The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-30

4N~N 4NNSNAOh NSolIS W say IUHt Chilli W
represent in this matter 10000 American
c1tizens-the great majority of the people of
the seventh Congressional District of Califor-
MA, very large proportion of whom are farm
ers or producers, who make railroads possible,
VINO furnish them business. ! am opposed to
the passage of any funding bill, and in this
position am confident 1 represent forty-nine
out OF every fifty voters of the district which
sent me here.
am opposed: First-Because 1t is against
puohc policy. Second-It would be a premium
offered those who have misused the Govern
ments bounty. Third-It will in my judg-
ment establish fact beyond any argument that
there Is to be one code of civil and criminal
law In this country for powerful COMPOSITIONS
and multi-millionaireS and another and differ
ent code for common citizens; that an act
which is held 10 be dishonest and m1sde-
meanor by a common citizen, and for which
act he shall be punished, is to be conooned
and rewarded when committed by any OF these
great corporations or persons counting their
wealth by millions-it is impossible to escape
this conclusion. Fourth-To my mind no
justification can be offered for funding
bill in these cases. 1t is asked Tor by
those who have profted by abusing the
peoples bounty, by spectators and Dond
manipulators. FIfth-Any funding bill Will
continue in power the grievous monopoly
WHICH HIS LOT Tie phob SSoAo
held the Pacific Coast in its merciIess grip, and
which has been enabled TO do this only through
the powerful aid OF the Government, which has
built and turned over TO the use of said mo-
nopoly nearly 1000 miles of road free of cost,
thus enabling it to dictate to every other road
and to all the people. Sixth-The funding bill
is not good business Propositions PROPOSE
ton solely in the interest OF parties who have
BETRAYED every trust committed to them, whose
hos DrOVpd f61Sa Saypnth-Tr
view OF the past record of the parties for whose
benefit the proposition is made, no guaranty
can be given that they will prove more faithful
to any contract now made for future fulfill
ment than they have been in keeping their
contracts in the past.
l am amazed that these parties, in view of
their past record, now have the hardihood to
ask the Recommendations apology or ex-
cuse for their misdeeds-to ask them to con-
tinue their outrageous business methods for
fifty years more; that through the strong arm
OF the Government the people of the Pacific
Coast shall continue to bear this grievous yoke.
know, of course, that no person who is I'M
acquainted with the workings of this Govern
ment-established, Goyernment-assisted and
Governments protected monopoly realizes what
this proposition means; that to those who are
not informed it appears a mere question of
money.
u
ter of money. No funding bill gives any prom
Use of recovering any part of debt; better by
far surrender all claims, make the whole debt
present to these parties at once and done
with it.
But 1 assert there is no need to sacrifice any
part OF the debt due the Government, and in
support of this assertion propose to quote the
last report of the Secretary of the Interior. He
shows that the average net receipts for the
80
$4,000,000. The annual interest on first
mortgage bonds, amounting to 81, $50, 740, is
included in expenditures
That the average net receipts OF the Central
Pacific were 81 ,4l5, 206 and that the interest
on frst-mortgage bonds is included in expen-
ditures, thus bringing the total net receipts of
the roads TO an average of S., 229, $50. Add
three millions that the Government would save
on interest if it took the roads and it would
make net sum of over eight millions year
above expenditures. The Secretary goes on TO
say:
at will be seen that the average net earnings
of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific main
lines during the past ten years had been
SS, 1Sl ,220 while the total amount of the
frst-mortgage bonds and Government bonds
issued upon the main line, less sinking fund
for the main line, is 1885,, 245 ,551.
"This annual net profit shows the properties
amount which the Government has paid and
would pay if it were compelled to discharge
the first-mortgage bonds. This being the case,
it would seem to be a clear business PROPOSE
ton that the Government ought not to lose,
even If it should be compelled through fore
closure to collect It's debt"
Again he says: GAS the original Government
bonds and frstmortgage bonds are about
due, they might be paid off at their face value,
and as a Government 3 per cent bond is worth
more than par at the present time, there would
be no difficulty in utilizing a new per cent
bond to pay off or call in both of the other is
sues.
cit will be seen that if such course were pur-
sued by the Government, and this property
averaged in the future the same net profit that
it has during the past ten years, it would earn
sufficient to pay 3 per cent on the bonds which
the Government would be compelled to issue
and yet leave yearly net margin of So ,0S9,-
$685.
Thus the Secretary clearly shows that these
roads are paying 6 per cent, and the Govern
ment can get money at per cent, which
would in effect make the net receipts at least
$4,000, 900 per year from the two roads-suf-
feient in twenty years to pay the whole debt.
Besides this, there would be over 100000
acres of unpatented lands returned to the
public domain, worth at least $25 200, 900. 1t
must be remembered that during these ten
years the Central Pacific has been leased to
the Southern Pacific and all the trade possible
diverted from it to the Southern Pacific
There is no doubt that during the first fifteen
years of life of the roads, their earnings were
enormous through excessive tolls collected for
freights and fares.
1t Is probable that not less than $500, 900, 900
was cleared up by their directors during this
period, and yet with all those immense profits
the owners of these roads refuse to pay one
penny of interest on bonds, the Government
having paid $1o5, 100000 for them. The
whole transaction was deliberately planned by
cunning lawyers to swindle the people, and
that the scheme should pass the scrutiny of SO
many great lawyers and statesmen then in
Congress calls into question either their hon.
esty as representatives or their capacity as
lawyers.
Where have these railroad earnings gone?
The immense aggregations of wealth now con-
trolled by few individuals, being the result
of the earnings of these roads, compounded
with the great Government subsidies of lands
and bonds. are apparent to every man who has
eyes to see, To-day, while these roads have
contended that they were unable to pay in
terest on these bonds, we find that every real
director and owner Il don't refer to numerous
dummies ernnloyed nv real o1ynarc dirac-