Washington telegraph., 1853-02-16
The Pacific Rail Road.
SENATOR GwINN's PRoPos1TIo

California, has recently brought prominent
ly before the Senate of the United States,
his project Of connecting, by a continuous
line of Railroad, the Mississippi river south
of the mouth of the Ohio, with the Pacific
! at San Francisco
A Rail Road to the Pacific is an enter
prise worthy of the age in which we live,-
it is not onl ly demanded by the interests
and necessities of the people, but in ma
! tional point Of view is indispensable to the
protection and development of our Pacific
possessions, and any scheme that promises
to perfect this great work deserves, and we
trust, will receive, the serious consideration
of Congress.
We have heretofore published the plan
proposed by the Hon. 7. BUTLER KING,
and we now make the following extract
from the able speech of Mr.. GwINN, which
will give our readers a correct idea of his
views on this important subject The plans
Of both gentlemen are somewhat similar
the principal difference being as to the mode
of raising the means. The cooperation of
the government is deemed essential to the
speedy perfection of this stupenduous under
taking. individual enterprise has compile
ted, and in process of construction, fully four
times the number of miles of Railroad east
of the Mississippi, that would be required
to complete the main trunk to the Pacific,
and all the branches proposed by Senator
GwINN; yet it would, in all probability, for
years to come, be inadequate to perfect this
gigantic enterprise. TO the action of the
Government than we much look, for aid in
the construction of this great national thor
oughfare
After speaking of the Railroads already
completed in the United States, and in pro-
cess Of construction. Mr.. Gwinn says:
Now, let US turn to another side of the
picture, and see what remains to be done to
carry out the great design of the American
people in this system of Improvement We
find that the surface yet to be improved by
railroads is situated between the Mississippi
river and the Pacific ocean, or the meridian
of nineteen degrees and forty-seven degrees
of West longitude from Washington extend
ing from the twenty-sixth degree to the for
ty-ninth degree of North latitude, embracing
the States of Missouri, Arkansas Louisiana,
Iowa, Texas, California, and the Territories
of Minnesota, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon
Nebraska, the old northwestern and Indian
territories, covering surface of 2,343, 500
square miles, or |. .499, ,S41 $50 acres, with
a seaboard on the Pacific of 1,62O miles,
and a gulf coast on the South of about 600
miles from the mouths of the Mississippi
westward, including the southern coast of
Louisiana and Texas. Over this portion of
our ocean-bound empire having coast,
ocean and gulf, of 1920 miles, and being
two-thirds of the territorial extent OF the
American Union, and within which are
eleven-twelfths of the public domain, the
government of the United States has done
comparatively nothing, whilst our citizens,
out of their own resources, have accomplish
cd so much in that region of our country
East of the Mississippi, and, as 1 have al
ready shown. at cost approaching S7,000,-
900, 900.
row bring before the Senate project
by which it is proposed that the government
shall do its part in establishing a perman-
ent and enduring route of land communica-
ton between our ocean frontiers The plan
proposed requires that the main trunk of
great Pacific railway system shall COM
mence at San Francisco in California, and
passing around the southern arm of the Bay
of San Francisco, through Santa Clara,
San Jose, and in northeast direction across
the coast range Of mountains, through Stock
ton, to point nearly south of the source
of the Stanislaus river. thence along the
''foot hills" of the Sierra'Nevada range, and
east of the San Joaquin river and Lake
Tulares, to point designated On the map
as walkers Pass" thence eastwardly on,
and near the parallel of 35 deg. of north
latitude to Zuni, in longitude 80 deg. west,
across thr Sierra Madre mountains by well
known passes, through which there are wag-
on roads now in use, to Albuquerque,
town on the east fork of the Rio Grande
and continuing east on said parallel to point
about thirty-fv miles South of Santa Fe,
in the meridian Of 27 deg. of west longitude
from Washington: thence southeasterly to
the source of Red river, and along the left
or north bank of said river to Fulton, near
the southwest corner of the State of Arkan-
sas. From this great trunk railway st.
Louis branch will begin at point nearly
due south of Santa Fe, and taking north
easterly direction, will fall in with the road
from Santa Fe to Independence, Missouri,
at or near San Miguel, "a town on the Rio
Pecos, and keeping with said road as near
as practicable to the town of Independence