,-
100000, but in exchange for capital stock
in other companies and not for cash.
He himself had five or six millions of the
Kentucky company's stock, but he thought
the Stanford estate owned more of it then
he.
On the point of individual liability of
stockholders for the company's debts, Mr..
Huntington said that he did not believe
they were liable, "and,'' he added, 'tthe
fact that those fellows say we are liabe
makes me stronger in the belief that we
are not"
Mr.. Huntington declared he had no in
terest in any of the contracts for building
the Central Pacific. but he was interested