The herald., 1897-01-09
DEBATE On FUNDING
GETS SENSATIONAL
And Members Indulge in
Personalities
JOHNSON JUMPS ON EDITOR HEARST
And Pays Ills Compliments to
Mayor Sutro
THE ONLY ONE OF HIS KIND
For No Other Californian Has Advocated
Refunding
Cooper OF Wisconsin Denounces Johnson a
Coward
General Debate Closed, and ToS.v
Amendments Will be Offered-There
Will be Many Substitutes and
The ONLY ONE OF HIS KIND
For No Other Californian Has Advoc cated
Refunding
Cooper OF Wisconsin Denounces Johnson a
q Coward
General Debate Closed, and Today
Amendments Will be Offered-There
Will be Many Substitutes and
Amendments Innumerable.
Press SpeciaI w,rs

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8-The eecont
days debate on the Union Pacific re-
funding bill developed by far the most
sensational incident of this session of
congress. Mr.. johnson, Republican. of
California, the only member of the CAL
ifornia delegation who favors the fund.-
ing bill, in the course of his remarks took
occasion to make a remarkable. vttu-
peratiNe personal attack or Editor
Hearst and Mayor Sutro as men who
were terrorizing the Pacific coast MEM
bers, and made statements concerning
the former which led Mr.. Cooper. Re-
publican, Of Wisconsin, to characterize
the latter as the most disgraceful at
tack in the legislative annals of the
United States"
The members, who had been listening
attentively to Mr.. Johnsons remarks
as he is always one of the most enter
tanning speakers in the house, were
thunderstruck at the lengths to which he
went. Only at the last session Mr.. John
son denounced Mr.. Hearst, but on that
occasion he was called to order by Mr.,
Mcguire of California. Today he COM
pleted his philippe without Interrupt
ton. The speech created a profound
sensation, which was increased by Mr.
Coopers denunciation of it as a coward
ly attempt to blacken the reputation Of
man of positive genius Mr. Coop
er also took occasion to score the gem
tlenan from California roundly for his
attitude toward the bill.
Mr.. Johnson made no attempt to replv
To Mr. Cnonar This ir1oi
ly overshadowed the interest in the de-
bate on the funding bill and thereafter
1t proceeded quietly to the hour when re-
cess was taken The general debate
closed today Tomorrow the bill will
be taken up for amendment under the
five minute rule. Those who spoke to-
day We're Messrs. Patterson, Democrat.
of Tennessee; johnson. Republican. Of
California; Arnold, Republican, of Penn
sylvania, and Hepburn, Republican. OF
Iowa, in favor of the measure, and
Mlessrs. Harrison, Democrat, of Ala
bama; Boatner. Democrat of Louisi-
ana; Swanson, Democrat. of Virginia;
Mccall, Republican, of Massachusetts,;
Wheeler, Democrat, Alabama, and
Cooper, Republican, of Wisconsin; Shat
roth, Republican, of Colorado; Bali, Pop
ulist of Colorado; Parker, Republican.
of New Jersey. against it,
Mr. Harrison gave notice Of a substi-
tute he should offer to provide for COM
mission to consist of the secretary of the
treasury, secretary of the interior and
encouragement to negotiate the set
tlement of the debt.
Patterson, Democrat, of Tennessee a
member of the committee, opened the
debate today with half an hours speech
in favor of the measure. 1t was useless
to discuss wrongs, he said, which had no
standing in court. The truth was the
government loaned, it's bonds to project
ors on security, which the United States
accepted. The projectors occupied no
trust relations to the government. The
second mortgage held by the govern
ment covered 2293 miles, and each mile
carried an Indebtedness of $53,595
Il confess said he, that my face Is
set like flint against governmental con-
troll of these roads" (Applause)
In conclusion he said he believed the
bill presented the best bargain the gov
ernment could make.
Harrison, Democrat, of Alabama an
other member of the committee, follow
ed in opposition to the bill. He believed
the time for action had come, but the
pending measure was too liberal to
the companies. The proposition made by
the Union Pacific to the government was
much better than this bill. The Union
Pacific was in better position to pay
than the Central. Why should both be
placed on the same footing? Harrison
also opposed the substitute on the ground
that the government could not comply
with it's provisions. One was too liberal,
the other too stringent. He proposed a
substitute which would create COM
mission consisting of the secretary of
the treasury. secretary of the interior and
The attorney general, with full power to
settle the Indebtedness of all bonded
railroads. In support of his substitute
he urged, first, congress eould not OBJ
tain information on which to negotiate;
second, that the two houses could not
agree, and. third, that the commission
could conduct a settlement in a husi
tess-like way to much better advantage
than the government could by the pas
sage of hard and fast bill.
Boatner of Louisiana anita gonized the
bill He insisted that the government
today by execution of the Thurman act,
had a lien on all property of the road
ard it obtained no additional security
by the pending bill. He declared the
government was not hopeless creditor
of an insolvent debtor. The govern
ment could not afford to disregard the
fact that the roads had been despoiled
of enough money to pay the entire debt.
He declared the government had right
after it exhausted its ability to secure It's
debt from the roads to proceed against
those who had despoied them The SUI
preme court had held that the United
States had that right as soon as the