The True Southern Pacific Railroad Versus the Texas Pacific Railroad

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Excerpt from The True Southern Pacific Railroad Versus the Texas Pacific Railroad: Speech of Hon. John W. Johnston, of Virginia, in the Senate of the United States, June 5, 1878, Contrasting the Plan of a Genuine Southern Transcontinental Railroad, as Laid Down in S. Bill 1186This is the brief history of the case, as it is found written in the' statutes. Is Congress to be charged with the egregious folly of hav ing contracted with the company to wait ten years before taking other measures to secure the completion of this line of railway, while declaring its purpose to secure its speedy completion, and this, though only five miles of road shall be built within that time? The question answers itself. There is no controversy here about facts. It is ad mitted that what Governor Brown calls the direction of the act of May 2, 1872, in reference to the number of miles of road to be con structed each year has not been complied with by the company. It is competent, then, for Congress to exercise its reserved power over the whole subject-matter. Whether it will do so or not rests wholly within its own discretion.I now proceed, Mr. President, to consider the leading features of these two bills and their claims, respectively, to the favorable con sideration of Congress and of the country. I shall speak plainly, both as to the merits of the bill No. 942 and of the whole question of a southern line of railway to the Pacific, and if I speak of persons to ward whom the attention of the country has been directed, because of their prominent connection with this great industrial enterprise, it must not be supposed that I have the slightest inclination or pur pose to thwart or to advance the personal ends or the individual am bition of any man, or that I have any part or lot in the rivalries and jealousies of railway magnates. There is a readiness on the part of the people and, I am sorry to say, on the part of the press of the country to impute improper motives to those whose duty it is to leg islate on questions of this nature and of this magnitude. Every pub lic man stands to-day in a light as fierce as that which beats upon a throne. For my own part, whenever duty seems to me to call, I shall speak my mind freely, and, if need be, earnestly, upon any question or measure of public interest without any fear that the people of the State which sent me here as one of her representatives will ever suspect me of acting in my place here upon any other than publicconsiderations, and out of that regard for duty which it is to be hoped will ever, with the public men of our country, in the language of one of the most eminent of them all, transcend all other regard.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.