Evening star., 1897-01-07
The Pacific Railroad Funding Bill
Taken Up.
kR. POWERS OPENS THE DEBATE
Another Phase Of the Cuban
Question Presented.
OTHE r SENATE MATTERS

One Of the battles royal of the present
session Of Congress commenced in the
House today. This is the contest over the
Pacific railway funding bill. Under a spe-
cialy order from the committee on rules
the House commenced its consideration
upon assembling this morning, and will
debate it until o'clock next Saturday.
Then. upon the following Monday, i'm
mediately after the reading of the journal
the bill is to come to final vote.
1t is a matter Of common report that one
Of the most powerful Hobbies which has
visited Congress in years has been engaged
for months in working up sentiment favor
able to the bill. Mr.. c. P. Huntington Of
Pacific railroad fame. has taken an active
part in promoting the interests of the bill,
and Is in Washington IN person now to dl-
rect the great battle that IS under way.
1t Is said that campaign has been urged
In favor of the bill of a most exhaustive
and detailed character. bringing to bear
pressure upon Congress from every avail
able source
On the other hand the opposition to the
bill has lacked in this respect. There have
been no great private financial interests at
stake among those who oppose the measure
and, therefore, there has been a failure to
get the elements of opposition together in
compact and virile propaganda, such as has
heen conducted by the corporate influence
In behalf of the bill.
not large. Great interest however, was
manifested in the opening of the debate by
those present. A large map showing the
routes of the Pacific roads had been erect
ed in the in front of the Speakers
rostrum, and was frequently referred to
by the several speakers. Before the debate
began bill was passed to amend the act
providing for civil government in Alaska.
per annum. to perform the duties of regis
ter and receiver of the general land office
at Sitka.
The resignation of Governor Black of
New York as member of the House was
read. s-r--'-,
MIR. Powers Opening.
Chairman Powers of the Pacific railroad
committee then demanded the regular Or
der. and under the special order the House
went into committee of the whole (Mr
Payne of New York in the chair and took
up the funding bill.
Mr.. Powers said that it had been ar
ranged that the time for and against the
measure should be equally divided. he to
control the time in its favor and MIR. Hub
bard Mo). the member of the committee
who made the minority report, against.
The House confirmed this agreement.
Mr.. Powers then took the floor and made
the opening argument He took his posi-
ton in front OF the chart. At the outsa.
he declared that ne purposed to deal with
the House with utmost candor The bill
which the committee presented to the mem
bers for their consideration, he said, con-
stituted plain business proposition, and
he asked members to consider it as such
He then launched his argument with a
thoroughly exhaustive history of the Pa
cff1c roads. He described the necessity
which existed in the early sixties for a
transcontinental railroad; the difficulties
which beset the undertaking at a time
when the south was ablaZe with red war,
the Eorelessness Of private capital being
a m I:-I l.;
ernn entail aid and the determination of
the government to back the hazardous en-
terprise by large grants Of lands and by
guaranteeing the bonds of the road UP to
$l6,UD Fer mile as far the Serrds and
$4,000 for the distance across the noun
tains.
Difficulties of the Pr0jectOrs
The government was to take first mort
gage to insure the repayment of the bonds
granted. But even with this aid granted by
the act of 1862 the projectors were unable
to go ahead. and to permit them to raise
money Congress, at tfeir solicitation in
1854. allowed them to place a first mort
gage under the governments lien and of
an equal amount. He reviewed the difficult
ties which beset the projectors to the east
ern terminus owing to the competition of
the several cities and how it was settled
eventually by the construction of branch
HT eS. The Supreme Court had decided tina +
the governments second mortgage now
rested only upon that portion of the reads
actually aided. He sketched the great ha I'd
ships involved in the consummat ton of the
work and the bountiful fruits which flowed
to the American people fror, opening the
continent to civiliza tion. 1t strung towns
along its line like beads; it made the states
OF the west. II the government should lose
every dollar of the debts of these roads iJ
could credit itself and the American people
with ten times as much in dollars and cent
as they aggregated.
ihe demonstration of the possibility of
pulidlns line across the Rockies had led
TO the building of all the competing lines
much 10 the benefit of the country but TO
the detriment of the earning capacities of
o,Sa o,oae ~ loaus. Proceeding. he explained the
otnef elements which reduced the estimated
earnings of the roads and made it unlikeIy
that they could meet the bonds when tba',
be came due. >-i~'
estimated at $3.S320Oo. At that time ,hs
army and navy transportation and .be
postal service to the Pacific coast cost the
@ Sosermlheht @',3o!, 1Sl. Yet. Dotwithstand-
ing the vast increase of government
transportation to the Pacific coast the ra teS
or compensation paid by the government
10 the companies were reduced so low that
nr teau a,aa,. vi receiving an amount double
or even equal to the interest on the sub
sldy bonds they were left debtors annuallv
10 the interest account in large amounts.
Mr.. Bontner's Question.
DO you claim that this bill is a iudicious
ana proper arrangement with those who
nave done what they could to discharge
thelr obligations to the government?'' ask
ed Mr.. Boatner Ga) -.
Il do replied Mr.. Powers. He nroceed-
ed to say that he knew Mr. Boatner re-
garded the Pacific railroad projectors as a
set OF rascals because they had gotten rich
but he asserted that If they had dis
charged all their obligations to the gov
ernment and had gotten rich in other wavs
II was nobody's business. This, he said
they had done. They had complied with
the Thurman act, which required 25 ner
cent OF their net earnings to be paid into the
sinking fund despite one of the roads was
lnsolyent and had not defaulted on a sin
gle dollar The two roads had already
returned to the government s, goo 600 more
than the total principal of the original
bonds.
He then gave a computation of the pres
ent Indebtedness of the roads on January
l, 1897. at $53. 715. .4OS on the Union Pacific
and Kansas Pacific. and $57 ,6s1 .514 on the
Central Pacific and Western Pacific.
The Government Must Act.
The time had now come he said. when
the government must act. The roads had
defaulted. The government could foreclose
or 1t could seize the roads under the law