The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-08

washington, Jan. THE debate upon
the proposition to refund the indebted
ness of the Pacific railroad companies
to the government, was begun in the
house today, under an order adopted
last month. which set apart the rest
of this week for that purpose.
Preliminary thereto, an immense
wall map, showing the routes of the
road, was elevated in front of the
speakers desk to aid the members in
arriving at a clear understanding of
the situation. Interest in the debate,
judging from the attendance and at
tention of the members and specta-
tors in the galleries, was neither deep
nor extensive. Before entering on the
execution of the days order, bill was
agreed to providing for the appoint
ment of a surveyor general for Alaska,
at a salary of $4,000.
The speaker laid before the house the
notice from Governor Morton of the
resignation of Frank S. Black. as a
representative in congress from that
state, he having been elected governor
to succeed Mr.. Morton.
AN EQUAL DIVISION.
When the house went into committee
of the whole, Mr. Payne (Rep., N V,
was called to the chair. Mr.. Powers,
(Rep., VII, chairman of the committee
on Pacific railroads representing the
bill stated that the time for general
debate was to be equally divided be-
tween friends and opponents of the
measure, and to be controlled by him
self and Mr.. Hubbard, (Rep. Mo-,
which arrangement was confirmed by
the committee, and Mr.. Powers opened
the case for the bill. He said it was a
plain business proposition that the
committee had reported and it was in
tended to appeal only to the good bust
ness sense of the house. He first adj
dressed himself to a history of the
Pacific road enterprise, and the legis-
lation in reference thereto, which had
its beginning in the act of July l, 1862.
1t had it's origin in the consideration
by the government of the necessity of
such a work, in order to hold the
states of the Pacific coast to their al
legiance to the Union. By the act re-
ferred to, the projectors of the scheme
of the construction of a line of road
from the Missouri to the Sacramento
river in California, were given such aid
as enabled them to push forward in
the giant enterprise and finally to see
the full fruition of their hopes in the
accomplishment of the task. This aid
was OF two kinds-a land grant and a
bond subsidy-the latter ranging from
$4,000 a mile on level ground to $4,000
mile on the territory lying between
the Rocky and Cascade ranges of
mountains. and to $4,000 a mile over
the mountains proper.
WAS DIFFERENT THEN.
Although it now seemed COMPARE
lively an easy thing, said Mr.. Powers,
to construct a Pacific road, in 1862 1t
was deemed to be a gigantic enterprise,
chimerical in its nature and prospects,
and private capital could not be en-
listed in its support under the pro-
visions of the act of 1882. So, in 1864
congress waived it's first lien upon the
property in favor of the holders of
bonds issued and sold by the COM
panies to secure the money with which
to prosecute the enterprise. These two
acts contained the charters of the Pa
cific railroads. But the supreme court
had decided that the lien of the gov
eminent affected only those lines of the
company which had actually been aided
by bonds or lands. The consequence OF
this decision was to greatly reduce the
value of the security. Further, the
line of the Union Pacific railroad,
owing to the controversy among cities
on the Missouri river for the privilege
of being the eastern terminus, was be-
gun at the Tooth meridian of longitude,
with branches to Omaha and Kansas
City. The effect of this legislation was
to take the terminals at these two
places from under the government lien.
The Union and Central companies then
entered into struggle of construction
to secure the largest possible land
grant and bond subscription. This
race of diligence led to duplication
of nearly so miles of road at the point
of connection, and the question of the
junction point mad to be settled by
congress. This race also enabled the
two companies to construct the entire
length of road to the acceptance of the
government by the 10th of May, 1869,
four years after the first spadeful of
earth had been thrown, and more than
six years before the expiration of the
limit within which it might complete
the work
BENEFITS ACCRUING.
The benefits accruing to the govern
ment and TO the people from the con-
struction of the roads were graphically
sketched by Mr.. Powers. If the gov
eminent should lose every dollar it has
advanced to the companies, he said, it
could credit itself with at least ten
times as much in the material ad-
Vancement ana progress and develop
ment which had resulted to the cuun-
try from the opening up Of territory
made possible alone by the existence
OF the road.
Why" he said, IF it had not been
for the building of these railroads we
should never have heard of a silver
party; but" reflectively, Il don't know
that that is any argument in favor of
the passage of the BILL Oaughter)
One of the provisions of the charter
act was that the companies. should pay
into the treasury per cent of the net
earnings as a sinking fund to meet
the bonds issued by the government
in aid OF the road, together with ali
TRANSFORMATION charges against the
government. In 1864 it was enacted
that only one-half the transportation
charges should be retained. Later the
supreme court decided that the COM
panies could not be compelled to pay
the interest on the bonds until the
principal became due, and, therefore,
the accumulation of debt commenced.
THURMAN ACT.
In 1878 the Thurman act was passed
in the hope and expectation that it
would secure the repayment of the
debt, but the reasons
which operated TO prevent the success
full working of the plan for repayment
of the debt proposed in the charter
acts prevailed to set at naught the
scheme so deliberately. wrought by SEN
ator Thurman. This was the division
of the governments own business be-.
tween the existing lines, instead OF