Evening star., 1896-03-07
ENERGETIC PROTEST
Of the Pacific Coast Against Hunt
ington's Funding Bill.
CONGRESSMAN BOWERS DENOUNCES IT
And Tells How the Monopoly Has
victimized the People.
CRUSHING INDICTMENT

The fight over the refunding of the Pa
cific railroad debt is growing hotter, and
the views of such man as Representative
Bowers of California will be Of interest to
the public at large.
When Mr. Bowers was approached by a
Star reporter for an interview he said that
there was no paper he would rather speak
to the country through than The Star. If
it had not been for The Star. he said. the
refunding bill might have already been on
its passage. He was glad that since The
Star had published some of the facts in the
case there were other papers, notably one
in Chicago, which had taken up the sub
ject.
All the people of California and the west
wanted, Mr.. Bowers said, was to have the
facts reach the people and members of Con-
gress. They did not ask anything else.
In connection with the interview with Mr..
Bowers a Star reporter can state that all
kinds of efforts are being made to have the
California Representatives cease their op-
position to the funding bill. kilograms and
letters are almost daily received by every
member beseeching him to let the bill go
through, but they declare that nothing or
earth car stop them.
What Mr. Bowers Says.
There are some revelations in what Mr..
Bowers has to say, and his remarks. which
follow, will be eye-openarS to many:
Probably one-half the members of the
present House have not given any thought
to the Pacific railroad question. having had
no occasion to heretofore. These, with all
other members and Senators, have become
thoroughly disguised by the anonymous
communications they receive daily, post
marked San Francisco. the envelopes hav-
ing always printed on the outside, in f1aring
red letters, such sentences as these: 'Brib-
cry and corruption wherever Huntington
appears What Huntington thinks he could
do with $20O000,' How to bribe Congress
men, These envelopes when opened. are
usually found to contain extracts from
what is known the Patterson report, of
1887, of the Pacific railroads. Occasionally
one contains a coarse caricature Of the
Speaker and other members of the House.
Coarse abuse of Representatives naturally
tends to aid those who are scheming to
avoid paying their just debts, while abund-
antly able to pay them. If these missves
would lead to an investigation of the whole
matter then they might do some good; as it
Is. they are in every case thrown into the
served to provoke the members and commit
tee.
The facts in relation to the building and
operation of the Pacific railroad are plainly.
set forth in the report of the congressional
committee appointed in 1887 to investigate
the matter. This report Is verified history
and is a revelation of shameless misappro-
priation of money. of dishonest accumula-
tons OF vast fortunes, UNPARALLELED in the
history of the United States. But the proper
and the only question for reasonable men
to consider is, what is the best thing to do
now; the best for the whole people. not for
very few rich individuals? To arrive at
a just conclusion, We must take into consid-
eration the thirty years record of the per-
sons Tor whose benefit this refundng promo
sitlon is made. Knowing their methods of
dong business in the past, We may fairly
conclude that there will be no material
change in their methods in the future
A Railroad Given Them.
Speaking Of the Central Pacific the peo-
pie of the United States loaned to a few mau
money enough in the form of bonds to buii.,
the road then gave them land enough to
equip 1t; then gave them another grant of
md equal to the first: then authorized them
to give first mortgage on the road to them
selves for twenty-five millions They then
ISSUED ana Soid the stock of the road for
many more millions, appropriating every
road was built and became at once one of
the best paying properties in the United
states. SO skillfully was the work done hv
the lawyers of these men, who fOrmulateI the
dlHerent enactments made in favor of the
road. that the company was not called u1,on
to pay any interest upon the bonds issued
by the United States until their maturity
which was thirty years the government hav-
ing paid, up to this time upward of fifty
millions for them). Therefore they practi-
cally had railroad given them and an on
portunity to divide among themselves dur
ing its construction and Immediately after
its completion. not less than S1OO,O0a. .O0U
obtained by the most shameless methods
ever practiced by any corporation in the
United States. They then seemed to become
aware of the possibilities their position gave
them. and at once came to the determina-
ton that no other road should be built to
California. l heard one of these men de-
clare in the presence of two other directors
| in the Horton House, in San Diego, Califor-
MIA. about the year 1873, No railroad not
| owned or controlled by the Central Pacific
Company shall be built into the state of CAL
ifornia while We live. They may come after
we are dead. but not before That declara-
ton is absolutely true today of all of Cali
fornia north of Los Angeles.
Taking Possession of California.
$50 soon as these men became fully
aware Of their opportunities they set to
work to secure and occupy what was then,
dnu ~ pTdCtlCdliy now, tnelr emplre-the
state of California, with 500 miles of sea-
coast. They pushed the Southern Pacific
from San Francisco south through the
great San Joaquin valley, and the Cali
fornia and Oregon to the north, to occupy
the approaches to San Francisco, the me-
tropolis of the Pacific coast. They receiv-
ed from Congress grants in aid Of these
roads also. and by the same methods. con-
tracing with themselves to build the roads.
they dishonesty obtained many more mil
lions. Then, having secured this system of
roads. upon which the government had no
claims, these men proceeded to organize
themselves into the Southern Pacific Rail
road Company of Kentucky, under the
laws of that state; and thereupon these
men leased to themselves the Central Pa
cific railroad for 100 years. They then Sc
cured control of the Panama railroad
| through their Pacific Mail Steamship Com
pany. and precluded any practical compe-
tition, even by sea. That is the condition
of the state of California today. Every ap-
proach to the metropolis Of the Pacific
coast is held by the Southern Pacific of
Kentucky. The mere statement of facts