The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-08
THE FIGHT is TO A FINISH.
VOTE On THE COMMITTEE BILL TO
BIC TAKEN AFTER THE
DEBATE.
BOTH SIDES GIVEN a HEARING.
The Pending Measure Defended by
Mr.. Powers and bitterly Attacked
by Mr.. Hubbard.


islation which will come before con-
gress at this session, came up today
in the house under a special order,
which allows ten days for general de-
bate and one day for amendments and
debate under the five-minute rule, with
provision for a final vote on Monday
next. There was a great deal of in
terest in the measure and the members
gave all the speakers very, close atten-
ton. a huge map Of the roads with
their feeders was hung on a frame
erected in the area in front of the
speakers rOStrum and served to illus
trate many of the points made There
were only four speakers today Mr..
Powers (Rep., Nt), the chairman of
the Pacific railroad committee, who
opened with an exhaustive tWO-hours
argument in support of the bill; Mr..
Hubbard Rep., MOI, the minority
member Of the committee, who has
charge of the opposition, and Messrs.
Grow (Rep., Pa) and Bell Dem., Tex,
who spoke respectively for and against
the measure.
When the house assembled, after
some preliminary business, Chairman
mtttee, demanded the regular order,
and, under the agreement, the house
went into committee of the whole (Mr.
Payne. Of New York, in the chair) and
took up the funding bill. Mr.. Powers
said that it had been arranged that
the time for and against the measure
should be equally dividid, he to con-
troll the tine in it's favor, and Mr.
Hubbard (Rep., MOI, the member of
the committee, who made the minority
report against. The house confirmed
this agreement.
Mr.. Powers then took the floor and
delivered the opening argument.
thoroughly reviewing the situation
from a business standpoint. To a
question whether he regarded the bill
as a judiciOus and proper arrange
ment he replied with a decided affirm
alive. The government, he said must
act. If it took the road it would have
to pay off over 81 600 900 of first mort
cages, and would get only an "inside
road without terminals. The proper
ty would be at the mercy of the own
ers OF the terminals. If the present
Dill passed, the government would get
Its money out Of the roads, and, if
obliged eventually to take it, would
get railroad and not a part of one.
in reply to questions, Mr.. Powers
said the committee had calculated on
$4,vOOto0 annually as the net earnings
of the roads.
Why do you allow per cent on
the stock of the company" asked Mr..
Lacey (Rep., Io).
TO tempt the stockholders to enter
into the arrangement. We could not
ask them to go on with no prospect
Of dividend"
What is the present value of the
STOCK on Which you propose to pay 4
per cent? asked Mr.. Moody (Rep.,
Mass).
Central Pacific is worth SIS; Union
Pacific is nil.''
can the companies comply?" asked
Mr.. McCreary Dem, KY.
That is the vital question:" replied
Mr. Powers. I'VE think they can The
condition Of the roads could not we'll
be worse than it has been during the
last few years. Figuring net earnings
OF the roads at $4,000,000 each. the
charges, allowing for interest on first
mortgage against the Central Pacific
would be S3,825,S90, and against the
Union Pacific, s., CPS, 548."
ADDITIONAL SECURITY.
Mr.. Powers, in reply to a question
about the additional security offered
the government under the proposed
new lien, said that the Pacific railroad
commission, six years ago, estimated
the value of the additional security at
S9Z,UOQGO0. He also said to Mr. Perkins
CRep., Io) that the bill in nowise
affected the Sioux City road or the
central branch Of the Union Pacific
In conclusion, Mr.. Powers said the
Pacific railroad committee had offered
plan which had been sanctioned by
every committee of the house or SEN
ate that had investigated the subject.
They had squeezed the roads to the
last cent and reached the verge of the
ability Of the roads to pay
The question is said he, "shall we
undertake to collect those debts or
ruthlessly throw them away? You
will be RECALLED with bitter attacks on
individuals [ have tried to forfend
against this. We have nothing to do
with the fight between G. P. Hunting
ton and Mayor Sutro. We must ad-
dress ourselves to the protection of the
government interests, and we present
TINS bill as the best possible plan"
Mr.. Hubbard Rep., Mo- led off for
the opposition, and, like Mr.. Powers,
plunged at once into the business as
poets of the question. He asserted
that the companies were willing to
ccrcede better terms than the commit
tees bill, and that the bill offered
neither a good nor safe settlement for
the government. The committee, he
claimed, had rejected bill $4S, 900, 900
better for the government than the
present one, and he went deliberately
into several propositions the roads had
made to prove his assertion.
He denied most emphatically that
the governments lien at present did
not cover the terminals. He said that
no refunding scheme should rest on a
junior incumbrance. If it did the
government was forced practically to
guarantee the first mortgage ($110,00O.
000) or lose it's claim. He also insisted
that any bill should deal with the
foundation titles and the holders Of
them. The Union Pacific, he said
was irretrievably ruined because of its
guarantees of interest and dividends
on bonds and stocks of other compan-
les. The bill, he said admitted it in
the sixth section, and the government
simply got the promise Of an insolvent
for q post mortem performance. 1t
was ridiculous to rely on such q bill
and decline to forecloSe.
Mr.. Hubbard criticized severely some
OF the financiering Of the Union Pa
cific, especially in the matter Of certain
liens given and collaterals deposited.
He went into the question Of the diver
sion Of business to the Southern Pa
Cific. The absolute net earnings OF the
Central from 1874 to 1884 were So, 00O,-
coo, and during that period 1t paid
1914, 000,000 in dividends. The road was
then almost entirely in the hands of
Stanford. Huntington, Hopkins and
Croker, sc that they received practi-
cally all the dividends When they had
JIuIOaded the Southern was b1Iilf which