| Show THE U P R E R A ulce recene RECENT N r number of 11 harpers arperd meekly weekly contains an article oil on the case of the union pacific railroad company the article treats the case as a sort of persecution of the company it says say a a powerful and de determine effort is being made by lawyers to break down 0 the cre dit dil of one of our most useful and indispensable pen sable railroads without tile the least prospect of advantage to tho the government vern ment or any one ise oise lse if the tile union pacific railroad were a public nuisance if its construction had been a crime instead of a vast national benefit it its builders had been malefactors and miscreants I 1 if it weme were to the interest of the people pe 0 that we should return r to the old regime of prairie wagons and pony expresses the company could not be treated with more implacable hostility than it is at present if it wera were the great aim and object to disgust european capitalists with american investments and to propagate tile the belief that no reli reliance allec could be placed upon the solemn reiterated pledges of the federal authorities no different course from the one now taken could be adopted 11 yr 11 the weekly then proceeds to briefly recapitulate the facts which however we must condense and state still more briefly as follows the necessity commercially y politically liti cally and mill militarily tarl tari ly of a pacific railroad was allowed by all statesmen from the time california became a state but the difficulties seemed insuperable private enterprise recoiled from the tile task and bounties in land money and bonds were offered in vain the W war dr however in 1862 made it clear that the pacific states could not be defended against a foreign foe without a transcontinental railroad and that if private enterprise prise could not be induced to build it the government must A bargain was eventually made for the construction of sueh such uch a road congress a agreeing to ad advance ance the company in united states bonds bonus bearil bearing ig six per cent currency interest and also alternate sections ae of land through the desert desero the road was to traverse government transportation to be paid for out of said bonds until eventually bonds and interest thereupon were extinguished I 1 dongress congress in 1864 1861 provided that only ono one half tile the compensation for services render rendered dd the government by the company was required to be applied to the tile payment of the bonds issued by the government government overn ment notwithstanding g this provision mr boutwell in 1871 assumed the right to withhold tho the whole compensation in march of that year congress by an act directed the seer sedr secretary e tary lary of the treasury to pay over in money to the pacific railroad companies one half of the compensation at the rate provided by bylaw lavy lany last spring in the heat of the credit Mo bilier sensation congress reversed its policy and directed the secretary to retain the whole c compensation pensa tion which is now done in consideration of the bonds and lands the company agreed to construct a first class rail rull railroad road and telegraph from frota the Mis missouri souil souli river to the eastern terminus of the central pacific by july 1 1874 congress afterwards extended the time a year the compaan went to work in the face of much discouragement and difficulty soun a financial crisis came on and negotiations of f the bonds became almost impossible mr Cullough AP contracted the currency and but for the indomitable energy of oakes ames of massachusetts and und thomas 0 du rae ral rant raut dt of or new york the road would have been abandoned at least for a time these men and their friends put their own money niong into the work when tile the bonds were we re e and in spite of their own eom com compulsory 1 so suspension of payment indians Ms panics and wall street derision eli erl tile tilo work was pushed ahead until its completion in iri may 1809 sl six years ea M b before C fo r e the time agreed upon for the construction of the road the company contracted with themselves under tho the name of the credit Mo bilier biller though this was a suspicious circumstance tile the flie directors claim that all was fair and better terms could not be obtained when the road raad anva was s completed the cry was raised of the enormous profits made by its builders gidens durant and ames welo were ac accused cued of robbin robbing the government although the early opening of the road would save to the government govern in transportation more than tsie tele whole amou abou amount rit of the bonds refused to allow the bonds to be used as a banking basis and to issue the thle patents for a large number of acres granted to the com company yany the credit Mo bilier investigation came ou on u nn n ca candid edid denials macef matters worse worce reputations dear to the country were wrecked congress waxed furious and both parties involved in ili the disgrace fell foul of the unlucky company the bill filed in equity by perry Je jenckes and ashton for the government charges therom the company with being bankrupt issuing ea bonds od not getting par for its stock not building the road with proceeds ds of the bonds alone being in debt to its off omm meers officers its stock being of no value etc charges which the weekly says are childish injunctions havo have been obtained against tile the payment of interest inte test iest oil on bonds held by stockholders in tile the credit Mo bilier biller and against the transfer of ot stock in the tile names of the stockholders inflicting serious injury upon the credit of the company and upon the innocent holders of 8 stock tock another 0 injunction is sou son sought against tile the issue of new bonds with ith which the income bonds are to be redeemed next year this is how harper presents the case suggesting that if the road was robbed by the builders the lawyers need not rob it too also that the company deserves public support rather rattier than an attempt to ruin it at law |
