Show of the pacific railroads Ral roads affairs undisputed r ali OTO I 1 0 I 1 brought out mid given to tho country THE WITNESS LITTLER a gets in boiner very fine work indeed AND commissioner ANDERSON addresses the commission in a manner highly entertaining and in tivo western atad press to STANDARD 1 feb 24 littler member of the pacific railway coma mission took the witness stand said that when the commission had filed its reports with the dent Its duties were substantial lyst an end but that if its members could aid the committee in any way in reaching a correct determination of the important question before it they aou id most willingly contribute their efforts co agress had had to do with the question of how to keep inane y out of the treasury but very little to do with getting into the bonev which lawful uy belonged tg art the bill proposed by a majority of the commission would he thought have the effect of putting such money into the treasury taking up the case of the union pacific railroad he called attention to the fact that the bond aided portion of the road did not embrace the terminal fa cili ties and property at omaha xan city or denver which was worth millions of dollars the promoters of the scheme must have foreseen that there would be a failure to pay the government lien and had concluded that the valuable terminal property should not be covered by the lien the government would not have much trouble in dealing with the union pacific the country through which it and its branah lines ran was wonderfully fertile and capable of aus a great system of roads the entire country from omaha to the base of the rocky mountains would prod ned a very large traffic and would enable uie company under econome ca I 1 in ina gement to payoff its debts from cheyenne to ogden the road iain through a godforsaken god forsaken which promised nothing in the future and the union pacific would have to depend for its resources upon its line between the missouri river and the rocky mountains the majority had reported that ohp union pacific nas so avent and wita a fair extension aou ild be able to pay its debt some of its branch lines were worthless and had been acquired under cea A aich reflected discredit upon the integrity or judgment of vie persons managing tile road at the time the of the denier and south park and nevada central roads had been unfortunate ones and has perhaps been actuated through improper motives those roads had beed acquired prior to ISM the utah northern and oregon short line were val liable acquisitions and with the development of the country would add largely to the revenues odthe pacific company the estimated value of the union pacific railroad made by the engineer of the commission he said contradicted overwhelmingly the commission who had to ported that the road was bankrupts the engineer after a personal inspection of every mile of the road and after making all inventory of every tie and elsh ite and every item which into the construction and operation f the road had given it as his opinion that the union pacific evater was worth and t litt it would cost that sum of money to reproduce it the bond aided portion of the system was benj cambered cumbered cumb ered to the extent of prior to the government lien and the balance subsequent to it in tile light of tile facts elicited by the engineer the commission bal unanimously deac hed the conclusion that bots nots ith standing the great value af pf the pro and enormous annual property gerty coin w 1 ich I it received the com pa ny could not pay its debt to the gov arnix tent I 1 ii 1895 1896 and 1897 when it matured and the majority had r a commended an extension of 50 years ilia government taking a contract mort ga g e instead of perpetuating its lien I 1 n order to increase the gov era ments security and get out of the compa ny ever athing it had in the way 1 1111 ity the bill of the majority provided that the coin should give a plain old labb lo 10 ried contract mortgage on everything it possessed there was in the treasury of union pacific securities sec of branch linein amounting to and it was the intention of the bill to retain to not only the 11 ity re in the property ea ter the pay me nt of prior in a but also all sean tic which the union pacific held fit its branch lines 11 that bill it would scoop in everything of value belonging to the and hen the creditor gave all babad in the way of that was all that ey could be expect take ill of tile earnings of the can aral pacific for tile next ten and at the end of that time go for the men who had lavished ravished ravi shed the company 11 littler replied emphatically that be would not get 96 dollar plan the central pacific was leased to the f 30 ethem macipe company COM VAny and it in the power of the latter com pany to so keep the books and so adjust matters that not a dollar would ever get into I 1 he gov ern ments they could so arrange it that no dollar of net rave nue in the next ten years won reach the government you will find when the hat is passed around on that occasion that nothing wl ill betoken betaken in we are absolutely w without remedy until the maturity of this debt said mr littler in answer to webers questions as it would not be well to cause it receiver to be painted for the central pacific litt m er said that the proe feet 4 insolvency was no ground or a the ap of 4 receiver and the supreme court ahad unfortunately for the government hold that not dollar of der I 1 w be due until so that do fault could not be declared a receiver was appointed tile covern in ent would receive a wol piece of aro p arty abich it could not operate wit 11 u t a loss a road cut off at both erds a road without any connection wi th t he at market of vaci fie coast it wid fe 0 alous in the history of lawsuits to appoint a no parts of the interest was due his attention to lioner onan minority witness said it required MOTO a lawyer than lie witness was to understand how congress could forfeit a charter to a railroad company granted by state and territorial governments ern ments ile could not understand bow would forfeit the charters of bacille roads branch lines when congress had nothing to do with granting t hese charters IV ober inquired what were the sub reasons for branting more reasonable terms to ilo fr central pacific than to the union pacific plied that it was not because these were entitled to any the hands of congress was h a to to v P re re n t t he government ila would I 1 a g e mb e r of congress ignore for a time the crimes and 0 f these men ile would treat the INA t as a business matter on business ile did not believe the pe pl aies of the country were crying for heb I 1 of ilia managers so much as for the money they owed the government ern ment it was the duty of ilia coin cittee to recover this money and U it acted wisely it would be able to do so notwithstanding the sorrowful picture be had drawn of he present condition of tile road ile did not know whether the compan ies avoul accept a pro ring them to institute suits against if air for er managers for a lasance ea sance but an 1 I to tied b the commit a should a n unless the commatti com mitti a settled this matte on business as the government would in 1897 ose fifty million dollars through the cantral pacific it it acied wisely in ten Is ton million dollars would have ven paid to the government and it could rest in the belief that tile entire debt course of extinction it was a matter of no consequence whether it gave or years the government Govern men had money enough in the treasury at pr e sent ana found it impossible to edep the rave down to the rise littler baij he sa president cleveland to be a clearheaded clear headed business man 1 ready to treat the subject a a matt e r of business at this point a recess was taken after recess littler said lie desired to reply to a question which had been addressed to him as to whether fraud 8 ommittee in tile management of th pacific Railroad not furnish a basis for the appointment of a receiver ile that if thase frauds did furnish such a basis the right to a receiver existed ant of any action on the part of congress and that nothing remained to be done except for the attorney gen eral to proceed with his application commissioner anderson then ad Thero were lie said two points of view from which to look at tile pacific railroad buos quos tian one was the moral question involved in the remarkable faitage ment and in some cases the crime of the directors of the roads and the other was the business question of dol lars and cents it would not be becoming in congress as the custodian of ill honor of tile country say that it would pay no attention to the latter question and to confine itself to the consideration of the question of dollars and cents while it was the duty of the to me that the law was enforced no direct nal insult biad been offered the of ilia united states tho wr ong done was hot such as the go vern ment should seek reve for by the destruction of the corporations ut it was wrong done by individuals who should be punished ill the commission bill one of the terms of acceptance was that the companies should give the united baates the right to bring suit in ahe name of the cor ratio against persons who ligo commett ed fraud ile was satisfied that the union jacif ic would never make ary trouble about the because the administration 0 af pf that road since 1884 had been absolutely honest and fair in regard to the central pacific that was a biard crack lie did not feel justi fled in saying that the bill would be ae looking artlie question from its moral fide if it was the oba eject of the government to punish ill men who had stolen bonev it sh ul I 1 pass a bill with a provision that th 0 company accepting it should give the right to sue wrong doers ile did not subscribe to the suggestion that the government should settle fill the central pacific on a 20 per cent basis ile did not think congress could afford lo 10 go before the country v fill two bills one saying to ille union Paci your management of recent e a 14 has been everything that co u be desired and we will make an extension on tile three percent basis and one to the central pacific you unmitigated act of scoundrels you have robbed froll first to lastant you have yourhanas your hands today to day where tile y not be but we will settle with you on a two pei cent basis Adlour dod abow line col feb 24 articles of in car r alloa were filed today to day of the 1 or b pacific C an y the capiral stock is five mill ion and the in rs are charles henkel 11 R corpora ook I 1 M P fitch 0 H P baxter and john A gray all bankers and heavy capitalists of pueblo over sin hill pass in do christo range to san luis valcy thence to genid son by Coche topa raps and 0 t t h e west state kinei with aranell 1 ane bior u n to pagosa Sp lake cit ana af ray dvork on the road it a sa w it bo at once it is intended to make an internal rail way system not now reached b v the it lo 10 grande the crown SAN i feb 24 during the first p rt of last night the crown prince a rest was disturbed by cough ing but afterwards he slept well ile is degl essed by the death of his neph ew n louls of baden the prince of wales has gone to cannes I 1 go Anyway I 1 feb 24 Nc papers here at I 1 to that notified noti fled ilia government that ila till return to spain at tile end of the e eat week notwithstanding prime 3 fin ister Sag astas warning A priced horse feb 24 donator stock balge dixy old his stallion bell to frankfort ky iest for boil cartiest tart stockbridge aped him 1 tom alre or toc days price Is said to be the bigglest over paid for a 8 year alil colt X I 1 4 |