The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-17
mcguire AND THE FUNDING BILL.


finally disposed Of
He attacked his colleagues, Loud and Barhan,
on that subject and said that but for them the fund
ing amendment would have been beaten in the
House
In the speeches and interviews of Loud and Bar
ham the facts to the origin and passage OF the
funding amendment have come to light and they re-
veal curious and interesting history.
1t was prepared by Senators Morgan and White,
and intended by those gentlemen to be Con-
gressional inay upon that subject In its prepare
ton these Senators held conferences, at which Cali
fornia members of the House were present. White
and Morgan sought and had conferences with Judge
Mcguire on the amendment, and neither they nor his
colleagues in the House had from him any other i'm
preston than that he agreed with White and Nor
gan The amendment originally extended the ma
turity of the debt for twenty years To answer some
scrupes on the part OF Senator's White reduced this
to ten years. When it had been perfected by White
and Morgan in these conferences it was turned over
to Senator Gear OF Iowa, chairman OF the Committee
on the Pacific Roads, and by him offered as an
amendment to the general deficiency bill. Now, I'm
der the rules of the Senate and House, no general
legislation can go rider on appropriation Dill
if any member object to it. This amendment was
general legislation. A single objection in either
House would kill it. When it was offered by Gear
Senator White rose and said: "Mr. President,
hope the Senator will withdraw his point OF order,
for | can assure him that there will be objection
made to it (the amendment), and that there will be
debate upon it
Senator Hale replied: of THE SENATOR
FROM CALIFORNIA WHO HAS IN DAYS
GONE BY OPPOSED MEASURES SIMILAR
IN CHARACTER TO THIS AMENDMENT AS
SURES Me THERE WILL BE NO OBJEC-
TON AND NO DEBATE WILL WITHDRAW
THE POINT OF ORDER, and it was withdrawn,
and the amendment adopted by the unanimous
vote of the Senate.
When the bill went to the House with this
amendment as part OF it, Mr. Barham, who was OPP
posed to it on the ground of insufficient protection
to the Government proposed amendment to it,
which thoroughly protected every equity OF the
United States This raised the whole subject origin
ally in the House. 1t again where single OBJ
lection would kill it forever. Mcguire made long
speech against the amendment. He began that
speech by saying: The incorporation OF this Paci
fc railroad amendment in the general deficiency bill
is one OF the most extraordinary proceedings within
NV recollection or knowledge of Congressional &C
ton. Here is measure deegating to a commission
of three public officers power and authority to do,
with respect to the Central and Western Pac1hc
roads, what the Congress of the United States upon
whelming majorites refused to do. 1t is brought up
for consideration in the House OF Representatives as
part of bill in which it could not have been incor
porated originally under the rules OF the House, al
though the fact that it made part OF the bill by
the Senate makes it, by courtesy superior to obec-
ton at the present time"
This was not truthful statement 1t was artfully
inserted to make it appear that he could not stop
the bill by objection Everything in the two houses
OF Congress goes by rule, and not by courtesy. An
appropriation bill containing general legislation can
be stopped in either House after passing the other,
by the single objection which Mcguire could have
made, and did not.
Continuing his speech he entered upon general
discussion OF the history of the Central Pacific road
in which he charged Stanford, Huntington Croker
and Hopkins with gigantic frauds and said:
There is principle in equity, as between man and
man, under which trustees who have fTaudulently
diverted assets upon which the lien OF a creditor
rests can be compelled to disgorge all money and
property and the proceeds of all property raudulently
taken from the trust fund trust estate through
contracts made with themselves, by which, without
right without justice, without substantial claim,
they have enriched themselves at the OF their
benefciaries" He then charged that Stanford, Hun
tington and Croker had fraudulently diverted to
themselves 100000 and continued: Whether
the Central Pacific road shall or shall not pay its
debt to the Government will be determined only upon
the sale of its present property under foreclosure If
the foreclosure sale shall fail to produce amount
sufficient to pay the claim of the Government, have
no hesitation in saying that the Government has
right of action against the living directors and
against the property left by the dead. In this discus
sion of former funding bill it suggested that
Senator Stanford had devoted his fortune, however
acquired, to quasi-public use in the establishment
of university in California, it would be against pub
lie policy disturb it. There is force in the sugges
tion but it has no relevancy in funding bill What
Congress should do if in the collection of its
claims the Stanford University were likely to be
crippled or closed, not prepared to say. This
fight of the Government hardly subject to ques
tion will be waived and lost forever by refunding,
because it is collateral to the claims of the Govern
ment as they exist and will not attach to the
obligations created by refundng."