Evening star., 1897-01-08
FOR AND AGAINST 1T
Further Debate on the Pacific Rail.
road Funding Bill.
MADE ON BOTH SIDES
How Far the Lien of the Gov.
ernment Extends.
HOUSE ONLY IN SESSION

The House today resumed the debate ~,
the Pacific railroad funding bill imna-
oldteiy after the reading of the Journal
MT Payne On. fD occupied the chair.
MT. patterson CTenn), member of tn.
committee, opened the debate TODAY with
haii hour's speech in favor of the meas
ure- He briefly recounted the reasons
Which led him to support the bill. The
sentimental side of the question. which
III &de the projectors of the Pacific roads
great public benefactors. I'm that they OPEN
ea up vast wilderness. he utterly disre-
sarded' just as he did the view that they
were Puphc robbers. II useless 10
discuss wrongs. he said, which had no
standing in the courts The truth WAS
that the government loaned its bonds 20
the projectors upon security which the
United States accepted. The projectors
occupied no trust relation TO the govern
meht. The second mortgage held by The
government covered LIB miles. Each mile
carried an Indebtedness of $aS:,J5
confess. said he, that my face fs set
IKE nint against the governmental control
OF these roads" tAppIause)
In conclusion he SAID he believed the bin
presented The best bargain the government
could make.
In Opposition to the Bill
Mr. Harrison oAla-), another member of
the committee, followed in opposition 10 the
bill.
He believed that the time for action hal
come, but he could not subscribe to tn.
remedy proposed in the pending measure
because ii was too libral to the conanaut.s
Inc proposition made by the Union Pacific
TO the government was much better than
that in this bill. The Union Pacific was in
d IN
Why should they both be placed on The
same footing? Mr.. Harrison also opposad
the Bell substitute on the ground that the
roads could not comply with its proyisions
ohe was too liberal and the other too
stringent He proposed a substitute which
would create a commission consisting of
the Secretary OF the Treasury, Secretary Of
the Interior and the Attorney General with
lull power TO settle the Indebtedness of all
the bond-aided railway companies In sup
port OF this substitute he urged that Con-
sress did not and could not Obtain the in
formation on which to negotiate. second
that the two houses could not agree, and
third. that a commission could conduct a
settlement I'm a business-like way 10 much
better advantage than the government
could by the passage of a hard and fast
bill
No Additional Security.
NJ. Boatner Ua.) antagonized the bin.
He insisted that the government today
by execution of the Thurman act had
lien on all the property of the roads and
obtained no additional security by the pend
ing bill. He declared that the government
was not a helpless creditor of an insol-
vent debtor. The government could not
afford to disregard the fact that thes.
roads had been despoiled of enough money
TO pay the entire debt. He declared that
the government had a right after IL had
exhausted its ability to secure its deOt
from the roads 10 proceed against those
who had despoiled them. The Supreme
Court had held that the United States mad
that right as as the roads defaultcd.
They had now defaulted.
He favored a settlemert, he said, but ne
would never vote for a measure when
v ould cut off the right OF the government
to proceed agaii.it the defaulting directors
and officers of the roads. who had en-
r:ched themselves at the expense of these
properties. He wanted 1t distinctly under
stood that this or any other funding bill
would give these men quit claim
is not that the real purpose of The own
ers of the Southern Pacific?' asked Mr..
Mcguire.
1t is in my opinion the prime motive of
all this legislation" replied Mr.. Boatner
The owners of these colossal fortunes are
more interested in relieving themselves of
this liability than in settling the rights of
the United States"
Poorest Proposition Ever Submitted
Mr. Swanson Va.), in opposing the bnl.
asserted that this bill constituted the poor-
est proposition from the standpoint of
the government ever submitted to Con-
gress. Two years ago, he said, the Union
faclhc reorganization committee offered q
Piopositlon twice as good this.
In anaiyzing the bill, he said it would
push S45.000.oo0 OF securities ahead Of the
governments lien. The idea that the gov
ernments lien at present was worthless
was ridiculous. Certainly no one contendod
that the governments mortgage was not
anterior to the stock of the Union Pacific
and Central Pacific. yet the stock of the
former OF a face value of s6s.0Do.ooo sold
on the market yesterday for SO and that
of the Central Pacific for s15
The stock Of the Union Pacific" inter
rupted Mr.. Powers, lis subject to an as
sessment of s15."
So much the better for nv argument
replied Mr.. Swanson. IF il was not SUBJ
ject to the assessment II would be worth
SO. Pass this bill, and the next day II will
be worth SOS
Mr.. Mccall (Mass) to whom ten minutes
was yielded, opposed the measure and de-
voted most of that time to refutaiion of
the claim that the United States at present
had no lien on the Omaha Terminal
Mr.. Powers interrupted TO insist that
the Supreme Court has decided that the
lien of the government only extended to
the portions of the road actually aided.
Continuing, MIR. Mccall said he did not
agree with much of the invective against
these roads: lie thought there should be
a settlement, but that the terms of the
bill were too liberal He argued that the
rate of interest should be three per cent.
A Sensational Episode.
The first sensational incident OF the de-
bate On the Pacific railroad funding bill
occurred in the House late this afternoon
" hen Representative johnson of Califor-
mia made a violent personal attack upon
William R. Hearst. the owner OF the San
Francisco Examiner.
This paper has been one of the most Wig
orous opponents of the Pacific railroad
funding bill. Mr.. johnson is one of the
most ardent advocates of that bill This
afternoon Mr.. johnson attacked he per-
scnal character of Mr. Hearst in q most
virulent manner. and In open House called
him nearly all the vile names in the cate
CORY. and also referred in a sensational
manner to Mr.. Hearsts character.
The Morse Liquor Bill.