Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1853-08-31
That Pacific Railroad.

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The course of number of Democratic
papers on the subject of the Pacific Rail-
road. reminds us of the frogs when Ju-
piter sent them log for king. The
transformation at first was terrible. but.
upon little reflection they are becoming
satisfied that no particular damage is in
tended to be done their constitution. and
they are mounting it and rendering valu-
able assistance in furnishing plans for
the consummation of the glorious work
In this connection We copy the following
from the Winchester Virginian. promising
it with the fact that the yirginian. at the
outset, was incorporating in its Apo
sition to the project: a
There is mode of assisting railway
enterprises of not very clear constitution
al propriety to some eyes when first
broached. but which certainly stands on
the same footing with the almost organic
provision that every sixteenth section of
the public lands should be set apart for
public schools. We refer to the plan of
donating individually alternate sections
for greater or less width along the
route-to railways and canals, in State or
joint stock hands. The government has,
with scarce an exception, made money
by these appropriations, through the en-
HANGED value of the reserved lands. Now
an appropriation of this kind, with, if ne
cessary. contract for the conveyance of
the mails similar to those made with the
steamship companies, would be justly en-
titled TO Democratic support. and ought
to be ample encouragement to individual
enterprise. If capitalists still hold back.
it will show that the time for the profita-
Bile working Of the road has not yet arri-
we'd, and unless it can be made to pay, il
ought not to be built and will not be built
except by the arbitrary interference of a
wealthy centralized government. We
have faith in the intelligence and activity
of the people, and recognize no other le-
Ultimate reliance. What have they not
done already TO unite the Atlantic and
the Pacific? Look at the forty costly
steamers the two hundred vast and
feet clippers; the railway on piles through
the miasmatic jungles of the lsthmus the
overland route through Nicaragua, for
three hundred miles up the rapids of tro-
pical rivers and along the wave washed
base of inland volcanoes created by
their energy, very partially aided by 60
vernment, within the short space of four
years. See how steadily, too. each sue
cessive avenue seized and opened by
them comes farther and farther north. to-
wards the wider part of the continent and
our own territory. First the narrow
crossing at Panama, then Nicaragua.
then Tehuantepec. then Acapulco. have
one after the other been conquered. or
will be in few months. Why, the
New Workers will have railway along
the ella yet, before the government sur
yeyors have retracted their noses in de-
SPAR from the upper detiles of the Del
Norte.
Here. then. is ground wherein all
can stand. Let as trust IN the people
They made the constitution; and it cannot
do what is too much for them. The
creature is not greater than the creator.
They have also made, besides the steam
ships. &c. already mentioned. and few
other things wherein the government has
repeatedly and utterly failed. sixteen
thousand miles of railw ~, tan expense
of six hundred millions OF dollars. They
have done this without single daft on
the government for which more than "a
quid pro quo was not returned. Had the
government been compelled to do it for
them, constitution and Democracy
would ere this have come to signify what
they do in Europe. The people never
were stronger or less dependent on the
machinery OF consolidation than they are
now. They ARE GOING To DO THE WORK,
AND NOBODY ELSE"
1t is only upon some plan of this kind
that we are in favor of constructing the
road, and believe that the same views
were from the first entertained by Secre-
taries Davis and Guthrie, and other pro-
minent Democrats, advocates of the
Road.