168 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



and governed by general laws. I do not want 

 to see the time when there shall throng about 

 Congress a class of men looking to Congress 

 for the organization of railroads. We have 

 had enough of that concerning the land-grant 

 and Pacific railroads. 



" It is a fact well known and understood by 

 the country, it is a subject of general anxiety 

 and some alarm, that many of our State Legis- 

 latures are influenced, if not directed and con- 

 trolled, by great railway corporations. This 

 evil reaches almost every section of the coun- 

 try. The people everywhere want railroads, 

 and the people will have railroads. To build 

 railroads there must be large aggregations of 

 capital, and it is a fact, and a lamentable fact, 

 that many of the men who manage these rail- 

 roads and control this vast amount of capital 

 and wield this great power are unscrupulous. 

 To carry their points they have in portions of 

 the country resorted to corrupt practices to 

 control legislative bodies. 



"I am inclined to the opinion that Congress 

 has the power to g'overn these railroads, be- 

 cause these railroads have become essential to 

 the commerce of the country, and Congress 

 can do it by general legislation. I would not 

 do it by special legislation. I would do it by 

 placing upon the statute-book a carefully de"- 

 vised general law that shall protect the people 

 and hold and curb these railway managers. I 

 do not know that we have that authority, but 

 I am inclined to the opinion that we have. If 

 it is settled that we have that power, I want 

 to see it exercised; for I desire to put the 

 power of this Government upon the giant cor- 

 porations and the men who are wielding hun- 

 dreds of millions of dollars (many of whom 

 have shown themselves to be utterly unscru- 

 pulous), and protect the people of the country 

 against their actions. If we have the power, 

 we should stop the system of watering railway 

 stocks and charging the people heavy fares in 

 order to pay dividends upon capital that was 

 never invested. That practice by which spec- 

 ulators rob the people has been carried to a 

 fearful and shameful extent, and is oppressive 

 to the people. Sir, this question that is before 

 us to-day is a great question, one on which we 

 ought to spend a few days to consider cm- 

 powers, our rights, and our duties." 



Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, said : u But let me 

 suggest to the Senator that the only way to 

 test the question whether we have the power 

 or not is to pass some bill, not to be in favor 

 of some other bill, but to pass the bill under 

 consideration. Let us pass this bill, and then 

 all the monopolies that are spoken of the 

 Pennsylvania Central, I believe, with the rest 

 that were alluded to so graphically by the 

 Senator from Delaware (Mr. Bayard), will 

 fight it. They will carry it to the Supreme 

 Court of the United States, and the question 

 will have to be settled there before they will 

 be satisfied. But, if you do not pass any bill, 

 you will never have any question settled." 



The bill was finally laid aside. 



Among the bills passed at this session of 

 Congress was one to provide a territorial gov- 

 ernment for the District of Columbia. It 

 was organized under the law as a territory 

 of the United States during the year 1871. 

 Another provides for celebrating the one hun- 

 dredth anniversary of American Independence, 

 by holding an international exhibition of arts, 

 manufactures, and products of the soil and 

 mines, in Philadelphia in the year 1876. This 

 session closed on March 4th, 1871. 



The first session* of the Forty-second Con- 

 gress commenced on March 4th, immediately 

 after the adjournment of the preceding session. 



* The following is a list of members of the Forty-second 

 Congress present at its first session. 



SENATE. 



Alabama George E. Spencer, William Goldthwaite. 

 Arkansas Benjamin P. Rice, Powell Clayton. 

 California Cornelius Cole, Eugene Casserley. 

 Connecticut Orris S. Ferry, William A. Buckingham. 

 Delaware Thomas F. Bayard, Eli Saulsbury. 

 Florida Thomas W. Osborn, Abijah Gilbert. 

 Georgia Joshua Hill, T. M. Norwood. 

 Illinois Lyman Trumbull, John A. Logan. 

 Indiana Oliver P. Morton, Daniel D. Pratt. 

 Iowa James Harlan, George G. Wright. 

 Kansas Samuel C. Pomeroy, Alexander Caldwefl. 

 Kentucky Garrett Davis, John W. Stevenson. 

 Louisiana William Pitt Kellogg, J. R. West. 

 Maine Hannibal Hamlin, Lot M. Morrill. 

 Maryland George Vickers, William T. Hamilton. 

 Massachusetts Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson. 

 Michigan Zachariah Chandler, Thomas W. Ferry. 

 Minnesota Alexander Ramsey, William Windoni. 

 Mississippi Adelbert Ames, James L. Alcorn. 

 Missouri Carl Schurz, Frank P. Blair, Jr. 

 Nebraska Thomas W. Tip ton, P. W. Hitchcock. 

 Nevada James W. Nye, William M. Stewart. 

 New Hampshire James W. Patterson. Aaron II. Cragin. 

 Neio JerseyJohn P. Stockton, F. T. Frelinghuysen. 

 New York Eoscoe Conkling, Reuben E. Fenton. 

 North Carolina John Pool, Zebulon B. Vance. 

 Ohio John Sherman, Allen G. Thurman. 

 Oregon Henry W. Corbett, James K. Kclley. 

 Pennsylvania Simon Cameron, John Scott." 

 Rhode Island William Sprague, Henry B. Anthony. 

 South Carolina Frederick A. Sawver. Thos. J. Robertson. 

 Tennessee William G. Brownlow, Henry Cooper. 

 Texas J. W. Flanagan, Morgan C. Hamilton. 

 Vermont Justin S. Morrill, George F. Edmunds. 

 Virginia John F. Lewis, J. W. Johnson. 

 West Virginia Arthur I. Boreman, Henry G. Davis. 

 Wisconsin Timothy O. Howe, Matthew H. Carpenter. 



HOUSE. 



Alabama Benjamin S. Turner, Charles W. Buckley, W. A. 

 Hand ley, -Charles Hayes, Peter M. Dox. Joseph H. Sloss. 



Arkansas James M. Hanks, O. P. Snyder, John Edwards. 



California S. O. Houghton, A. A. Sargent, J. M. Ooffhlau. 



Connecticut Julius L. Strong, S. W. Kellogg, H. II. Stark- 

 weather, Wm. H. Barnum. 



Delaware Benjamin T. Biggs. 



Florida Josiah T. Walls. 



Georgia A. T. Mclntyre, Richard H. Whitely. John S. 

 Bigby, Thomas J. Speer, D. M. DuBose, William T. Price, Pierce 

 M. B. Yo ing. 



JUinoik -Charles B. Farwell, John F. Farnsworth, Horatio 

 C. Burchai \ John B. Hawley, Bradford N. Stevens. Henry 

 Snapp, Jesi-A H. Moore, James C. Robinson, Thompson W. 

 McNeely, Eaward Y. Rice, Samuel 8. Marshall, John B. Hay, 

 John M. Crebs. At large, John 8. Beveridge. 



Indiana William E. Niblack, Michael C. Kerr. William S. 

 Holman, Joseph M. Wilson, John Coburn, Daniel W. Voorhoes, 

 Mahlon D. Manson, James N. Tyner, John P. C. Shanks, Wil- 

 liam Williams, Jasper Packard. 



Iowa George W. McCrary, A. B. Cotton, W. G. Donnan, 

 Madison M. Walden, Frank W. Palmer, Jackson Orr. 

 Kansas D. P. Lowe. 

 Kentucky Edward Crosaland, Henry D. McIIenry, Joseph 



