The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1896-04-30
RAILWAY BILL REPORTED
HOUSE COMMITTEE REPORTS ON
THE PACIFIC ROADS.
An Amount Equal to Subsidy Bonds
Has Already Been Returned
Future LeEislution.

port OF the majority OF the committee
upon the Pacific railroad bill. 1t makes
very comprehensive and exhaustive doc
ument. The report sketches very briefly
the familiar history of legislation ny
which the government granted subsidy
bonds to the Pacific roads. and then out
lines exhaustively the provisions which
congress has made from time to time for
the repayment of the bonds. The report
says on this point:
1.-The acts of congress prescribing the
provision to be made by the companies
for the repayment of bonds and the in
tel est thereon have all been fully com
piled with by the companies
IT was believed by congress, the report
says, that the provisions so prescribed to
be made would suffice to discharge the
81 bsidy bonds and the interest thereon at
maturity AS a matter of fact they have
not suificed. The insuflciency of the
congressional provision has not resulted
from any failure or omission of any OF
the companies to fully carry out the pro
Visions of the various acts of congress
but has resulted from two causes First
the great reduction in rates of transporta-
ton. which has reduced far beyond the
original anticipation the amount Of com
titled to receive from the United States
for government transportation; and sec
ond, the reduced. and until a very re
cent date, the constantly diminishing rate
of interest upon the government bonds In
which the Thurman sinking fund was
originally required to be invested. 1t was
expected that the retention of half of the
compensation for services rendered for
the government would equal or exceed
the current interest upon the subsidy
bonds, and that the reserved per cent
of new earnings would suffice for the re-
payment of the principal of the debt at
ma aturity.
1t was estimated that the aggregate c
annual interest would be $3S ,0SO and
the fact that the army and navy trans
portation and postal service to the Pa
cific had cost the government annually
1885,, 7Sl, one half of this compensation for
services to the government would have
very nearly paid the whole annual inter
est account; but, Notwithstanding the
vast increase in the government transpor
tation to the Pacific coast the rates Of
compensation at which the companies
We're paid for the services which they
rendered the government were reduced
so low that the companies instead of re-
ceivinp an amount douhla NJ, a,,o,, oo,,o,
10 the annual interest on tho suhsid,.
bonds found themselves left dahtors >,
nuallv to tho pova,nropt In ~ ,nt,,.os,
account in large amounts ,rha ,ns,,f,o,
encv of the acts of 1860 ana ,se, heco,,,,,, :,
obvious the renort states congrass a.,
ISIS passed tbe Thurman act nroyiaina
far the reservation ~ tho ,,,ho,a ,nstaaS
or half tho co,,,ansa,,o,, co.,
TRANSPORTATION. and with amounts resery.
ed in the bond and interest accounts lso
called). and that further amounts sneci.
fed in the act to he maid into tho ,rh,r
man sinking fund shouId AZ leaet eo,oi
a5 per cent of the not earnings of tbo
properties. The provisions Of Tho Low.
have been fully carried out and thero
has been no interruntion in ,ho cont,n-
ued compliance bv both the Irnion paciec
Railroad COMPANY and the Central pacific
Railroad COMPANY with the full rao,,ira.
ments which congress has heretofore os.
teblished but the expectation of senate,
Thurman that the sinking fund couId he
invested in government bonds unon a :
per cent or anything like per cent
basis utterly failed. as for a very consid.
erable portion of the time government
bonds have sold very much nearer a 3
per cent than a B per cent basis
These companies have repaid to tbe
United States sums. which in the agere-
gate are almost equal to the entire amount
of the subsidy bonds loaned. and in the
case of the Union Pacific Railroad Com
pany the repayments will exceed bv tho
sum of 5000, 600 the entire amount of the
subsidy bonds issued to its constituent
companies
The Thurman sinking fund. instead OF
earning per cent per annum on the
amount invested therein, has yielded only
comparatively insignificant returns.
The remaining debts to the government
on January 1, 1897 are: Union Pacific &
Kansas Pacific S. $50 40S; Central Pacific
& Western Pacific, $57,6sl,5l4
Three possible lines of policy seemed
open to the government, Mr. Powers
states viz. First, to enter into possession
of the properties which would involve tho
immediate payment of S61, ,3s5, 900 first mort
gage bonds. Second. foreclosure and sale
of the governments lien, which would
practically reach the same result Of .he
governments acquisition OF the roads.
The roads IL sold for what they woul1
fetch would yield little or nothing for the
government on its debt Third, TO make
an arrangement with the companies which
would secure TO the government the pay.
ment of fixed amounts at prescribed dates
as large as the reasonably anticipated
earnings would bear.
The company the report continues
adopted the third plan and extended ;he