Daily national Democrat. [volume] (Marysville, Calif.) 1858-1861, 1860-02-02
CrncleY ON the I,nilrond.

Horace Greeley in u recent number Of the
Tribune. presents some very sensible views
regarding the practicabiiity, cost, location,
and ways and means of building, the Pacific
Railroad. Asto tbs practicabiiity, he dis
poses OF that in a few words. The Massa'
chuset,s Western, the Erie the Pennsy Iva
MIA, and the Baltimore and Ohio railroads
have encountered difficulties fully as great
as any to be met on either the Central or
the Southern route to the Pacific. He docs
not express any decided preference for one
route ON the other The prevalence Of deep
SHOWS at the South Pass, he says, will make
it necessary to run the track either to the
north or the south of that pass. lie seems
incliued to think that the shortest, most feast
Die and best wooded route from the Missis
sippi to the general Pacific seaboard is that
from Minnesota to the Puget Sound, leaving
the Rocky Mountains, save some low spurs,
to the south. and encountering less formida
ble SHOWS than those of the North Platte,
South Pass and Green River A better
avoidance of snow is to take the extreme
Southern route, but then, he says, You en-
counter great heat and extensive arid re.
gions. together with a lack of as much tim
Der as is found on the route from Minnesota
to Puget Sound.
The preferable, though not the easiest
route, he thinks, "traverses the valleys of the
Kansas and is smoky hill fork, crossing
thence to the more northerly sources of the
Arkansas, and passing with one of them
through he Rocky Mountains, not far from
the Southern Pass, thence winding down
some tributary of the Colorado, thence up
western fork or valley and down the Tim
or some such stream into Utah, and
through that Territory on or near Capt.
new road to the valley of the Car
son, Truckee, or whatever stream should be
found to proifer the least difficult way across
the Sierra Nevada, to San Francisco
The road, in his opinion, cannot be built
cheaply. In reference to the ways and
means of meeting that cost, we deem his re
marks well worthy of attention, and extract
them as follows:
But supposing the cost of a Pacific Rail
road to be $l50,00O,00O, or even 100000
600, how is so large an amount to be pro.
cured
We answer-Not wholly by individual
subscription or voluntarily associated eXter
prise The amount is too vast; the enter
prise too formidable; the returns too remote
and uncertain. In the present depression of
railroad property and interests, an attempt
to raise such sum for any such purpose
would be madness One railroad to the Pa
cifc would probably pay but what assur.
ance could an association of private citizens
have that, havi"g devoted their means and
energies to the construction of such a road
it would not be rivaled and value half de-
stroyed by q similar work on some other
route2 No Hundred Millions can 5e obtain
ed for such an undertaking without assur
ance Of Government aid
But neither will it answer to commit the
Government unqualiiedly to the construction
of such work. Its cost, in the hands of
Federal functionaries would be incalculahle
it would be an infinite source of jobbing
and partisan corruption; it would never be
finished; and its net revenues would amount
to nothing. And then the question of loca-
tion-the conflict of rival interests-would
alone suffice to prevent the construction of
the work by the Federal Government.
But let that Government simply resolve
that the Pacific Road shall be huil-let Con
gress enact that scaled proposals for its con
struction shall be invited and that which
ever responsible company or corporation
hall ~. .4.
struction, to be completed within ten years.
on the lowest terms, shall have public aid,
provided the amount required do not ex-
coed Fifty Millions of Dollars, and the work
will be done certainly for Fifty Millions
bonus. probably for much less The Gov
eminent on its part should concede TO the
company mile in width, according to the
section lines, of the Public Lands on either
side of the road as built with the right to
take timber, stone and earth from any pul ] c
lands without CHARGE and should require il,
said company that it carry a daily through
mail each way at the price paid other roads
Tor conveying the mails on first class routes
and should moreover stipnlate for the Goa
1eyance at all times Of soldiers arms, NUM-
lions, provisions, dc, for public service, at
The lowest rates, with right to the excul-
,ive possession and use Of the road whenever
4 National eXigency 5 all seem to req ire it,
The Government should leave the choice of
route entirely to the company, on stipuat
hat II shall connect the nuvigahe waters of
.he Mississippi with those of the Pacific
Ocean, and that it shall be constructed Who'll V
through our own territory Payment of the
National bonus 30 he made, say one-twenii-
eth so soon rs one tenth OF the road shnll
have been finished and approved. and at This
rate until one third Of the road shall havr
been built. when the remainder of one fourth
OF the bonus shall be paid; when half the
road shall have been built the payment of
bonus shall be increased to one-third when
the work is three-iourths DONE what re-
mains of flve-eights of the bonus shall be
paid; and when the work is done and ac-
cepted, all that remains unpaid of the bonus
shall be handed over to those who will have
so nobly earned it.
BY adopting this plan, the rivaries of
routes will be made TO work for instead OF
working against the construction of the road
strenuous efforts will lie made by the friends
Of each to put themselves in position to bid
low enough to secuae the location and the
lowest rate at which the work can safely he
undertaken will unGuestionably be bid. The
road will be the property of the Company
it, subject only to the rights of
use stipulated and paid for by the Govern
ment
Four Men Drowned IN TUNNEL.-A ter
rible accident. saws the Nevada Democrat