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Show WIGARTHY'S LETTER EXCIIESjnEfflfll Criticism of Railroads' Financial Finan-cial Methods Is Occasion of Much Comment. The letter rclatliiK to the financial methods of rallioads. ?cnt to congress recently re-cently by W. ri. McCarthy of this city, becamo lhu subject of much discussion with the spirited address delivered by Senator Albert It. Cummins of Iowa whun the epistle, was read before the national na-tional body. Senator Cummins, after giving the railroads rail-roads great credit for the development of the country, deplored the continual cry of railroad owners and managers and other Influential men of the country to tho effect that ihe rallioads and capital were being starved by tlic attitude, of the government. He declared thai there bhould he am end to the consclcss and senseless clamor of years that the people throughout tho sovernmcnl aro Intent upon inflicting an Injury upon an Instrumentality In-strumentality vital to their own wol-farc. wol-farc. In support of his argument Senator Cummins hazarded the statement that more than 0". per cent of the freight revenue reve-nue of the railroads was derived from rates nmdo and published without any Interference In-terference on the part of the government. He also declared that, regardless of the hue and cry, the physical condition of the railroads todnv is belter than ever before in history, and that all the declamation decla-mation about the railroads passing into decay and becoming unsafe was the rankest rank-est nnd baldest nonsensp. President Loveil of the T.'nion Pacific has also taken notice of Mr. McCarthy's letter with reference to the L'nlon Pacific Pa-cific $100,000,000 bond issue. President T.ovett insist? that the bonds were retired re-tired In 1006. but Mr. McCarthy, while admitting ad-mitting that such may be the case, declares de-clares that the obligation which thoy covered still stands and that the burden wan increased on the west at least 150 per cent by the bonds being converted to common stock He asserts that the bonds were Issued nt I per cent and the common com-mon slock bv which they were retired claims the right to earn 10 per cent and has been earning It. In conclusion Mr. McCarthy said: If it was proper to retire SniiO.000 of the bonds It was equally proper to have retired re-tired the remaining SOO.-laO.000 In bonds. This clearly shows that there Is a difference dif-ference between their method and that of tho prudent business man. who pays his debts when he has the money to pay them." |