The record-union., 1896-02-22

Il
Morgan resumed his examination of
President c. P. Huntington of the
Southern Pacific Railroad before the
Senate Pacific Railroads Committee
this morning, taking as the basis of his
questions the report of the United States
Pacific Railroad Commission, which
examined into the whole subject in 1887
-Messrs. Littler and Anderson making
the majority report and Ex-Governor
Pattison of Pennsylvania the minority
report.
Mr.. Huntington was in a mood to repel
being driven to the wall, and he re-
sented with some show Of asperity what
he supposed to be reflections on his
veracity implied in some of the ques-
tions put to him. He denied that him
self, Stanford, Hopkins and Crocker
made an enormous fortune, or even an
undue profit out of the operations of
the Contract and Finance Company,
asserting that when the work was all
done and paid for, half in cash and half
in stock of the Central Pacific, the Con-
tract and Finance Company was not
able to pay its debts. It was only when
the Central Pacific stock appreciated.
as it did largely in a few years, that
the Contract and Finance Company
realized large profits.
Taking into consideration all the work
and anxiety that he had gone through
for twenty years in building the road
and in establishing it on a successful
basis, he declared that himself and as
sociates were not sufficiently remun-
Grated.
On being pressed to name the amount
of his personal profit, Mr. Huntington
finally put it at not more than three or
four million dollars
That is pretty good pay for twenty
years work said Senator Morgan.
mo, not for the work we did" said
Mr.. Huntington.
Il have done as much work in twenty
years. said Senator Morgan, sand 1
never got a twentieth part of that"
I do not do that Kind of work for
any such price as that. not of my own
volition,' Mr. Huntington said
Mr.. Morgan asked if all the capital
were not furnished by the Government
and Mr.. Huntington said it was not
but could not say just how much he did
put Uncertainty more than a million.
and anyhow enough to make a great
success of the work. 1t was put in from
time to time as the necessity of the
work demanded. There was no time
when he would not have nlortgaged his
dwelling house to carry on the work.
He paid into the Contract and Finance
Company eight or ten thousand dollars
at the beginning, and several thousand
afterwards. He could not state ex-
actly how much. He was in the East
the greater part of the time. and Mr.
Hopkins had absolute control of that
part of the business.
Even your bank account?'' asked
Morgan
Yes, replied Mr. Huntington, 81
always found it the better way to trust
somebody than to trust nobody
At another point in the examination
Senator Morgan remarked that Mr..
Huntington's answer was mo answer
at ALL"
I'm answering the best I can," Mr..
Huntington said
Il am afraid not Senator Morgan
remarked dIyly.
Il am" Mr.. Huntington retorted
rather defiantly "and when I say am,
that is what it means"
Senator Morgan read a statement
from the report of the United States
Railroad Commission. and asked Mr..
Huntington whether the statement was
correct.
Il do not fight Words he answered.
that are thrown into the air by ire
sponsible committees, as these usually
We're They picked up their information
on the street corners of San Francisco.
Very likely they did the best they
could, but they did not get correct in
formation
AT the close Of the examination Sem
ator Morgan said to Mr.. Huntington
that there were a number of points in
the report Of the commission to which
he would like to give Mr. Huntington
the opportunity of replying on oath.
and contradicting or correcting, if he
could, and he suggested that Mr. Hunt
ington take the volume with him and
be prepared at the next meeting of the
committee to make such statements
in denial of the report as he might de-
sire, and in order to afford time for that
purpose the committee adjourned until
Friday, the 2Sth