The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-03-11
COILS P. HUNTINGTON
Nimbleness Of the Venerable
Railroad Magnate.
THE YOUTHFUL SENATOR MORGAN.

A Recent Interesting Episodc-Bitter Feel
ings OF the Pacific Coast Peopie-The
Frteze In the Capitol Rotunda-Uncle
Sam Imposed Cpon.
WASHINGTON. March l1.-[Special. -
One OF the most interesting episodes OF the
winter was the attempt to pass through
congress bill refunding the debts of the
Pacific railroads TO the government. First
there was long investigator by the COM
mittees of the two houses, and this proved
10 be quite sensational Coils p Hunt
ington OF the Central and Southern Pacific
roads was the most important witness. In
the senate committee nearly all the MEM
bers were friendly To Mr. Huntington. 1t
Is understood that Mr. Huntingdon
friends had been on hand when the COM
mittee was made up, and that about the
only man opposed 10 him and his refunding
scheme was Mr. Morgan of Alabama. At
any rate. Senator Morgan Is the only mem
Der of the committee who took the trouble
to put Mr.. Huntington through rather
severe course OF cross examination. pro-
cedure which brought out some interesting
facts concerning the history and financial
operations of the roads and their builders
Nothing more severe and caustic than Mr..
Morgan cross examination has been seen
In Washington in long time-not since
Thomas b. Reed, then "A young and I'm.
known member from Maine won ma
tionai reputation by the skill with which
he investigated the cipher dispatch episode
of 1876.
Well Matched Pair.
Senator Morgan's examination of Mr..
Huntington made a very pretty picture.
Both are old men. Mr.. Huntington is 20,
and Mr. Morgan only year his junior.
But it would be difficult to find anywhere
In the country two more alert and mental
ly active men than they. With rare skill
Mr.. Morgan probed, and with a nimble-
ness amazing in one of his years Mr..
Huntington parted and lodged. AT
times the senator had rather the best of 1t,
the millionaire showing signs of distress.
The men are as different as can be. Mr..
Huntington is grizzled, heavy, large bel
lied, rather slow in his physical move
ments. Mr. Morgan is tall slender, 1.-THE,
active, quick as cat. The endurance Of
this old senator is surprising. All morn
ing one day he sat in the committee room
and carried on a most searching cross ex-
animation of Mr. Huntington, and most
of the afternoon he stood on his feet, roll
ing out an eloquent and learned speech on
the Cuban question Many young man
would have broken down under such a
prolonged strain, but Mr.. Morgan APP
peared as fresh at the finish as he was at
the start.
The Pacific coast people have had a large
delegation here opposing the refunding
bill. The feeling against Huntington on
the coast is something terrific, and gentle
men familiar with 1t say they would not
be surprised to see hostilities of some sort,
or violence against the property of the
monopolistic railroads, break out in case
congress passes a bill for Mr.. Hunting
tons relief There are places in California
where the merchants organize companies
TO carry freight by means of mule teams
rather than pay the charges demanded
by the Southern road. In one or two
places the people have built roads of tim
her, over which they carry wheat and
other produce in cars bauled by animal
power
The Bitter Feeling.
So bitter is the feeling against Hunting
ton that when 1t was proposed by the IL
brary committee of congress to put in the
frioze of the great rotunda Of the capitol
the Pacific railways thepeople of the coast
entered violent objection. There was
some surprise at this, for the members of
the library committee had supposed the
people of the far west would be delighted
with the idea of having that great achieve
ment, the spanning of the continent, COM
memorated in the rotunda of the capitol.
But the Calfornians declared that picture
would be a Qualification of Huntington
and the other men who had built the roads
and robbed the people, and they protested
vigorously against selection of the last
spike scene as "A topic for the frieze.
The library committee did not feel called
upon to heed this protest and decided upon
communicating the completion Of the
roads which connected ocean with ocean
by painting picture thereof in the great
frieze OF course Mr.. Huntington will not
appear In 1t in person. For the remaining
vacant panel In that frieze the committee
has decided to use picture OF the Worlds
Columbian exposition at Chicago The de-
sign under consideration shows the Span
ish princess Eulalia receiving the homage
OF the officials Of the exposition. There are
some objections to this design, 1t being
contended that the incident of Eulalia' IS re-
ception was not important enough to war
rant Placing III In bne CapitOl OIL Jne " uibeu
States in figures feet tall.
Alleged Art.
This frieze was begun some 90 years ago
by the artist Brumidi and he lived to fin
ish about one-half OF the Is pictures of
which 1t Is TO be composed Then Costag
oinni painted several more panels, and for
seven or eight years the work has been at
q standstill. All this time Costagginni
has been ready to go ahead, and the ugly
scaffolding has stood in the rotunda, but
nothing was done. The library committee
could not agree upon subjects for the re-
manning paintings.
The artists of the country are renewing
their protests against the Brumidi frieze
and also against many other works of al
legged art on display In the capitol. The
simple truth about IL Is, as every one
knows, that Uncle Sam has been shame
fully imposed upon I'm the matter Of pic
lures and statuary for the capitol He has
paid the highest prices for the poorest work.
Some of the specimens which are displayed
with all the prominence which the walls
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