The San Francisco call., 1896-01-26

"
IN IN the City OF San Francisco, of value of not
less than $5, ,O00, 600, which land is now mort
sageu sm,u py the same company for $12.2S5, 900.
Inc several counties of the State contributed
20 dhe company in money and property 81
ooo,ooo; the city of Sacramento decided to it
us ~ pdver water front OF the estimated value OF
9i,Voo,ooO, and the same corporation acquired
Wlthout consideration, and con trary to the
pain principles of law, more than ten miles of
tate sne water front of the bay of San francisco,
FORMING the entire harbor OF Oakland and
parts OF the harbors of Alameda, Berkeley and
San francisco, which is of the estimated value
OF not less than $1O,000,O00.
~ II also obtained from Wells, Fargo d Co.
$l,oo0 900 of its stock in consideration of fa-
S Voraole transportation facilities accorded to
SAID company.
The foregoing grants reached the enormous
amount In value of $57 100000, which is in
nnlteiy more than the entire cost of the road.
Aaq TO the above and foregoing the interest
"nlcn Mr. Huntington and his associates OBJ
talneu IN every town through which the rail-
road passed, and also the acquisition of health
resorts, OF donations of land for town sites,
pepot purposes and, in fact, OF every known
I klllo OF property, and you cannot but appre-
clate the vast accessions of this corporation.
NOT GIFT.
These donations OF land and money were not
intended as gift to Mr.. Huntington and his
the early construction of a continental line OF
railroad to be thereafter operated In the inter
eSts OF the General Government and OF the peo-
pie OF the far West, and always under govern
mental surveillance and control
The 1ncorporators of the Central Pacific Rail
ROAD company were to all intents and pur-
poses the agents of the Government and of the
people. This Nation confided to theirikeeping
the largest amount of property ever in modern
tlmes granted by any Government to an indi-
V1dual or corporation.
III.
Soon after the organization of the Central
Paclhc Railroad Company, c. P. Huntington
ana MS three associates incorporated another
company under the name of the Contract and
nan eT1Hf 10 "a m q n Iver fhp
owners OF and represented both the Central
Faclhc Railroad Company and the Contract
Central Pacific Railroad Company contracted
with themselves TO build the road of that COM
pany, under the name of the Contract and
Finance Company" They charged their own
prices tor the work ana when completed they
held most OF its assets, and some one else owned
most OF its debts. Under these conditions the
apparent cost of the road was about three times
as much as its actual cost.
Mr.. Huntington said he did not own 100
shares OF its stock. He did not dare to own
stock in the company he had wrecked, because,
under the constitution of California, stock
holder is liable for a propOrtionate share of the
Indebtedness Of corporation, and as direc-
tor he was then and is still liable fer these pal
pable frauds.
SEEKING TO ESCAPE LIABILITY.
These same individuals and their successors
in interest are now asking the General Govern
ment to relieve them from the liability which
arose by reason of their illegal and fraudulent
acts in incurring this vast indebtedness by
providing a legal means for refunding tha-
illegal Indebtedness; and, TO accomplish this
purpose they propose TO make new con tract
under the forms OF law whereby they will
avoid their personal responsibility for the erea-
ton OF the enormous Indebtedness now hang
Ing over the corporation.
In this connection it must be remembered
that the bonded indebtedness, which the
United States assumed and agreed TO pay, is
but small part of the actual nominal indebt-
edness OF the corporation. According to Poor's
Manual for 1895 the total liabilities of the
Central Pacific Railroad Company reaches the
vast sum of S202, ,491 ,5S4, while under the
estimates made by the United States Railroad
Commission in 1888, the total cost of building
and equtpping the Central and Western Pa
cific railroads did not exceed 10000, 900.
".
Mr. Huntington and his associates, at differ
ent times, organized three corporations
through which TO carry on their railroad busi-
l. 'The Contract and Finance Company"
which we have referred to, and under which
corporation the Central Pacific Railroad was
built, and whose books have been DESTROYED
z. The Western Development COMPANY"
Exactly what this corporation was intended 10
develop can only be a matter of conjecture,
became laden with facts. These books cannot
now be found or its history traced.
This come pacitic +t Improvement COMPANY
painful process OF liquidation.
OWNED BY HUNTINGTON
One OF the reasons given for the organization |
OF these corporations was that Mr. Huntington
and his associates might own and control
bridges and ferries on the line of the railroads
like the bridge over the Colorado River on the |
line OF the Southern Pacific Railroad These
bridges, although belonging to the railroad |
system, built by its money or credit and form |
ing part thereof, are yet apparently owned by /
Z. Z. Huntington and his associates. Think of
one corporation owning a railroad track on the /
land and another corpora ton owning a part of
the same line and belonging to the same sys-
tenn over all the main bridges and ferries and |
imagine the rent the first company would have |
to pay II the sec ond company was unfriendly |
WHAT show would a mortgage creditor have
against such a combination, and especially !
when the facts as TO the side ownership of the |
bridges and ferries were not thought of or |
mentioned in the original mortgage? What !
would be the effect OF foreclosure of mort
gage on the main line under such cireum- !
stances? At most the mortgage would only |
obtain pieces OF q railroad track. An owner |
under mortgage sale made pursuant to the |
terms of the Government mortgage could NOT |
move a train over the line of the Central Pa |
clhc Railroad. Huntington and his associates |
In the Pacific Improvement Company would |
still command the situation.
Tne whole scneme is deception and a fraud |
Inc racine Improvement Company claims to |
own the great ferry and all its appendages on |
the line of the Central Pacific Railroad at Port /
Costa, also the steamer Solano, which is the |
only terry-boat in California that can carry a /
train OF cars across the straits of Carquinez at |
that point.
OWNS, OR CLAIMS To OWN.
The same company owns, or claims to own |
the railroads interest in the bridge at Sacra-
mento. 1t owns the ferry-boat Piepmont that |
plies between Oakland and San Francisco, and |
which also forms part of the Central Pacific |
line. 1t owns the river steamers Modoc and |
Apache the railroad offic buildingse at the foot |
OF Fourth ana Townsend streets in the City of |
san francisco; the Del Monte Hotel at Mon
terey; the principal part of the lands formerly |
belong1ng TO the old company in and around /
North Berkeley, and the depots at Sacramento |
and Los Angeles; it claims to own the Santa
Monica wharf property. The hotel at Lathrop
before 1t was destroyed belonged to this COM
pany. 1t also owns the Southern Pacific Rail- /
road wharf at San Pedro. 1t formerly owned |
the Oakland water front and the Mission Bay
property, but it is said these properties have |
recently been transferred. 1t owns the coal /
mines in the State of Washington and in Mex
leo, from whence the Central Pacific purchases |
us coal, and it is publicly declared that the |
racine Improvement Company nets two mil
mons OF dollars year from the coal il supplies
10 the southern and Central Pacific Railroad /
companies.
1t owns all the railroad newspapers In Cali
fornla like the Sacramento Record-Upion and |
other Journals too numerous to mention.
Every dollars worth OF all the above prop
erty, including the newspapers, forms part OF
the Central Pacific Railroad system, and was
Dought on its credit The Southern Pacific was
also built on the credit of the Central, and the /
latter has wantonly been made bankrupt TO
build up and maintain the Southern.