The weekly Minnesotian., 1858-03-20
Fer Dls ManesotidA.
The Picture now, and Five Ae"r'
Hence!

if accepted by the people, must be III It's p.'-
sent odious form, few remarks upo" AVE
general features may not be inappropriate
In the first place, then, q disinterested per-
son in looking over it would be equally as
tonisbea and amused to think that such q
hill ever passed our Legislature 1t gives
no security to the State whatever, either IN
bonds. stocks or lands, fact which any one
who knows anything about law can not but
admit.
The friends of this bill use as an argument
in its favor that it will encourage immigration,
| would like to ask them what reasons they
have to suppose that it will tend in the least
TO bring Eastern people to Minnesota
10 they think that Eastern people are such
FOOLS as not 10 see what is to their olcn ben.
eft.
What chance is there, now, for settling
anywhere near any of these lines of Road {?
II is true, indeed, that along the Minneso-
IA and Pacific Road, for the last 60 miles
next to Breckenridge the land is all vacant,
but il is an immense prairie which will not
be settled for many years to come.
These facts are just as we'll known in the
East as they are in Minnesota
Where is the man who will settle down. l5
or 20 miles from Railroad, from which he
viii derive little, if any benefit, with the Ger
tain assurance that for many wears to come
ne Will have HEAVY TAX TO pay, exclusively
Tor the benefit of that Road, in the int res
on the State bonds, which it is well-known
the companies will not be able to pay for the
next five or six years, even if they pay it at
AL, which seems rather doubtful
And, again, why is it that Eastern Capital
sis will not take hold and invest in our Rail
roads
Is il because they will not paw or, is it
because they have no confidence in the compa-
2ies?
The friends of the bill answer this question
9y saying that they (the capitalists are wait
ING to see what the State will do!
If that is the case, it seems rather singular.
that when money is much more plentiful in
me East than 1t ever was before, that Cap-
taliSts who if they invest at all must become
Stockho' 'ders) should prefer paying interest
on State bonds for at least 10 years, amount
ing in an aggregate to S3,5OO,O0O, than TO
using their own money, which must either lay
Idle or be let out at low rate of interest.
But tie real reasons of the Capitalist for
keeping aloof is because they know that our
Ra':roads Will not pay, apd if the. will not
pay, they must of course, sink money, fact,
Of which the companies themselves are well
aware, and hence their anxiety to get the
Nl'ts into tie scrape. that they may have
some one TO throw the burthen on to. in case
something wrong turns up!'
This is all the more apparent, in the pas
sage of the bill which provides that the Min
neapoils and Cedar Valley Company shall
complete their Road from Minneapolis to Fa-
ribault, before commencing any other portion
of their Road.
Now, We will suppose that this is all done ::
that the Company have at great expense,
succeeded in getting their engines and cars
up OH steam boats and have finally gotten
them safely upon the track-what then !?
What then you say in astonishment- why,
they will run to Faribault, of course
All, what will they run to Faribault for I?
Why, to carry passengers and freight Well,
how mach freight, or how many passengers
DO they suppose they will have, to each
town.
Here is a ''stump"-I think it would stump
almost any one TO tell how much freight and
passengers would go over the Road in day
for it would not be enough, hardly, to pay
engineers and firemen's wages who were en-
ployed upon the Road
In this state of things what must the Com
pany do? They had no money to begin
with. and all that has been done, has been
done by the Slate-heie they are with about
sixty m les of road between two little towns
between which there is not business enough
TO pay half the running expenses of the road
they can make no Eastern connections
md 10 this dilemma what can they do
Some may say that Eastern capitalists will
take hold then, when they see that sixty
miles of road is already built, and invest -
but what greater inducements will there be
10 invest then than noar?
True, there are sixty miles Of road built,
bat is it paid for? No, it is not, and there
fore ii is absurd to think that capitalists
will be more likely to invest then than now
and therefore | would again ask, what musI
the Company do {? They must either break
or receive neu loan from the STATE! There
is no alternative They will say to the
State-when you loaned US that money, you
put Us under obligations to build that portion
Of road first, where we could make no con-
nections, SO as to derive any advantages from
live can get no more money, and you must
either loan US more money or We will break
and You will lose what you have loaned us
already.
Now, then, what is the State to do The
Company have scarcely foot of land (for ii
is nearly all taken up between Minneapolis
and Faribault) and the sixty miles of inland
road if put up at auction would not bring
one half Of what it cost. / ask any man. il
this is net pretty dilemma for State to be
in, aud yet it is just such dilemma as Min
nesota will be in, in five years hence, if this
bill is sustained by the People.
Yours respectfully,
p. NEWCOMB.
Mrs. FRANCIS SHAND wife of the Mayor
OF Liverpool England, has been presented a
silver cradle by the citizens, on the occasion