The San Francisco call., 1896-01-18

reader. made vacant by Mr.. Anderson,
whose voice was rapidly assuming the tone
of foghorn. Q
Ihe testimony of the late Senator Stan
Iord was next taken up. 1t opened with a
sehtie lecture calculated to make the Con-
gresslonal committee feel very small and
wound up with making them feel how
GTlaghanlmous was the Central Pacific
Company.
He told the members of the committee
In9lVlaually that they had absolutely no
Ilght to come out and investigate the
ailalrS of the Central Pacific Company !;
mat 1t made no difference what they
Iound, 1t would in no way impair the
existence or usefulness of the corporation.
however" he added, ''as Congress de-
slres TO learn about our affairs we will will
lngly answer any and all questions put to
US by you gentlemen"
Inc senator reclted the history OF the
building OF the road-how the War De-
partment had made the surveys. The
most desirable route was agreed TO be the
southern one on the thirtysecond parallel
The war shut that out, however, and it
was found necessary to run over the
central line, as the northern one was
traught with danger as to SHOWS and
blockades. In 1862 Congress decided for
the central route. At that time the Gov
ernmenU was spending $8, 600 per year
for freight and the carrying OF the mails
and il was on this figure that the basis OF
the appropriation for the Central Pacific
road was made. Seeing that there was
difficulty in completing the road Congress,
in 1864, doubled the land grant.
Under the most adverse circumstances
the road was finally built. The most
noted engineers and the people of this
country in general doubted the practi-
CabLity of building a road over the Sierra
Nevada Maintains or 10
were aligned the Sacramento Valley Rail-
road, Wells, Fargo d Co., the California
Navigation Company and many other in
stitutions believing that the transcontl-
mental road would be their ruin.
Over s., coo, 600 had to be lost at the very
start on account of the need for money
and the approach of the war. The Gov
eminent bonds could have been sold ar par
If the Government had not wanted the road
rushed through and time-until lS76-the
/ limit accorded by Congress for the con-
struction, had been taken. The result OF
the rush and other things, he stated
caused the road to cost more than so pei
cent over what it should have cost.
Speaking OF the benefit the Central Pa
citic had been, Senator Stanford mentioned
the development of California's wheat.
fruit and wine resources-how it had
added millions of wealth to the United
States, and how 1T had satisfactorily per
formed all the services required of il by
the Government.
The Senator ATTEMPTED to show the com
mlttee that instead of the Central Pacific
being IN debt to the Government the shoe
ughfuIly belonged on the other foot
de told them that when the Central
Paclhc Com panY started 10 build the roaC
1t was tacitly understood there would b,
no competing lines. Instead of that the
Government aided the Atlantic and Pa.
! fiP rho NArt ~
lson, Topeka and Santa Fe roads to rur
parallel lines and gave them better in
( ducements In the way of land grants thar
were given the original line. This, the
senator asserted, entailed a loss of 81 ,000.
/ 600.
Il am sure" the Senator remarked
| that at the conclusion of your la bors YOU
! will, upon an equitable adjustment O
/ these affairs, recognize that not only is the
/ Central Pacific Company not indebted tc
| the Government, but that 1t is to be recog-
nlzed as the Government creditor"
! III mum berless amounts, such as 81, ,S53, =
/ 333 10 for transportation of troops and
mails; 100000 for lawsuits incurred
/ through the fault of the Government
$l,6l2, ,966 depreciation in the sinking fund
and $37 900 600 depreciation of business on
account OF the aided parallel roads, the
Senator worked up an debtedness OF $62, =
872 557 81 which is due from the Govern
ment 80 the Central Pacific Company
In concluding his testimony Senator
Stanford told how he and his associates
were traduced. How, of the original S27. =
100000 worth of bonds, he had never
profited single dollar These were sold
at 40 cents on the dollar gold in the East
and every cent went with the first mort
gage bonds to pay ior the construction of
the road.
"ShlI,' exclaimed the Senator, "those
people who do not know the inside his
tory of the Central Pacific claim that we
have made hundreds of millions of dollars
out of it."
Leaving that line of evidence aside, Mr..
Stanford told how the first 45O miles OF the
Cantral Pacific line had cost more money
than would cost the grading to-day of a
line between San Francisco and Chicago.
1t took three years in which to complete
the work. Thousands of kegs of powder
were used for blasting in the Sierra Ne
vadas, and the force of men employed was
double the usual number. The work had
to be completed as quickly as possible,
because the needs of the Government were
urgent, and that was why the extra ex-
pense was incurred.