Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-03-23
The Pacific Railroad.

The Pacific Railroad. i!GJ
I9.. There is now fair prospect that bill viii
be naatured and passed through Congress, a
the present session, for the construction o.
this magnificent and highly important nationa
enterprise. The Special Committee just
appointed in the House ION the subject is
regarded as ai, excellent selection. 1t consists
Of Curtis, Of Iowa, Farnsworth, Of Illinois
Phelps, Of Missouri, Davis, Of Maryland, Scott
Of California, Rice, of Massachusetts,, Fenton
aof New York, Smith, of Virginia, Taylor, Of
Louisiana, Kellogg, af Michigan, Blair, o.
Pennsylvania, Aldrich, Of Minnesota, Hamil.
ton, Of Texas, French, Of Maine, and Stout
of Oregon. This Committee, unlike the one
appointed atthe last session by the Democratic
Speaker, is friendly to the measure. All
sections of the Union are represented in the
Committee. Col. Curtis received the CHAIR
manship because he is military man and an
engineer, and personally familiar with the
country through which the roads must pass,
ana also represents a frontier State, from
whose western border one of the roads may
start. a.a,r, a.r
The Washington correspondent of the
Chicago Press and Tribune writes that there
is large majority in Congress favorable to
the plan of giving government aid to the
building Of Pacific Railway. But that
majority cannot be combined on any one
route. The scheme most likely to receive the
requisite support IS that of building two roads
-one commencing, say, at Vicksburgh, and
running west through Northern Texas, sia
Ell Paso, and thence to the Gulf of California,
with an extension northward to San Francisco.
1t is proposed to build road from Memphis
southwest to intersect with the main trunk.
1t is only for the main line, however, that
government aid is asked. The distance from
Vicksburgh to the Pacific by this Southern
route is about 100 miles, and to San Fran
cisco 220O miles. The other road to commence
at, say, St. Joseph; thence west to the Platte
up that river to the Rocky Mountains, crossing
them at or near the South Pass !; thence cia
Salt Lake and Carson Valley to San Francisco,
with branch from the nearest practicable
point on the main line to Puget's Sound
This line would be intersected by the Iowa
reads near Fort Kearney, and alsJ by the St.
Louis and Missouri river road, near the same
point. The distance from St. Joseph to San
Francisco is under 1000 miles.
1t is proposed to grant to each company
the alternate sections for three miles, and
twenty-five alternate sections on each side, to
the boundary of California, and six alternate
sections on each side across that State to San
Francisco; also, to loan to each company
thirty-five millions of bonds, to aid it in
building a road-one million of bonds for
every fifty completed miles of road, until each
road Shall reach the Rocky Mountains, and
then two millions of bonds for each fifty miles
of road built 1t is not proposed to donate
dollar of the money to the companies, but
only to loan it to them, taking mortgage on
the roads and all their equipments for its
which bonds shall be lquidated
by performing services in transporting the
mails, troops, munitions of war, agents of the
Government, naval stores, and in transmitting
Government dispatches over the telegraph
lines belonging to each company. When the
roads are finished, these services would
to millions per year. if paid for in
money. In the course of .welty or thirty
years, the whole amount loaned to the COM
panies will be paid back to the Government
in transportation and other services.
We earnestly hope that some such bill as is
now proposed will pass, and that a railroad to
California will be completed within the next
five years.