The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-08
POWERS
POOR PLEA
Advocates the Passage of
Huntington's Refund
ing Scheme.
TALKS FOR THE PACIFIC
RAILROADS.
Declares That Coils and His
Crowd Were Benetactors of
the Country.
OTHER C0NGREsSMEN OPPOSE
THE MEASURE.
Hubbard and Bell Say the Roads
Should Not Be Permitted to
Dodge Their Debts
OTHER CONGRESSMAN OPPOSE
THE MEASURE.
Hubbard and Bell Say the Roads
Should Not Be Permitted to
Dodge Their Debts,

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. T. The
debate upon the proposition to refund the
indebtedness of the Pacific railroad COM
panies to the Government was begun in
the House to-day under an order adopted
last month, which set apart the rest OF
this week for that purpose. Preliminary
thereto an immense wall map showing
the routes of the road was elevated in
front of the Speakers desk to aid the
members in arriving at a clear under
standing of the question. Interest in the
debate was neither deep nor extensive.
Before entering on the execution of the
days order bill was agreed to providing
for the appointment of a Survey
for Alaska at a salary of $1,000.
The Speaker laid before the House the
notice from Governor Morton of New
York of the resignation of Frank S. Black
as a Representative in Congress from that
State, he having been elected Governor to
succeed Mr.. Morton.
When the House went into the commit
tee OF the whole Payne (R.) of New York
was called to the chair. Powers (R.) of
Vermont, chairman of the Com mittee on
Pacific Railroads, reporting the BILL
stated that The time for general debate
was to be equally divided between friends
and opponents of the measure and to be
controlled by himself and Hubbard (R)
of Missouri. which arrangement was con-
frmed by the committe, and Powers
opened the case for the bill. He said it
was plain business proposition that the
committee had reported, and it was in
tended 10 appeal only to the good bust
ness sense of the House
He first addressed himself to history
OF the Pacific railroad enterprises and the
legislation in reference thereto, which had
its beginning in the act of July 1, 1862. 1t
had its origin in the consideration by the
Government of the necessity of such a
work in order to hold the States of the Pa
citc Coast 10 their allegiance 10 the Union
By the act referred to the projectors of the
scheme OF the construction of line of
railroad from the Missouri to the Sacra-
mento River in California, were given
such aid as enabled them to push forward
the giant enterprise and finally to see the
full fruliton OF their hopes in the accom-
plishment of the task. This aid was OF
two kinds-a land grant and bond SUBJ
sidy-the latter ranging from $4,000 a
mile on level ground to $50, 600 a mile on
territory lying between the Rocky and
Cascade ranges of mountains, and to
$48 600 mile over the mountains proper
Although it now seemed comparatively
an easy thing, said Powers, to construct
a Pacific railroad, in 1852 it was deemed
10 be a gigantic enterprise, chimelical in
Its nature and prospects, and private CAPT.
tai could not be enlisted in its support
under the provisions of the act of 1852.
So in 1864 Congress waived its first lien
upon he property in favor of the holders
OF bonds issued and sold by the compa-
MES to secure the money with which to
prosecute the enterprise. These two acts
contained the charters of the Pacific rail-
roads. But the Supreme Court had de-
cided that the lien of the Government
affected only those lines of the com panies
which had actually been aided by bonds
or lands.
The consequence of this decision was
greatly to reduce the value of the security.
Further, the line OF the Union Pacific
Railroad, owing to the controversy among
cities on the Missouri River for the priyi-
lege of being the eastern terminus. was
begun at the one hundredth meridian of
longitude, with branc IS to Omaha and
Kansas City. The effect of this legislation
was to take the terminals at these two
places from under the Government lien.
The Union and Central com panies then
entered into a struggle of construction 10
secure the largest possible land grant and
bond subsidy This race of diligence led
to a duplication of nearly eighty miles of
ROAD at the point of connection, and the
question of the junction point had to be
settled by Congress. This enabled the
two companies to construct the entire
length OF road to the acceptance of the
Government by the 10th of May, 1869, four
years after the first spadeful of earth had
been thrown and more than six years
before the expiration of the limit within
which II might complete the work
Inc dement's accruing TO he Government
and to the people from the construction
of the roads were graphically sketched by
Powers. If the Government should de-
sire every dollar it had advanced to the
companies, it could credit itself with ten
times as much in the material advance
ment and progress and DEVELOPMENT
which had resulted to the country from
the opening of the territory.
why. he said, 'if it had not been for
the building of these railroads we should
never have heard OF silver party. But
(rehectiyely) 1 don't think that is anv
argument in favor of the passage OF the
bill" daughter
One of the provisions OF the charter act
was that the companies should paw into
the United States treasury per cent of
the net earnings sinking fund to meet
the bonds issued by the Government. to-
gether with all transportation charges
against the Government. In 1864 it was
enacted that only half the transportation
charges should be retained. Later the
Supreme Court decided that the COM
panies could not be compelled to pay the
interest on the bonds until the PRINCIPAL
became due, and therefore the accumula-
tion of debt.
In 1873 the Thurman act was passed in