The herald., 1896-03-07
A GREAT MANY WORDS USED
But Very Little Information Is Gained
From Them
"Manipuiation." Saying He Didn't
Do Ii

Morgan was absent at the beginning of the
hearing.
John Rooney. q representative of ths
junior bondholders, was permitted to file a
brief in opposition to the plans heretofore
offered for the reorganization of the Pacific
roads. He adverted to the consolidation
of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
assessments OH subordinate interests for a
cash payment OF the first and second
mortgages, and for management by gov.
ernment commissioners, of foreclosure and
reorganization of these properties.
| When Morgan appeared linguistic con-
test between himself and Huntington be-
gan. The senator began Immediately by
asking Huntington as to his objections to
the Pattson report.
! Huntington replied that he objected to
it as whole. He admitted he had been
before the commission, but contended the
commission had certain theories to work
out and did not pay much attention to his
statements. II know" he said. "all about
! the building of the Central Pacific
ut is not so much about the building of
! the road replied Morgan. 1--WE want
to know as TO about what was made out
! of it,"
| I'VE did not responded Huntington,
make any more than we were allowed to
make under the statutes" Continuing as
to the division of proceeds, he said he
! could divide what two were interested ex-
actly in the middle.
Senator Morgan-Can you do that when
you are on one side and the people on the
other?
Mr.. Huntingdon can.
Senator Morgan-I am going to give YOU
q chance before we get through.
Referring to the construction of the
Southern Pacific to Yuma, Ariz., Hunting
ton said Cotton was interested in that
transaction and he (Huntington) had
nothing to do with the disposal of his es.
tate.
"Did you not" asked Mr.. Morgan, "buy
Mrs. Colton's house in San Francisco"
II did,
"And did you not find Colton's papers in
the house,"
IL found wall paper there"
but did you not find private papers
there and burn them:"
IF you charge me with that will an
swer?"
ut is charged by men who have written
me. men as good as am"
Then they are good men,
Huntington then asserted with much EN-.
phasis that he neither found any of Col
tons papers in his house nor destroyed
any OF them. Huntington was examined
as to his partnership with Mark Hopkins
in the hardware business in San Francisco.
He declared the hardware business was in
| no way connected as partnership with
the railway business. The firm, he said,
loaned uIoney to railroads, also bought
railroaI securities, which we're divided be-
tweed as individuals. He said Senator
Morgan was asking too much when he
asked him to give the details of business
I transactions thirty-five years ago. There
had been no general settlement of Hop.
klns' accounts upon the latter's death, but
Mrs. Hopkins had gone on as the repre-.
sentative of her husbands interests in the
{! railroads.
Mr.. Huntington said in reply to questions
that he had considerable means outside of
that invested in the hardware business.
which he put into the construction OF the
Central Pacific. He could not, however,
remember how much actual money he had
put into that construction. Still, he was
confident the amount was considerable.
he had bought, he thought, about 2OO0
snares of the stock at the rate of 500 per
share before the road reached New Castle.
He had also put money into the Contract
and Finance company. by which the road
| was constructed
More than Sc, ,OOO, 900 had been put into
that company by himself and his associ-
ates, but much OF the money had been Dor.
rowed, some of it on government bonds.
! He resented, with some SHOW of indigna-
ton, question tending to show that it
was the government and not the company
who had conducted the construction say
ing that the company. with resources le.
ultimately placed at their command, had
constructed it. He added that the COM
pany had built thirty-one miles of road
without any government assistance.
MIR. Morgan complained in this connec.
tion that Mr.. Huntington was too much in
eilned to give opinions and not facts, but
Mr.. Huntington contended that lie was
| giving all the facts he had. He said that
740 miles of the road had been built in
seven years; that $25,0O0,O00 in bonds
had been received from the government: !:
that first mortgage bonds were issued for
$15,O00,O00 more and that there was
| $60,O0O,OO0 worth of stock. He said he
would not do the work again for twice the
amount received. Taking up the report of
the Pattison commission. Mr.. Huntington
said that part of the road west of Ogden
from Bonneville table to Promoatory
mountain had cost, according to General
Dodge, $S7 ,00C per mile. whereas the
commission had put the price at $40 900.
He gave this as an illustration of tile inac-
curacies of the commissions report. This
| part of the road had been built by the
! Union Pacific and afterwards been pur-
chased by the Central Pacific for the pur.
pose of getting into the Salt Lake valley.
Mr.. Huntington said the road paid we'll
for the first ten years and until after the
Atchison and Northern Pacific had come
in as competitors.
Mr.. Morgan asked why the dividends had
! not been put into sinking fund and used
in paying the government and first mort
gage debt. to which Mr.. Huntington re.
piled that il might have been done "excspt
for the novelty of it,
"Such things are never done," he added.
"the stock was entitled to its dividend:
furthermore, the government had inter
tered with the purpose to do this through
the Thurman act.''
Mr.. Huntington said he could not re.
member how much he had received on ac-
count of the dividends, but he did not
think the amount was large. He thought
the dividends had never exceeded 10 per
cent. 1t appeared upon examination that
Mr.. Huntington obtained his dividends
principally through his interest in the
Finance and Contract company. He added
that this company had used part of its
assets in building other roads, but these
we're built in the best interest of the Cen.
trail Pacific company. The Contract and
Finance company had begun to sell it's
stock when 1t began to appreciate and
this was done in orC3r to pay the debts
| which amounted to from $4,000 900 to
$12 100000. They had disposed of great
deal of the stock for this purpose. The
price of the stock sold had ranged in price
from 10 to 35 cents.
Senator Morgan referred to the fiuctua.
tions in the stock as the results of nianipu.
lation, but Mr.. Huntington took exception
to the use of the word. He said there had
been no manipulation, and "this 10 not a
proper word to use.''
~. hsnt!ngtsa said - hea ~ steah