The Nevada journal., 1860-06-15
NEVADA COUNTY OFFICIAL PRESS
FRIDAY MORNING, JUNE 18th, 1860
Sacramento, and the Railroad.

Sacramento to the connection of the Sac
Valley Railroad with the river, and a petit
ton being before the Board of Supervisors
inimical to the rights of the Railroad Com
pany, Mr., J. P. Robinson, Esq, Superinten-
dent of the road, puts in a well written re-
monstrance from which we make the fol-
lowing extracts of general interest:
Geographically considered, Sacramento
is wrongly situated, to ever be successful in
coercing the railway interests to her terms,
If such interfere with facilities that are es-
sential in the conduct of Railway traffic.
"By the map accompanying, you will see
that the Sacramento river can be reached
Is or l6 miles below this city, and within
the same distance from Brighton-approxi-
mately-that it now does at this point.
With a road eighty miles in extent, to
Orovile, and the connections formed with
Placerville and Nevada, or even with the
road sixty miles in extent to Marysville,
(which you must be assured will be COM
pleted before you can succeed in the pro-
posed measure, } the business of the Railway
will require a connection with the river for
easy transhipment of passengers and freight,
that now passes this city on steamboats, and
never crosses the levee.
You cannot be blind to the fact that if
this Railroad must compete with the river
for such business, that it must have the
greatest facilities for transhipment. Shall
that point be at Sacramento, or at another
terminus on the river below, where there
will be less distance of water carriage and
no further distance by Railway?
"Again-you must be aware of the fact
that the Railway from Vallejo to Marysville
is rapidly progressing, and under the pat
ronage of the counties through which it
runs, must sooner or later be completed
That done, there must be strife between
these two lines of Railway for the business
of the northern portion of the State. To
render the Railway in this county successful
in such competition, it must have connec-
tion with the Vallejo road, as shown on plan
herewith Shall that connection be made
by crossing the river at Sacramento, or by
the more direct line, at the point on the
river below?
Z" But again-for all heavy traffic, the lon
ger distance by river transportation the
cheaper; eby having connection with
the river and the use of sail or steam ves-
sells, this Railroad can offer an effective op-
position to the Vallejo road, particularly as
this road will always have heavy local
trade. At which point shall that connection
be made?
"Yet again-it must be evident to all OBJ
serving men, that but short time will
elapse before railway will be constructed
from San Francisco ma. San Jose, and
skirting the foot hills through the counties
of San Joaquin, Calaveras and Ell Dorado,
form a connection with the system of Rail-
ways, North and East of this point; and this
idea gains strength when we consider that
JOAQUIN. Ell Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba,
and Butte, are all lending pecuniary aid to
Railways that will insure their completion,
and thus making this direct connection with
San Francisco, not only desirable for the
mountain towns, but very advantageous to
San Francisco, and exceedingly remunera-
tive to the company that shall build it.
With such a condition of things, the
Sacramento Valley Railroad must rely upon
its connection with Vallejo, or the more
economical connection with the river, to
compete successfully with those opposing
lines for the business between tide water
and the points of consumption. In all can
dor, gentlemen, ask you to hesitate for a
moment and think that the step you now
take is one that you will not likely depart
from hereafter, and answer the question,
where it is best for the Sacramento Valley
Railway to terminate on this river, for pur-
poses of transhipment from water commu-
nication, and where is the best point $50 far
as this city is concerned) for Railway to
cross to tap the Vallejo road to tide-water
"Shall Sacramento thus early SOW the
seeds of opposition to the only Railway in
California, and give to the owners of rival
lines apositive advantage over this city, and
that too when all the counties nearest ad-
jacent to her are fostering and aiding them
and in the face of the palpable fact that such
opposition must result in injury to her; or
shall she-since no pecuniary assistance
has been rendered by the citizens or the
corporation of Sacramento-aid and assist
in maintaining this enterprise by friendly
legislation? l ask you, gentlemen of the
Board of Supervisors, to decide.
EXHIBIT Of the Pecmiary Benefits that Sacrd-
1ento County has receiged from the Construe-
tion Of the Sacramento Valley Railroad:
The Expenditures of the Sacramento
Valley Railroad Company in the
maintenance and operation Of its
business, since January LIST, 1856,
in the City and County -.......... S50S, 900
OF the above amount there has been
expended for labor alOne........ 265,OOO
The New Business in the County that
this Railroad has developed, from
Wood and Stone, has given to the
County y................-~...... ......- 100000
The Railroad has created increase
of sssessable property in this Co.
of about.........,........... 49,. LOCO, 200