The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-14
SUBSTITUTE MEASURE INTRO
DUCED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF
SENATE COMMITTEE
LEFT TO A COMMISSION.
EMPOWERED TO FORMULATE
A SETTLEMENT.
Government May Join I'm the Pend
ing Action Brought by Holders
of the First Lien.

WASHINGTON, Jan. Is. - Senator
Gear, of the committee on Pacific rail-
roads, today introduced a new bill for
the settlement Of the Pacific railroad
indebtedness, constituting the secretary
of the treasury, the secretary of the
interior and the attorney general
commission with full power to make
settlement Of the Indebtedness of all
the bond-aided Pacific roads to the
government, upon such terms and in
such manner as may be agreed upon
by them or a majority Of them, and the
owners Of the roads, providing that the
settlement shall be approved by the
president, and unless approved by him
shall not be binding.
The commission is empowered to adj
minister oaths, summon witnesses, ETC..
and it is required to report the action
taken within sixty days after the as,
sembling Of the next regular session
of congress. The Pacific roads are re-
quired to accept the following as part
of any settlement agreed upon:
That each of the companies accepting the
provisions of the act shall keep its railroad
and telegraph line in repair and use and
said telegraph line and transport mall troops
and munitions of war, supplies and public
stores upon said road for the government
whenever required to do so by any depart
ment thereof, and that the government shall
at all times have the preference in the use
Of the same for all the purposes aforesaid, at
fair and reasonable rates of compensation,
not to exceed the amounts paid by. private
parties for the same kind of service; and
that said companies and their successors
shall cooperate in making track connections
with all railroads of other companies to
points of junction with their roads, and at
any point where two or more roads shall
connect with their road they shall afford to
all such equal terms, rates and facilities for
| the interchange Of traffic, both passenger
and freight; and any contract or arrangement
by sale, lease, consolidation. through
service otherwise intended for or resulting
in any preference or advantage whatsoever
to any such connecting railroad to any
prejudice or disadvantage whatsoever, is
hereby declared to be unlawful.
Twenty thousand dollars Is appro-
priated for carrying out the provisions
of the bill.
Although no one in authority here,
who is cognizant of the facts, is will
ing to discuss the question of what
action the government is likely to take
with respect to the Pacific railroads
settlement, it is believed that a project
is on foot among the members Of the
reorganization committee in New York
looking to a guarantee to the govern
ment of a stated amount of its claim
against the railroads, provided t!ie gov
eminent will join in it's pending suit.
The belief in this theory is strength
ened in a paragraph in the last annual
report of the attorney general, in which
he saws:
I think that unless the pending funding
bill be passed and accepted, the government
should endeayor to secure terms for it's ap-
pearance in court in the way of an assurance
of SuPh a hid tha n pf in
dicial sale will secure to it a fair realiza-
ton of the value of its lien.
1t has been known ever since the suits
of the first lien holders were begun
that they have made every effort to
secure the appearance of the govern
ment In no other way could they be
i'll a position to give a complete and
unclouded title to the purchaser at
the foreclosure sale. So far, it is be-
l1eVed the government has steadily de-
clined to appear in these suits, but it
is understood that the question Of at
tempting to enforce the governemnt's
appearance has been under considera-
ton by the first lien holders
Their contention has been that, while
the government cannot be sued with a
view to recovery against it, it may
properly be made party to a suit in
equity brought by the holders of bonds
issued by its express consent upon
property upon which it has itself re-
served lien. This contention has been
combatted by the government, which
has maintained that it's appearance
cannot be compelled. Now that the
funding bill has failed, 1t is not be-
l1eVed that the government will longer
refuse to appear in the cases, provided
proper guarantee is made that at
the foreclosure sale 1t shall receive a.
fair offer for it's claim