, 1896-04-27
PACIFIC RAILWAY BILL.
Chairman Powers Presents a
Report TO the House.
OF THE LIEN.
Favored by tho COmnsittee-Flxed
Payments At Prescribed Dates
viii BE Required Upon
Easy Terms

Washington, April 25.-Chairman
Powers OF the house committee on Pa
cifc railroads today presented to the
house the report of the majority COM
mittee upon the Pacific railroad bill. 1t
is a comprehensive and exhaustive doc
ument The report sketches briefly the
familiar history of legislation by which
the government granted subsidy bonds
to the Pacific roads, hen outlines ex-
haustive provisions which congress
made from time to time for a repay
ment of the bonds. From the state
ments furnished by the secretary of the
treasury. Chairman Powers shows the
total of subsidy bonds advanced were:
Union Pacific railway. 1927. 236, SIP:
Kansas Pacific railway. &c. 0 900; to-
tai, $50. $780, SIP; Central Pacific rail,
road ,$25, 5S5, 120; Western Pacific rail-
road. 81, 49, $50; total. s27, S55. $50; total
subsidy bonds advanced to these COM
panies. SOL 1896. 1872. The repayments
were: Union Pacific railroad, $780,
935; Central Pacific railroad, SIS, 1885,
45S; total, $50, 755, 1894. Repayments on
January |, 1897. These fall short of an
amount equal to the principal of the
subsidy bonds advanced by about the
sum of $4,639, 797. The remaining debts
1897, are: Union Pacific and Kansas
Pacific. $50, us, 40S; Central Pacific and
Western Pacific s57, 1851 14. Three pos
sible lines Of policy seemed open to the
government, Mr.. Powers states. viz:
First. To enter into possession Of the
property which would involve imme-
diate payment of SCI, 1886, 900 of first
mortgage bonds. Second. Foreclosure
and sale of the governments lien,
which would practically reach the
same result, of the governments acqui-
sition of the roads. The roads, If sold
for what they would fetch, would leave
very little for the government or its
debt. Third. To make an arrangement
with the companies which should Sc.
cure to the government the payment OF
fixed amounts at prescribed dates. as
large as the reasonably anticipated
earnings could bear. The committee
the report continues, adopted the third
plan and extended the government lien
to embrace the whole properties, in,
Guiding terminals, branch lines and
feeders and equipments. In this con
nection 1t is said: 1T would be i'm
practicable to operate successfully the
subsidized properties. which are con-
fined to the interior railroads without
terminals and outlets indispensable to
complete and efficient property. On the
other hand. no settlements had been
made which would leave the govern
ment at its present disadvantage ana
which does not provide for government
security completed in all respects in
which It has been heretofore so clearly
deficient. The lien of the government
will embrace additional indispensable
properties which include more than
twenty per cent. The main mileage of
the Union Pacific railway has 220 miles
of branches. with its extensive ter
minals at Omaha, Kansas City, Denver
and Ogden. the bridge across the Mis-
souri, river at Omaha. the entire body
of unsold lands together with out
standing land contracts. In the case
Of the Central Pacific the lien is ex-