The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-30
A LEADING PURPOSE.


A LEADING PURPOSE.
"A leading purpose in building this
great system of railway was to establish
national highway across the continent
for government purposes, every mile of
which should be perpetually connected
mile of road in the system for its com
mercial value, for the regulation of its
operations and for its control by the
government of the United States as an
instrumentality of government in all its
length from the Missouri river TO the
Pacific ocean. These matters should not
be cast aside even TO provide for the most
private demands.
The pending bill Mr.. Morgan says, is
intended to abandon the great duty of
congress TO control these roads and pro-
tect the money of the people. The COM
panieS do not hold their corporate rights
by contract with the government. They
are expressly affected with the duties and
obligations of a great public trust, to be
executed and administered in conformity
with the law enacted for that purpose in
the observance of declared public
policy.
The pending bill. Mr.. Morgan says, pro-
vides for an agreement with the owners
of the Central Pacific interest, declaring
who owns il and deals with it as if the
United States government is not the
owner. In making this final disposition
of the property. the bill. he contends, de-
stroys the unity of this great highway
and proposes to separate the Central
congress alone can sanction. No court
could thus ignore or defeat the declared
public policy that unites these roads in
one continuous system without violating
the law of the land. An act of congress
proposing TO change the law ought never,
Mr.. Morgan says, be passed.
This fatal act of separation between
these roads has not reached a stage
that is conclusive upon the government.
II should be intercepted and placed, by
act of congress, in the hands of the COM
ion cd in
a law. The United States could no more
afford to have this great highway pass
beyond its reach. as an instrumentality
of government than Great Britain could
afford to have the Canadian Pacific
which. in a military sense. is the spinal
column of the empire. pass into the hands
gan says there should be no sale of the
Union Pacific until authority for such
transaction appears in the statutes, and
he deplores the lack of information
by the executive to the legis-
lative branch of the government on this
subject. If legal authority exists to make
this sale, such authority, he contends.
should be withdrawn before the sale is
concluded. The nature of the transaction
condemns Il as an uSurDation of au-
thority by the executive that has no sup
port in law 1t is too much to ask that
congress shall stand by and witness a
disposal of this vast property under a |
private agreement between the executive
and a great railroad combination with |
out even proteSt anu sildli tdCtlS con-
sent that a court of the United States. !
with the pre-arranged consent of the |
pre-ide-- shall enlarge its jurisdiction |
to give the semblance of judicial sanction |
to such proceeding.
THE SCHEME
The proposed sale of the Union Pacific |
was to enable a great railroad co-nbina-
ton to control transportation from New |
York to the Pacific coast over that road. /
Mr. Morgan denies the justice of en-
leavoring to shoulder the settlement of |
his question on the executive. 1t was /
scheme to shelter this Union Pacific |
behind the sacred respect that would |
De felt for a settlement by the president |