The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-10-26
TELEPHONE NuMBRRs
EDITORIAL ROO@s.,,.es1' Counting ROOH-,.,,,,s71
THE INTELLIGENCER.
wHEELINe, ooToBEn 90, 1897.
Tho Union Pacific sale.

There Is a great deal OF nonsense being
INDUCED In by certain class of papers
regarding the approaching sale of the
Union Pacific railroad under the fore
closure Of the first mortgage. The New
York World is especially hysterical on
the subject and lie calling on the Presi-
dent to stop what 1t alleges is steal"
II even goes to the extent of informing
the President how the steal can be stop
ped. and lays down the following re-
marlable proposition, which 1t says
should be submitted by him: p
Gentlemen. you cannot have this prop
ertY unless or until you pay the govern
Rent's claim in full. For on the day OF
ale will direct the secretary OF the treas
ATy to bid. in the name OF the United
ltates, the S60OO.OO0 necessary to extin-
guish the first mortgage obligations and
IL cover the debt to the government, and
Will thus leave your hundred and odd
+aillions of junior securities worthless.
This is all very delightful, and no
doubt is satisfactory to the genius who
framed 1t. All the government has to do
10 to simply bid sS6,OOOOOO and wait for
the syndicate to bid higher! But what
assurance has the World that the syndi-
cate would bid higher and enable the
government to get all that its claims call
for? Suppose 1t were to do the thing
which IT would probably do-namely. let
the government take the property, pay
the first mortgage bondhoiders and be-
come the owner OF railroad, which
contamination would be delight to the
soeialistic advocates OF government
ownership.
What would the government gain by
adopting this course? Describing the
plight 1t would be in with such white
elephant on its hands, the Chicago
Times Herald notes that there would be
dilemmas without end. There Is certain
" no law that contemplates such owner
ship. Until Congress should act the
President could not purchase single ton
OF coal or employ single brakeman or
stoker to set the road In operation"
These points are well taken, but the
Times Herald calls attention 10 another
very important feature which the World
does not take into consideration In ad-
wishing the President concerning his
duties. Our contemporary says;
But concede that this power might be
% implied. or, II exercised, would be ratified
by subsequent action OF Congress, what
road n II that the government would be
AHRFntinR9 SinniV thu main trunk
line that extends from Omaha to Ogden.
This Is the only portion covered by the
government lien. This does not include
tho bridge from Council Blufs to Omaha
and all the valuable branch lines, with
cut which the main line is nothing. Prob
ably the most valuable part Of the Union
Pacific system is tho Kansas branch. eX-
tending from Kansas City to Denver, but
the government would not own that or
have any part of II.
Let anyone who would Intelllgently I'M
derstand this question take down map
showing the Union Pacific railway sys-
fem, and he will see that the Kansas
branch parallels the main line Of the Union
Pacific from the Missouri river to Denver.
Tho main line does not touch Denver, but
pBpsos through Cheyenne. Now suppose
The main line to bo owned by the incom-
Petent government of the United States,
that couldn't run freight train except
at a loss, and all the other lines and
railroad men, what sort OF a show would
the government have for business? To
bankrupt and render worthless the main
line, all that these men would have TO do
would be TO extend their lines from Dem
yer to Ogden. Then the government
would indeed be helpless. for It could not.
ss other railway owners have done, buy
up the rival parallel
The only result of such a policy as the
World has suggested would be to cause
the government greater loss, While the
World is calling on the President to stop
this steal" the method It proposes is one
which would undoubtedly please the
syndicate for. as our Chicago contem-
porary remarks. INSIDE Of five years It
would have the road back again for
much less money" Under the present
circumstances the government actually
iosee nothing. for It gets back all the
money 1t advanced, with Q per cent In
terest and at the same time rids itself OF
something which has been source OF
scandal from the start.