The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-13 00:00:00

THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD.

The following is the address of Mr. Oliver Ames,
President of the Union Pacific Railroad, at the
animal meeting of the s'ockholders held at Boston

on the 9th March, 1870 :—Gentlemen—Since the
junction of the rails of the Union Pacific Railroad,
ten months ago to-morrow, we have been-actively
at work putting our road upto the highest standard
required by the various comiu:siioners that Go-

verument have seen fit to send over it to examine
its structure and equiptmnt. The commission of
eminent citizens last appointed to examine our
road commenced their work on the 14th of Sept.
last at Promontory,and arrived at Gmahaon the 23d,
examining the read, its depots, machinery, shops,
and equipment very critically. In concluding their
exceeaingly elaborate report, they say :—" This
great line, the value of which to the country is in-
ealimat&, and in which every citizen should feel a
just pride, his been built-in abo at half the time
allowed by Congress, and is now a gtkid, reliable
means of communication between Omaha and
tiacramento, well equipped, and fully prepared to
carry passengers and freight with safety ani de-
spatch, comparing favourably in this respect with a
m tjori:y of the first class roads in the United States.
The country is now reaping the benefit of this
early completion of our road, and it is by no means
certain that this earlier use of the road may not
repay all of our extra expenditures. Since the
junction of our rails with those of the Central
Pacific Railroad last May we have employed a large
force in widening embankments and cuts, putting
in new culverts and bridges, and changing the bed
of one of the rivers, by which we save a number
of bridges. Our depots, machine shops, and sta-
tion and eating houses have been improved to meet
the demands of business anticipated the present
season. We have spent during the past season
upon snow sheds and snow fences over $300,000.
We have now over five miles of snow sheds and
nearly fifty miles of snow fences, in addition to
the large amount of snow fences put up last year.
The experiment thus far this winter shows that our
road can be run without any serious hindrance
or ob truction from snow. The snows of the pre-
sent winter have been about the same as last winter,
and we have been but in one instance obstructed
over twenty-four hours. Our superintendent is
confident that we can keep our road as free from
obstruction by snow as are the roads of New Eng-
lani and New York. We may now consider the "snow
question" as substantially settled, and this serious
drawback to the value of our road as a reliable win-
ter route, which has haunted the fancy of the timid,
as entirely dissipated. The express business over
our road was fully investigated during last summer,
and we came to the conclusion that it would be for
the best interest of our road to dissolve our con-
nection with Wells, Fargo, and Co., and do this
business ourselves. The results of the change have
been to increase our receipts from this source
about thirty per cent. aboie what we received
from Wells, Fargo, and Co. For the purpose of
utilizing our teleg. aph line we have made a
connection with the Atlantic and Pacific Tele-
graph Company, through which we are getting a
large portion of our telegraph service free, and
have the expectation of realising a handsome
income from the $3,300,000 of stock we receive of
the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company for
the use of our line for commercial purposes. We
shall be under the necessity of putting up one or
two additional wires should this company make
a connection with the Central Pacific Company,
as they now expect to do, and secure a fair shat e
of the California business. Tee point of per-
manent junction designed by the resolutions of
Congress to be in the vicinity of Ogden has not yet
been definitely fixed. The Mormon cccupation of
the lands where it was desired to fix our junction
has thus far prevented our obtaiuing sufficient space
to give t 4 us the accommodation needed. A bill
has been introduced into Congress to secure to the
railroad nine sections of land about five miles west
of Ogden, on which the two roads may establish
their depots, machine shops and all the necessary
side tracks and accommodations required at the
Junction of these two great national roads. We
expect this bill will soon pass, and we shall at once
enter upon the construction of the necessary struc-
tures for the accommodation of our business. The
earnings of our road for the nine months reported
since it was opened amount to $6,300,000. We
anticipate the ensuing year that the gross earnings
of our road will reach $12,000,000, and shall not
ba surprised should they largely exceed this sum.
The net income from this will pay all our interest,
with a handsome dividend upon our stock, should
we not need it for improvements upon our road. I
herewith present to you a statement from our trea-
surer of your financial condition :

Cost cf road.. 5106,245,978
Capital stock
Funded debt—
First mort-
gage bds.
Um States

$27,237,000

fur bowls
Laud grant

26,915,000

bonds _10,100,000
Lcssamout.

cancelled 407,000 9,993,000
ncomo bds 102000,000 74,145,000 $107,907,300

ASSETS.
Land grant bonds unsold
1-

income
Central P.,cifie Railroad 1,358,000
Pullman Pacific car stock, 2,60 U
shares
Due from United States for trans
and mails (1) 217,000
Cash on hand
—Which will provide for our floating debt, and
leave a large portion of the land grant bonds in the
hands of the company. Since August 1, 1869, the
company have expended on the road :
For 26,774 feet (5 miles and 8,374 feet)
snow sheds
For 237,664 feet (45 miles and 64 feet)
snow fences .... .

260,000

134,163

Total 5307,913
For depot buildings 573,051
For coal houses
For engine houses,turn tables and shops 71,439

45;302
For tanks
For section houses 10,903
For car shops

Total
After the reading of the reports the meeting pro-
ceeded to elect directors for the ensuing year, and
the following gentlemen were chosen :—Oliver Ames,
Oakes Ames, John Duff, John B. Alley, C. IL
M'Cormick, W. T. Glidden, it. Hazard, Elisha
Atkins, C. A. Lombard, O. S. Chapman, James
Brooks, G. AI. Dodge, Sidney Dillon, Frederick
Nickerson, C. S. Bushnell.

The accounts from Tennessee are contradictory ;
one side reporting that there aro far fewer outrages now
than at any period since the close of the war ; the other
maintaining that there is no decrease ; but no one, as far
as we can ascertain, asserts that there is any considerable
increase. It was said by the Southerners before the late
change in power that the Republicans (politely designated
"carpet-baggers" and "scalawags") were responsible for
the outrages; that the Ku-Klux owed its organization to
them, and all the resulting train of lawlessness. The
Republicans are now out of power; the reign of Parson
Brownlow has ceased ; yet the Radicals assert that the Ku-
Klux carry on their rapine and murder as industriously as
ever. Ono account thus describes the closing act of the
General Assembly, though it is but just to add, that it evi-
dently comes from the pen of a bitter partisan :—" Before
parting the members indulged in a grand drinking bout in
the Hall of-Representatives. One of the members, a liquor
dealer of Nashville, furnished the whisky and champagne
which enlivened the occasion. A festive time of this sort is
generally riotous in Tennessee, and the present was no
exception. A large synod of members organised at the
portico and came down, Capitol Hill singing Shoo ily don't
budder me,' at the top of their voices."