The San Francisco call., 1896-02-21
Bad Memory of the Southern
Pacifc's President AS to
Government Reports.
THE CONTRACT AND FINANCE
Had Instructed Hopkins to Take As
Little Stock in the Company
AS Possible.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. 20-Collis
P Huntington, president of the Southern
Pacific Railroad, was again before the
Senate Pacific Railroad Committee this
morning and Senator Morgan continued
his examination as to the relations between
the Central Pacific and the Contract and
Finance Company. The stock received by
the latter company for building the Central
Pacific, Mr. Huntington said, was sold and
the proceeds were used TO pay off the debts
OF the construction company. He could
not recall the exact amount that remained
after the debts were paid, but thought it
approximated s., 100000 Hopkins, his
partner, had attended to the bookkeeping,
and he could not say what his share in the
division was. He now owned, he said,
5000 shares of Central Pacific stock and had
never owned larger block.
Morgan then produced the report of the
Government Commissioners, Anderson
and Littler, and the minority report of
Governor Pattison and asked Huntington
if ne had read them, to which the latter
replied that possibly he had.
Morgan then asked Huntington's views
on various statements made in the report
(Which he ready, but received non-com-
initial replies, Huntington stating that it
was so long ago that he could not be posi-
tive.
Regarding the report of Governor Patti
son, Huntington said he thought from
what he knew OF it that it was largely a
copy of the Sam Brannan report.
Morgan expressed the hope that Hunt
ington would read the Pattlson report, for
he wished to examine him on it to see if
that report had misrepresented him Hunt
ington) IN any way.
Huntington remarked, sarcastieally, that
he was glad the Senator was looking out
for his (Huntington's) interests.
Morgan said he intended the examina-
tion should be absolutely impartial in
every way. He was not making a per-
sonal fight on Huntington, but was try
ing to do his duty as a member of the
committee in getting at the facts in the
case. He then turned his attention to the
Contract and Finance Company, its or
ganization and the awarding of the con-
tracts to that company for building the
various sections af the Central Pacific
Huntington said the company was
formed because no one could be found to
take such enormous contracts because of
the uncertainty Of the liability involved
The contract company was formed where
the liability would be known. He had
tried 10 place stock of the company in
New York and Boston, and was in the
East when Mr.. Hopkins had .telegraphed
him as TO how much stock the firm of
Huntington & Hopkins should take. He
had replied, Take as little as you can and
as much as you must
In response to Senator Morgan's ques-
tion as 10 what debts were outstanding
when the Central Pacific was completed,
outside of the bonded debt, Huntington
said he did not know that there were any,
bul there might have been. AT the time
OF the completion of the road. the Con-
tract and Finance Company owed consid-
erably more than ten millions of dollars.
1t had something like fifty millions of the
shares of the Central Pacific, and sold in
the neighborhood of twenty ght millions.
Some of these shares sold as high as 85
per cent, and some sold as low as 19.
In the further course of the cross-exami-
tion, Huntington said that after the Con-
tract and Finance Company got through
the construction of the Central Pacific, it
had some money to divide, but no bonds.
Morgan called attention to the majority
report of the Government directors in
which the statement was made that the
evidence appeared to be conclusive that
the books of Charles Crocker & Co. and of
the Contract and Finance Company had
been destroyed on the order of Stanford
Huntington and Croker. This was denied
by Mr. Huntington. If the books had
been destroyed or ordered to be destroyed,
Huntington said he knew nothing of it,
and if they had been destroyed it was be-
cause the work of the company had been
completed and finally settled and the
books were an incum brance, useless to