New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-12-19
IRE PACIFIC RAILROAD AND HIGHWAY
RHr. Ren.on,s Plaza.

last, with the draft of his Bill for Rail
road and Highway to the Pacific, we take
from the National Liet6gencer:
Agreeably to notice, Mr. BEhToN asked leave TO
bring in Bill Tor the location and construction Of
a great Central National Highway from ST. Loals,
on the mississippi, to the Bay Of Sac Francisco,
On the Pacific Ocean; and said that not being OK
the Committee to winch the considefaLioh 81 tue
Bill might be referred, he took occasion to ex
plain its leading ieatures before it was reeffed 80
That it's object might the better be understood IN
abe Committee. A.
tt0H0t Highway
IN evfrv conception of National Road and my
bIll conforms to it, 1t 10 TO begin and TO end be
tween the parallels 81 and 80 degrees ofnorth lat
itode and with slight denections, to follow these
latjtudea from the Missigsippt 10 the Pacific.
These are the middle latiJudes OF the United
States from the Atlantic to the peclnc. They
cover the central parts Of tho Atlantic States, the
center of the Valley Of the Mississippi, cut the
center of all the territory west OF the Mississippi
and strike the Pacific coast both at the central
point OF our possessions and that o, the wuDie
North American coast Beginning aud ending be-
tween these lattudes and following, with little
variation toe route which the bill proposes, iuIiu"
with rigorous cXactltudc the essential coI1itio"
SecondiV: IL is to Oe natiOnalIn us FORM uuu use
consisting not of a single road adapted to Single
kind OF transportation. bat ~ot a system OF roads
adooted 10 nil kinds OF travelling and all Kinds OF
carrying, free from monopoly and private interests
and free from tolls. ltproposcs haiiroad ana
common road, to be began at once, and the COM
mon road finished next Summer with such other
roads, either macadamized, plank, or addltonat
tracks of RairOnd AID margin Tor lines OF mag
netic telegraphs--all running parallel 10 each
other and at sufficient distances apart to AVOID IN
reference, and yet near enough together obnlhiC
of easy transition from one to The other.' rus
inlfIlls another requisite Of nationality Tor ma.
sion must contain people of all conditions rich and
poor, and of all tastes and tempcrs, and addicted
10 all the modes OF travelling Some, to whom
tine is every thing and money nothing, and who
demand rapidty without regard to cost. Others to
whom money is an object, and time subordinate
consideration, and who want cheap conveyance,
no matter how long. Others again who may choose
TO carry themselves, going on a horse, or In We
aicle or on foot All these will be accommodated,
and without croWdng or lostlnG a mile wide tor
che whole, and an ample track for each, gives
room for all.
ThiYdl9: Accommodation to the different parts
Of a nation is another requisite OF nationality
This projected highway fulhls that condition 1t
accommodates oil the populations west OF the
Mississippi. Its straight line would accommodate
California and U tah and the Territories hereafter
TO be found on the Kansas and Arkansas. a short
branch ct near Bents Fort would lead to san
Ia Fe and another branch would lead to the Nor
mon settlements on the Great Salt Lake, if the
main way does not pass it; and branch. still
lower down in the great basin, would lead TO Or
egSss: Thus, straight line, and two or three
branches, will accommodate all our present popu'
latons west of the Mississippi Ore
gon, New Mexico and Utah-and also the valuable
Territories which may soon be formed on the K an
aas and the Arkansas.
F0Rrlhly Nationality requires the work to be
DONE and the highway to be owned, by the Ma
tional Government; and so the bill provides Inc
construction and the jurisdiction OF the highway
are both in the hands OF the General GoVernment,
and these are the hands in which every public
and national consideration would require them to
be. The means are to come from the public re-
sources and, what amounts to particular pro-
priety in this case, they are to come from the
places where the road is to go: they are to come
from beyond the Misslsslppi-irom beyond the
frontier OF Missourl-so as to leave untouched ali
the present sources of revenue, now needed tor
the payment of the principal and interest OF the
new national debt. The means proposed IN my
bill are /. A strip of land from the frontiers Of
Missouri to the Bay OF San Francisco, Gne bun
dred miles wide and sixteen hundred long, for the
IN ain highway. , A strip fifty miles wide. and
about two hundred long, from point on the main
road on the Upper Arkansas, to Santa Fe, for the
New Mexican branch 3. strip fifty miles wide
and about five hundred long, from some point on
the main highway in the Great Basin to the mouth
of the Columbia, for the Oregon branch. 4. The
income from the customs and the sales of the
public lands in California, Oregon, New. Mexico,
over and above the oxpedturos in those places.
s. Loans in anticipation these resources, found,
cd upon their hypothecation
These are the resources for constructing this
great national hghway-all Of them national
al 10 be derived from the new countries to which
81, fftxtIf,
my opinion tor the speedy accomplishment OF the
work, The lands set apart in the three slips will
be about one hundred and fifty millions Of acres,
or one.tenth part OF the public lands belonging to
the Federal Government In which, alter deduct
ing Tor the tracks of the highways, and for dona.
tons to first Settlers and for private claims, and
gold mines and for that which may be unfit for
sale, it is probable that one third, fifty millions
OF acres may be made available at the present
minimum price for constructing the roads That
would be about sixty millions of dollars The in
come from the customs would be considerable
and Immediate. San Francisco alone will proba
bly, yield two millions OF dollars the ensuing fiscal
year and increase forever. The public lands to
be cold in California and the three Territories,
after all deductions for liberal donations to set
tiers, will still be large amounting IN few years
TO some millions Of dollars per annum. The pro-
ceedg OF the whole--the reserved slips, the Gus
tom house revenue, and the income from the land
saes-will soon be eight OF ten millions per an
mum which, with loans in anticipation Of these
availa, will yield enough to have the system OF
roads commenced at all points-both ends and the
middle, and all along at the same time and with
men enough at work on every section to finish the
whole in short u time as any one section Of it
could be finished
These are the leading features Of the bill, every
one filling the condition of nationality aud pre-
serving to this highway the exalted, boneiicent,
and disinterested character of public work. No
tolls, or local Jurisdictions, or private interests
should ever be allowed to degrade the character,
impede the use, or diminish the utility OF such a
work.
Practicability and upon the parallels Indicated,
is the only question; and that the concurrent
voice Of experienced men enables us to answer.
The men of the mountains-the men who have