The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-06-21
IyconnEcr sTATrMENTs.

dcbfedness 10 IL by Union racine ano
Central Pacific Railroad companies. es-
pocially that of the Union Pacific Com
pany. Referring, we suppose. to the
plan of settlement embodied in the
Powers bill, The World says:
The World insisted that the made
uuate terms impudent1y offered by the
i re- iiroads should not be accepted, but
that the Government should collect the
/ full amount of its debt. The proposed
j Cleveland administration, with some re-
lrctance, proceeded to carry out the
| law. @
1 The facts are that Mr.. Cleveland
was brought face to face with the Gov
ernment's complications with the Pa
cifc Railroad companies as early as
the spring of 1887, when 1t became his
| duty under an act of Congress to ap-
point three commissioners to investi-
gate the affairs of such railroads as
had received aid from the Government.
At that time no one expected that these
railroad companies would be able to
ray their immense indebtedness to the
Government at its maturity. Mr.. Cleve-
land was again brought face to face
with these complications October rs,
! 1898, which had then become much
more troublesome. On that day the
United States Circuit Court for the
Western District of Missouri placed the
Union Pacific Company in the hands of
three receivers. one of whom was the
late Mr.. E. Eilery Anderson. who was
at that time a Government director.
4 IL
the late Hon. George Hoadley a special
assistant to the Attorney General to
| represent the United States in the fore
closure proceedings. About the same
time he also appointed Hon. John c.
i Gown special assistant in the same
4 proceedings.
Immediately Mr.. Cleveland, through
Mr.. olney called the attention of the
people interested in the securities of
that the United States were not suf-
ficiently represented in the personnel
OF the receivership. Mr.. Cleveland's
ultimatum was that the United States
must be represented by a majority of
/ the receivers, to be selected by the ad-
ministration. This determination was
acquiesced In and the Court appointed
Mr.. John w. Doane. then a Govern
| ment Director, and the late Mr.. Fred
erick R. Coudert, of New York, addi-
tiona1 receivers.
/ The wise management of the affairs
of the company by these receivers con-
/ tributed very largely to the unexpected
and most favorable outcome of the
matters involved in the legal proceed
| ings.
| Mr.. Cleveland. in his message De-
cember Z. 1895. informed Congress that
! the situation in the case of the Union
Pacific Company had become especially
and Immediately urgent; that the pro-
ceedings aforementioned had been in
stituted to foreclose a first mortgage
upon property upon which the United
| States held a second and subordinate
mortgage lien; that there would be a
default occurring on January l, 1897,
by which the complications would be
/ increased. and that condition would
be presented on that date, so far as
this company was concerned, that
would emphasize the mandate of the
act of 1887 and give to executive duty
under its provisions a moro imperative
aspect, therefore. unless Congress
should determine upon different So
luton of the problem, he would not
further delay such executive action
as would promise to subserve the pub
lie interest and save the Government
from the loss threatened by further
| delay" The Powers bill providing for
| tho adjustment and extension of the
| indebtedness of the Pacific companies
to the United States, was defeated in
the House, January IL 1897, and the
next day Mr.. Cleveland directed the
Attorney General to take the necessary
proceedings in the pending case to pro-
tect the interests of the Government.
| Mr.. Judson Harmon. the Attorney Cen
eraI, at once instructed Mr.. Hoadley to
proceed in the matter, and thereupon
negotiations were entered upon which
resulted in an agreement, by which the
| Government, through the foreclosure
proceedings, finally received from the
Union Pacific Company the sum of S64,-
| 1928.
The conservative business-like and
energetic course of Mr.. Cleveland In
tho Union Pacific case, cleared the way
to the securing of the indebtedness of
the Central Pacific Company, amount
ing to $5s,s12,715. the two amounts
making an aggregate of the enormous
sum of $12S.56S.9SS.
The Advertiser was quite watchful
o. these foreclosure proceedings. from
their beginning to their end. 1t re-
members that The World just prior to
the time the sale of the Union Pacific
was to occur made a double column
display of an interview with Russell
Sage in which that illustrious patriot
was clamoring for postponement of
the sale in order to give him time to
| form a syndicate to purchase the prop
erty. His story was an alluring one
but the same copy of The World con-
tanned an advertisement OF the sale of
the Kansas Pacific property, in which
case Mr.. Sage was named as a party,
showing that he was a party to the
foreclosure proceedings, and, there
fore, must have had notice.
The Advertiser also remembers that
the Senate Committee on Pacific Rail
roads unanimously reported a resolu-
| ton on June &c, 1897, declaring that