New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-07-22

ro.ds: and for tie State of Missouri Ia ac-
aure the right 70 sell these lands, the
Governor must certfy 10 the Secretary of the In
terror that tyeIty mile. of ri lroid had been com
pet.d. whereupon the State might sell hundred
and twenty sections Of land. These gentlemen ap-
pear 10 have been impressed with the responsibility
Of the duty impeesd on them. as shown IN their re-
port 10 the Governor, published in the Anuusl Re-
port Of the Board 70 the last Legislature The set
of Congress gave so much land for every twenty
mile. of completed" road, AMI on this word the
question turned. They examined sixty miles Of
the road from Hannibal which they say SIS nos
s. completed. but that much of the work is far be-
low the standard of completed read, though the
contract with the builders bound them " to make
:" the said railroad one Of the frst-cass railroads
90 IN the United States" There We're also whole
sale changes in the grade of these sixty miles; the
bridges are structures perlshable in u few years;
that over South River, 300 feet long is defective
in mechanical execution, the stone foundations to
support the wooden sls are evidently inse cure :"
stones dropping out have left ga large gap in the
"wall, and at another place, where one is gone,
the vacancy has been mprudently supplied with
"a block of wood The south end of the bridge
rests on wooden piles driven into, bat not
through. loose bank Of earth made for the
road" These piles and the bank have sunk to-
ge,her. The mechanical work is bad, the timoers
too small, ard as whole, the structure Il pro-
noupced "a dangerous one" So much for the first
twenty miles from Hannibal
On the second twenty miles the masonry of the
culyerts snd bridges was, in many Cases, OF very
inferior kind snd in several instances not at all
" answering the purpose for whlchit was intended.
In two instances the masonry Of open ways LETT tor
tie passage of water, some twelve or fourteen feet
spsn, the walls resching clear up to the suPerstruc-
ture, have proved so defective that they are kept
from fslling in "by braces of timber showing them
apart" The walls of this murder trap - are
" actually Leaning in aud toward each other
Stone culserts were built Of very small stones
without mortar or cement and So loosely laid up
- that the water has washed cut the earth behind
the walls" Other culyerts have imperfect
foundations Salt River bridge has very defec-
tive abutment while both of them are badly
d" cracked, arising from imp9Ifectons IN tue found.
ations" The whole twenty miles are condemned
as being 81 far below the standard OF completed
road" On the third twenty miles the work 10
no better and the treste-wofk is declared to bs
dangerous for the passage of trains at the present
time" This road 206 miles long, aud expects this
year to have a rolling stock of y locomotives, %
passenger cars and 4o0 freight ,ars. Up to last
November il had received from stock subscriptions
81 Or3 CO. from the State in bonds SO Coo, 600,
and from mortgage bonds $3.50, 900, or total.
including smaller items, of - $500. What
capital to be invested in work pronounced go
wholly defective and pershable
But lock at the more important question of
human life. The vast emigration ~ Pixies Peak
travelled over this ptts road, and those who return
thence must necessarily repeat the journey. 1t Is
probable that not of them has the least idea of
the peril be has thus far escaped. The dangers are
more numerous and imminent than on the Michigan
Southern. There it seems to have been solitary
disregard of common sense, but here the traps
deliberately set to crush the human body into u
sbapeless mass occur every few miles. How
characteristic this exposition is of the wanton dis
regard of life and property which prevails among
us Somebody in the management OF this road must
know that every train that rolls over /; does so
With no guaranty against frightiul massacre. II
SIM therefore, comes by knowledge of the law,
how sre railroad mansgers to be held as free from
criminal carelt.sness for which the utmost VEN
gesnce Of the law ought TO be- invoked who daily
send off trains of cOnfdng passengers with every
chance against them of being plunged through
some cheat of bridge into the death-vAey under
it, The telegraph may bring US at any moment u
dispatch announcing some cr,sh on the Hannibal
and ST. Joseph road, as narrowing as that at South
Bend There the poor victims had no previous
warning of the danger but here they have VIII
those wto may be the victims give heed To the dan
ger Of trip thus set before them from the legsla-
tive records of the State