The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-10-29
THE UNION PACIFIC AND THE
GOVERNMENT.


should be so much clamor against the
sale Of the Union Pacific Railway under
the decree forecloslng the first mortgage.
II, as is alleged, Wall street syndicate
is going to bid the road in, and thus
make a great deaf OF money out Of It,
why does not some other syndicate see
a like prospect OF making money In the
scheme and enter into competition with
the Wall street people? There is no Sc
cret about the sale. The day ana hour
have lOng been widely known. and there
is nothing to prevent any person or any
oobinatlon Of persons from buying that
railway If they will only bid high enough.
says the Times-Herald.
why is it. then that certain news
papers are so strenuous to stop the sa,a
and throw the whole matter into con
fusion? What interest do they represen;
and what assurance do they give that II
the sale is postponed now any better
terms can be made for the government
hereafter? They certainly do not repre-
sent the American people, whose inter-
ests viii be fully protected by the al
ministration, which is the constitutional
guardian Of them. Whom do they repre-
sent?
No one familiar with the history OF the
Union Pacific Railway will deny that by
the present arrangement the government
is making the best possible bargain and
viii be most happily released from
oonection in which it always mad the
worst OF it. That 1t has received back
any part Of the money (; loaned the
Union Pacific company to hep build ;he
road is more than majority Of the
congressman who voted for the subsidy
and loan ever expected.
II was as a nationa. undertaking the
charter was granted, not as CONNER
cial enterprise. and the proceed ngs OF the
thirty-seventh congress show this. When
the bill was before congress Mr.. Clark
Of New Hampshire said:
do not build the road because l think
II is to be paying road; l build it as
a political necessity, to bind the country
together and hosd 1t together, and do
not care whether it is 10 pay or not:
here is the money Of the government to
build it.
Mr.. Morrill, Of Vermont said:
am not to be deceived by any prom
lses that this road is 10 be built and
run by any other party but the United
States. Every dollar that it takes 10
construct the road is TO be contributed
by the United States.
Mr.. White Of Indiana said
Tides for the repayment Of the money
advanced by the government, It is not
expected that a cent Of the money will
ever be repaid. Not cent Of these
advances will ever be repaid, nor DO
think it desirable they should be repaid.
This road is to be the highway Of the
M tion. I think, therefore, that this WIFI
turn out a mere bonus to the Pacific
railroad, as 1t ought to be.
Much more could be quoted to this
same purport but this sufficiently illus
trates the feeling that actuated the con-
gress that passed the first railroad bill.
The next congress enlarged the land
grant and made the governments mort
gage a second lien, thus Indicating how
little the expectation was that the money
would ever be repaid.
In principal and interest the govern
ment has paid out something like fs2,-
10000 on account Of the loan 10 the road.
Instead Of losing the whole Of this vast
sum, as was anticipated in the begin
ming, the total loss will be about t2O,-
10000.
This sum, large as 1t may seem, is
nothing in comparison with the vast
wealth this great national railway has
developed west of the Missouri. Surely
when we talk about national losses, such
gains should also be taken into consider
alton.
It devolves upon those who oppose the
arrangement for this sale to prove how
q better one can be obtained. There is
not the remotest pretense they can do
this.