The San Francisco call., 1896-04-21

have to deal with the property of corpora
tions whose charter powers have lapsed,
and all their property is forfeited to and
vested in the United States under existing
laws.
eve have to administer upon the es-
tates of two corporations that have ceased
TO exist or will soon have ceased to exist
under those laws by the forfeiture of their
charters to the power that granted them
and can continue to exist only with the
consent of Congress. The new provisions
| propose to add to the statute relate only
to the revivor OF these corporations and
their future administration under new
and temporary organization.
''The jurisdiction of courts to hear and
determine certain class of questions that
have arisen out of these transactions is
not proposed to be changed, but for the
convenient and speedy and economical
adjudication of such questions the forum
is located at Washington and the hearing
of such causes is contided to the
Court of Appeals for the District
cessity to invent new laws to change
CAiSttnS 11BlSS OI 10 lltlQ GACuS6S lOI Qo-
stroying rights that stand in the way of
powerful men, who comprise majority of
bondholders or stockholders in these cor
porations that are alleged to be bankrupt,
but still living. / am opposed to dealing
with them as bankrupt estates, for they
are not such, unless they have bankrupted
the conscience and treasury of the United
States by having forfeited their property
to the Government.
"It is the duty of Congress to see that no
honest man suffers in consequence of this
forfeiture, and it is doubly our duty when
this property, under prudent administra-
tion, is worth all the debts it owes and, in
addition, more than every dollar of stock
that had ever been placed into the treas.
ury OF both these companies. This is not
case for settlement in bankruptcy,
Those who have so long tried to bring this
great property to condition that would
cause the Government to abandon it in
disgust should not now be permitted to
capture it.
I'VE cannot afford to pay salvage to
men who have conspired to wreck the
ship. The United States has a great and
active rival in the Canadian Pacific Rail-
road that is virtually owned by Great
Britain. 1t is rival as we'll in CONNER
cial competition as in governmental SER
vice. If we permit this great National
highway to be served as is about to be
done-the Eastern half, with the Oregon
Short Line, to pass under control of q
European syndicate, and the Western half
to fall into the vortex of MONOPOLY
which is represented by the Southern Pa.
citic Company-the Kentucky Company
not only will the plan established In
1S62-64 be lost and the hopes of the Gov
ernment blasted, that have cost the coun-
try so much, but the control of our trans
continental commerce will be also lost
and the Government will be beggar at
the feet of native. and foreign railroad
kings for favors where we now have rights,
"There is plenty of money in the hands
of the people of the United States seeking
such investments to take every bond at 3
per cent that we will issue to refund and
reduce these railroad debts. And our peo.
pie will own the road in the outcome and
will gladly keep it in control of our Gov
eminent, and we will be saved the loss and
humiliation of buying gold to ship abroad
to pay dividends on stock. This is our
great opportunity to make of this great
road an American institution SO that we
may have one railroad at least that is not
the mere servant and dividend producer
for capitalists of foreign countries.
IF it can ever be justly said that for
any cause we have given away or aban-
doned the most vital interests of the
great comm unity to satisfy the greed of
corrupt men we shall share their infamy,
however just may be our motives. 1t will
be censure upon the American name
that will blacken it the world over if it can
even be said with any color of probability
that the crimes of the Credit Mobilier and
others quite as worthy of reprobation
which hovered about the cradle of the first
and grandest of our transcontinental rail
roads have followed 1t and bounded it to
its grave and presided at its death and
burial.
"Under recent adverse conditions of
great business depressions and in spite OF
temptations to run these railroad proper
ties down to minimum of their earning
capacity, so that in the expected bank
ruptcy the capitalists of the world could
gobbIe up these great National highways
at their own price-in spite of all this, the
~.