The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-02-05

added to the cost Of the exploration, will
amount to more than million -dollaFs,,
expended by, tho Senate Of the United
States, to qualify its members to judges
| discrectly rs to the proper route for tho
| Pacific railroad; and yet members of the
Senate shrink from the exercise Of the dis
creton with which they have been clothed
by the constitution Of the United States, on |
the plea Of a want information All of this +
/ immense sum Of money has been spent in
vain: We have taxed the talent and energy
OF our best and most scientific civil engi-
neers for three or four consecutive years,
! in collecting the requisite information in
vain! Congress is still uniformed Tho
Congress of the United States is still uuabIup
! to give an enlightened decision
Cannot, Mr.. President, with this i'm
mcnse mass Of information before me, de-
| eide that am incompetent to give an en-
lighted opinion. No member of this Senate,
who has read these reports, can do So
No member Of Congress can do SO. Then
, what pretcxt have we for transferring the
| discretion, not to the President, Lot to this |
Postmaster General, not to the Secretary Of
! War, not to the Secretary Of the Navy, not
: to the Secretary of the Interior, bnt to Is
| mail contractor and an army contractor
! an official hitherto not known to the history
| of this country? This high legislative trust
must be transferred to n mail contractor, |
! that rembers of this body perchance NAV
avoid the opprobrium that may be cast on
| them if their particular locality should losp
the great Pacific railroad! Others mny bs
guided by influences ike these; but cannot
consent to be. will conclude nv remarks
by expressing briefly my preference Of II
route. The amendment now pending pro-
poses that the road shall be constIu uctcu
between the parallels of 43 deg. and 81 deg.
! 1t seems to me that narrower limits should
be prescribed. would propose to limit its
location by the thirty-seven,h and forty
third parallels of north latitude. II it is
the object Of Congress to secure the con-
struction of Il railroad on which to carry
the great national mail; on which to bear
troops and munitions Of war and Navy sup
plics--a railroad which is to bind together
the discordant members Of this Confederaey
If indeed they he such-a railroad which
shall draw across the center and to tho
heart of this Republic the trade of the CIV
ilizcd world. no Senator. ms it seems to me,
can vote in favor Of the extreme northern
or OF the extreme southern route. A minute
examination Of tho reports will show that
in favor of either the extreme northern, the
central, or the extreme Southern route
Each one has its difficulties, and they arc
very great. Each one has its preeipitous
mountains to ascend, to excavate or tunnel
and to descend. Each one has it's sterl,
plains to cross. Each One has its broad
fertile plains to cross, which are at tho
same time destitute Of timber and to some
extent OF water; but your engineers have
reported each one Of these three routes
practicable. 4 railroad can be built on any
of them. and built with the means Of tho
people of the United States. rs is believed
by the members of this committee, within
the period OF ten or twelve wears, without
seriously deranginG the great commercial
and financial interests of the country.
As | before remarked, there arc advanta-
gcs peculiar to each Of these routes; but
when we compare them they are very evenly
balanced. The route near the forty seventh
and forty niath parallels. from ST. Paui to
Vancouver, thence to Seattle, is estimated
10y the engineers at two thousand and fifteen
miles. The route near the fort,-rrst and
forty y-second parallels, via South Pass, from
Council Bluffs to Beuicia, is estimated bv
the engineers at two Thousand AM! thirty
two miles. The route near the thirty-sec-
ond parallel, from Fulton to San Pedro,
and cxtersion to San Francisco, is cstiIna-
ted by the engineers at two thousand and
fifty ght miles. ~
That which is usually drnominated the
C utra' route on the parallel of 4 | deg or
u I'S., is little too far north to trav erse
the center of our possessions, the extreme
north being 40 deg. and the extremc south
near 81 deg. But whilst this is true, it
hrin oil fj,,, ,I.,., r
on and wealth. 1t may have been observed
/, by Senators that south of Mason and Dix
on's line, in 1850, according TO the census
report, there were but little over six mill
ion white people; north of that line between
thirteen and fourteen million. This relative
proportion of the white population Of the
two districts has becn Increased largely il.
favor OF the North since that period. Ths
country that represent, in part, the great
: Northwest rs we sometimes style including
the five States northwest Of the Ohio amt
Misseuri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and
Nebraska. now contains, probably, one, third
of the white population Of the United States.
They cast n. the recent elections about a
million and Il half of votes. representing
probably about eight million Of people. r.
: WHAT'S trac of the growing population Of
the Northwest, is true, to some extrut, of
the States immediately east, so that none
can arod drawing a conclusion that the
center of population has been steadily truv-
cling northward since the taking of the last
cencus. Then, if forty -one or forty two be
II little north Of II projection of a line from
i the geographical center of the EASTERN por-
ton Of this country, it brings it nj. the
nearer TO the center of the line Of popula-
ton. All things else being equal. no Just
4 Senator can decide in favor Of al extreme
southern Or an extreme northern route
That which travcrses the Republic nearest
its center is the one that is demanded BY,
justice to the wholc country.
Tie people that | and my colleague here
rcprcsen, here are vitallv interested in this
subject, admit; aud this has induced mo
to mako this rapid statement Of the reasnn<
that will control my vote. II lift to them,
however. and 1t should be clearly demon
strated that the great interests Of trade and
! commerce. our postal system, the publia
defenses by sea and laaj, required road
on different latitude, brIicve they would
! join with me in its support in opposition to
their immediate local interests. ! cannot
believe that the vote Of the Senate will ba
controlled by local interests AMI sectional
views, .in violation of the great interests Of
the nation at large. IN s3
ca y woman III Cincinnati recently
made an application for di, orce on tn,
: ground that cher husband was a confnund-
ed fool" The magistrate informed her
that, if that We're held to be a avalid reason
in law, half the married women in Pork
opolis would be legally entitled to Il matri-
nonial separation. The woman appeared
co,nforted by this assurance -
ness is always alievi;.ted by numbers
departed in an improved state Of mind, and
with touch Of consolation. T. ..a. -- aa
CO Those people who turn up thei:
noses ut the world might DO w-t 10 reflect
that it ia as good a world rs they ever w.r.,