New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-17
DFUiGOGY IN THE SENATE.

Il
In the "deliberative branch of the uni'ed
States Congress the other day purely puslheSS
matter was under discussion 1t related I'D '"e
settlement or adjustment Of debts que the "o'
eminent from railroad corporations, 10 WHICH 1t
had leaned large sums of money upon thc So
cr,.ity of n second mortgage. The corporations
are practically insovent. They cannot meet
thclr obligations The question involved IS not
now The courts have been filed with such Tor
several years. 1t is simply how 10 auJuS' ,ie
relations of several classes OF creditors WIN
each other as nearly as possible IN the oruei y,
their respective liens, so that the LOSSES
in the business may be fairly divided aihonS
them and cquitably adjusted. III Is pureN
business proposition The circumstances III
which thirty years ago the Government ioaheu
the money upon the security OF Il seconu Hior'-
care have no immediate relation to the pressing
question which is How can the Government get
ont of the complication with least loss ana 10 the
host advantage? Several plans have been pro-
nosed differing as to details. but each Offering
essentially one or the other Of two alternatives
ono IN extend the debt. the other to foreclose
tbo second mortgage take possession or the
properties and enter upon the new policy OF HoV-
If is not our present purpose to discuss the merits
of these two propositions But IL may w "''
ful 70 notice one Of the features Of the DEBATE III
the "delibcrativc branch
1t was upon the proposition to extehd the u'o'
under conditions apparently favorable 10 me
Government that Senator Pctugrew' Oh SCUM
Dakota. made use Of this language: ii 'hls
"plan is carried ont then we, rs Il GoVerhIich.'
Evil, still be in partnership for nifty years WIN
"the same men who have been our partners loi
"the past thirty years. As our partners IN the
"nast they have swindled us, stolen our prop
"ortv hrjbcd. dcbauched and dsgraced our ser
"vants and pundercd the people along the line
"of the road by cxtortionate rates Now no
ono who has any knowledge of business methods
or cornorate transactions is ignorant of the fact
that the holder OF a mortgage bond Is in no
nortnorshin relations with the mortgageor. His
eocritv has q fixed value with which the per-
sonal honesty or dishonesty OF the mor'SaSeor
has nothing to do. so long as the mortgage liscii
IS perfect Nor does 1t need TO be pointed out
that in the renewal Of a mortgage-paruculari!
by a corporation. the stockholders IN winch are
changing constantly-nO partnership Is loriheu
in the first place and II there were IL would DC
with entirely different parties from me mort
cageors Of thirty years previous Senator fetti-
grew has fallen into the Congressional habit, we
foar. and In the "dellberative branch has In
iccted the hot temper and passionate declama-
ton of the stump into what should have been
"a coldlv calm and serious consideration OF a
purely business matter
The language Of moderation is becoming IN q
United States Senator Senator Petugrew repre-
.l,at IN
localities where the men whom in the course OF
his remarks, he characterized as tine boston
crowd Of highwaymen" were well known IN busl-
ness relations and private life. The exaggern-
tons of his style may find favor among MS con-
| sttucnts But II remains 10 be- said That the
| standard OF individual uprighlnesS ana business
| morality in the communities which hold III hlSh
| esteem what he calls the Boston crowd OF high
wavmen" IS probably not much lower thih
| among Senator Pettigrcw's own constituents In
| South Dakota The truth is that very few Of the
original stockholders OF the Union Pacific de-
scrlbed as the Boston crowd OF hlghwaymen
are now living, and hardly one OF them Is now
interested In the road. AS TO THE Ameses,
whom the Senator specifies il IL well known
fact that only In the family OF the late Fred j..
Amcs IS any Of the original stock or the Union
Pacific now held His father, Oliver Ames.
imperIlled his fortune In building the road be-
cause Of his faith in the enterprise But for him
I. would not have been built. More because OF
! Inheritance OF his fathers faith and Of devo-
| ton to his memory than for any other reason
| Fred l. Amcs held his stock from the time
| when II stood at 1870 down to n reccivershp and
during all the time gave the company his I'M
stinted service But Senator Pettlgrew did not
hesitate 10 drag in not only his name, but the
names Of his son and his executors rs part oil
1.-THE Boston crowd Of highway men In manner
wholly disconnected from the matter In hand
We do not know how this style Of discussion may
strike South Dakota. but we venture to say that
II seems to us not merely irrelevant but brutally
demagoglcal Why not use the language OF
moderation and the first principles OF common
business sense in discussing business propo
| sition!