The San Francisco call., 1896-02-18
Senator Morgan Asks Some Verv
Unpleasant Questions of
the Magnate.
CONSOLIDATION OF THE ROADS
Would Place the People of the Pacific
Coast at the Mercy of the
Com bine.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. 1.-THE
Senate Committee on Pacific Railroads
this morning resumed its hearings on
Pacific railroad matters. F. B. Thurber OF
New York, representing the Board of
Trade, appeared before the committee and
made an argument in opposition to Gov
eminent ownership of Pacific railroads,
and in favor of the adjustment of the Gov
ernment debt, on the best terms practic-
able. Such an adjustment, he said, would
be an important starting point for placing
the railroads in this country on a better
basis, and would thus have an important
bearing on the entire commercial interests
of the country. He had aided Mr.. r agan
OF Texas in urging the enactment of legis-
latlon against railroad pooling, but expert
ence and the logic Of events had convinced
Mr.. Reagan and himself that the prohi-
bition of pooling was unwise.
The problem now was to eliminate I'M
just Determinations. Mr.. Thurber has
changed his opinion in regard to pooling
because the experience of the last eight
years IN which pooling has been prohibited
had demonstrated that a greater Unequal
lty, more injustice and more favoritism in
rates now existed than before.
Replying to questions, Mr.. Thurber said
he favored Governmental control of tine
bonded railroads, but not Governmental
ownership.
Senator Morgan asked Mr.. ThurDer if
from the beginning board of directors ap-
POINTED BY the President and confirmed
by the Senate, and of honorable character
had been selected, whether he thought the
Credit Mo5ilier would ever have grown up
in that company.
Mr.. Thurber replied that he thought the
chances for bad management increased as
soon as the management OF railroads was
taken into politics. The Credit Mobilier
was largely due to the Government hav-
ing had nothing to do with the owner
ship or management of railroads
Senator Morgan endeavored to get the
opinion of the witness as TO whether the
Government or the private directors were
responsible for the Credit Mobilier, but
Mr.. Thurber either does not know or does
not care to express an opinion. Morgan
pressed his question in various forms. but
the Government directors were probably
no better than any other class.
Senator Morgan, in his cross-examina-
ton, was somewhat sarcastic in his refer
ence to the Credit Mobilier, and finally
Senator Frye, who had been growing
restless, said curtly: "You would never
have had any Pacific railroad had you not
had a Credit Mobilier 1t was nothing and
is nothing but a construction company.
and you have the same in connection with
the Nicaraguan canal. II is in every great
public work"
"If l thought so for a moment" replied
Senator Morgan, important as consider
that great work 1 would abandon it at
once"
Continuing his argument Mr.. Thurber
said he believed by a cooperation of all
interests concerned and extending the
time for the payment of the first and Sec
ond mortgage bonds the Government
could be repaid in full and something re-
main for the stockholders. Mr. Thurber
favored Mr.. Frye's bill relating to the Cen
tral Pacific.
Coils P. Huntington, president of the
Southern Pacific Railway, was the first
witness at the afternoon meeting. Mr.,
Huntington was examined closely and at
great length by Senator Morgan in an en-
deayor to show that the consolidation of
the Southern Pacific and Central Pacific
under one management placed the people
of the Pacific Coast at the mercy of the
com bination in regard to transportation
rates, but Mr.. Huntington denied that the
consolidation would create monopoly of
the Pacific Coast business.
After spending considerable time in wor-
rying Mr.. Huntington over this phase of
the question Senator Morgan produced a
printed copy of the memorial adopted at
recent public meeting in San Francisco in
opposition to the extension OF the Govern
ment debt of the Pacific railroads. This
memorial was largely made up of allega-
tions and charges against Huntington,
Stanford Crocker and Hopkins In connec-
tion with the contract and finance COM
pany which built the Central Pacific road.
All the charges and allegations of fraud
were denied by Mr.. Huntington, who more
than once remarked that the fact OF such
statements being made by Adolph Sutro
and the others whose names were given
was q sufficient indication of their being
false.
Finally, at about o'clock, the other
members of the committee, who had
taken no part in these lines of inquiry, in
terfered with suggestion that while the
examination might be interesting 1t had
no bearing whatever on the real question
before the committee, which was as to the
adjustment to be made between the Gov
ernment and the Pacific railroads.
Morgan insisted that he had right as
Senator to have his conscience informed
on the whole history of the building of the
Pacific railroads and said that he would
continIe that line of investigation at the