The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-08
RAPHAEL'S
THE FRISCO BOYS
KING-PINS FOR OVERCOATS.

the proper officers will attend to them; If
they have paid the Government fairly and
In accordance with law neither you nor
have any reason TO complain"
Hubbard reviewed Powers assertion
that the companies could carry out the
provisions OF the committees bill. From
the statements made to the committee by
Mr.. Tweed and the report of The United
States Commissioner of Railroads Hub
bard showed that instead of the company
earning about 81, 000, 900 year net it ran
in debt to the amount of nearly 81, 900, 600
on the operations of 1895, while for the
previous few years the net earnings had
not exceeded 50, Ia, 900, in 1891, which was
phenom nal year. On the other hand
Poor's Manual, railroad authority, gave
the net earnings at about the figures given
by Powers, and, analyzing the report of
the Railroad Commissioners, Hubbard
reached the conclusion that the Central
Pacific did earn about 100000 net over
and above operating expenses and taxes.
The other expenditures tabulated by the
Railroad Com missioner either needed ex-
PLANTATION or were TO be offset by items not
considered. The bill of the committee was
satisfactory to the railroad officials, the
assertion of the gentleman from Vermont
(Powers) tofthe contrary notwithsta nding.
In this connection Hubbard related at
some length the various propositions for
the settlement of the debt, In support of
his claim that the provisions CT the pend
ing bill were not the best offers made by
the companies.
He gave 1t as his opinion that the COR
porations were financially able to do bet
ter than the bill had proposed and that
the Union Pacific was much stron ger than
the Central Pacific. The proposition con-
tanned in the bill was not so good for the
Government as the requirement of the
present law. The Union Pacific was now
paying $780, COO year. BY the terms of
the bill its payments would amount to but
81, $50, OC0 year, running over period of
elghtv-three years. 1t was useless to ex-
pect any one to raise the money required
by the bill to make it effective The prob
abilities of the future were too uncertain
to make the security of the Government
stable. 1t depended altogether upon the
indissolubility of the tie between the Gen.
trail and Union Pacific com anies. The
failure OF one or the other in the future,
and that could easily be brought about,
would absolutely destroy the security of
the Government under the pending bill.
The fatal point in the bill was the failure
to make continuous mortgage upon the
property OF both lines from the Missouri
River to the Pacific Ocean. That ought
to be done and could be done, because the
Government owned the controlling mort.
gage.
Watson (R.) of Ohio-What does the
gentleman mean by controlling mort
gage?
Hubbard = The largest mortgage. A
man who has the greatest amount in
vested in psrty controls it because he
won't let 1t go for less than that
Continuing Hubbard said that all the
roads indebted TO the Government should
have been brought into court and the mort
gage foreclosed. BY the expenditure of
less than $50. 100000 the Government could
at foreclosure gain possession of either
property, terminals and all o. both the
Union and Central Pacific roads, Ellery
Anderson, a Government director. had
recon- mended that the mortgages be FORE
closed and the Central and Union Pacific
consolidated. No Government ownership
was involved in that preceding, for such
a property cleared of debt would attract
bidders who would take it off the Govern
ment's hands at profit.
Discussing the matter of his objection
that the pending bill did not provide for