The record-union., 1896-02-01

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that he is acting in the interest of an
Eastern syndicate, which intends to buy
up the Pacific roads and thereby extend
their system to the Pacific Coast, not
in the interest Of the Pacific Coast, but
in the interest of the great system of
branch lines which they own, and to
which the trunk line would necessarily
become a feeder.
Congressman Hilborn, instead of be-
ing the friend Of the people in California
in the position he has taken concerning
the funding bill, has simply shown him
self to be the instrument of an Eastern
railway corporation-the subservient,
plant tool of a railroad corporation, but
not Of the railroad corporation which,
of necessity. would have the highest
possible incentive to operate the road
in the interest of the people whom he
represents. Here is a fellow who is weak
enough to suppose that his masquerad-
ing as the friend of the people and the
enemy of corporations is not broadly
exposed by the glaring inconsistency
of the position he has assumed. He
went before the committee, evidently
intending to assume the hypocritical
role which has characterized the action
Of the opposition to the funding bill in
California as led by Sutro of San Fran
cisco. Congressman Johnson ruthlessly
stripped him of his disguise and stood
him before the country and his constit-
uency as a hypocritical pretender, as
the friend of an Eastern railway cor
poration, as being in favor of foreclos-
ing the mortgage that some Eastern
railroad might own the lines now owned
by the Central Pacific
At last the real motives of the op-
posed are clearly disclosed. Congress-
man Hilborn has presented the matter
in its true light. There never was at
any time any prospect of the Govern
ment operating the road. There are
not ten votes in the House, nor as
many in the Senate in favor of the Gov
ernment taking possession of the roads
and operating them. There never was
a time when that proposition had
friends Of sufficient influence to make
it an accomplished fact. Hilborn pro-
poses that the mortgage shall be fore
closed and the road sold. It has not oc-
Cured to him that the Southern Pacific
Company would be a bidder at such sale
and that the outcome of such pro-
.ceeding would be that the Central Pa
eifc would be forgiven OF all debt it
owes to the Government and be able to
bid it in at what it would cost to dupli-
cate it, which would be about % per
cent. of the amount now due the Gov
ernment.
Place the positions of Congressman
Johnson and Congressman Hilborn
side by side. Mr., Johnson appears to
favor the proposition that the railroads
shall pay what they owe to the Gov
ernment. In the language of the Tu-
lare Register" the extension of the
time for the payment of the debt means
that the debt win be paid. Opposition
to it means that the debt will never be
paid. Johnson proposes a means
whereby the railroad shall pay what it
owes. Hnborn proposes that the claim
of the Government shall be sold at auc-
ton, and he was silly enough to expose
his wish that an Eastern railway cor
poration should be the purchaser at
the auction sale. The Secretary Of the
Interior has declared that the railroads
on the 1st Of January would owe the
Government SILT, 100000, and Mr. Hill
born knows that the line from San Jose
to Omaha can be built for $50000,O0O
Mr. Hilborn knows that a first mort
gage equal to $42,00G, 600 rests upon
these roads; he knows therefore that
the equity of redemption is worth
about SS, 100000. If hehash half as much
sense as he has heretofore been cred
tied with, he knows that the Govern
ments claim, being a second mortgage
lien, would not sell for more than the
road would possess after the, first mort
gage was satisfied. Thus he hopes that
an Eastern railway corporation would
be able to get the Governments posi-
ton in this matter for about $S.000.000.
1t is a sham and a fraud to say that
Hilborn is a friend Of the people, or
that the position he has taken is either
broad-minded or possessed of the
slightest common-sense. He is simply
a demagogue playing to the galleries,
and a demagogue possessed of such
small business abilities that he is not