Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1865-07-11
communicated
THE PACIFIC RAILROAD AGAIN.

444A
VIRGINIA, July 8, 1865.
EDITOR GOLD HILL News IL thank
you for publishing my communication in
reply to Merchant" and am pleased that
you gave him space IN your columns to
"come back ON me-" In this article l
will endeavor to be more explicit, as he
says 1 failed to answer q single point of
his, etc. I did not desire to answer his
article in detail, but only desired to COM
bat the pernicious ideas set forth by him
to aid the Pacific or Dutch Flat Railroad.
I will therefore go q little into details
briefly as possible. BY the repeated
statements of the officers Of that company
we are given to understand that they have
more than enough assets to build the en-
tire road, will Merchant" please read the
Engineers report, and also Gov. S,anford's
speech before the Constitutional Conven-
tions l refer him also to Gov. Stanford's
communication to the joint Railroad Com
mittee of u State, page l36. He says:
when Mr.. Judah estimated the work at
$1,000 per mile, he came near the truth,
as he had the data from which to make
his calculations. The recent surveys
(Which never have been more full and &C.
curate than the first made) as well as the
known cost Of the work already com
pleted, confirm the accuracy of the origi-
nal estimates of Mr.. Judah" By refer
ence to the same individuals speech in
our Convention Merchant" will see that
the Government gives $780, 900 per mile
to the work, to which is to be added the
millions of State, county and corporation
aid, not mentioning the millions of acres
of timber lands and private subscriptions
to the stock. Gov. Stanford said also,
that if the State of Nevada donated
S3,0 900 to the Pacific Railroad, of
which he was President, it would not
hasten its completion ga year." "a
month";" "a week" or "a day" to
our State-putting his statement on
the ground that they had ample
already. Since this extra
ordinary speech, the NATIONAL Govern
ment has increased its aid. In view
of these facts, for facts incontrovertible
they are, Merchant" contends that un-
less we give it our entire business, We re-
tard its progress.
Merchant" says, "Mr. Latham's
schemes had all failed in England" l
deny that he ever was authorized or relied
upon directly to negotiate a dollar in any
shape for the Placerville and Washoe Rail-
road, or any other company who designed
building a road over the Placerville route.
That gentleman was negotiating for the
purchase of the San Francisco and San
Jose road, and also the franchise known
as the Western Pacific Railroad and
pending these negotiations a survey was
made connecting with the Placeryille road
near Latrobe. That he represented En-
glish capital there is no doubt. I emphat-
ically deny his having any authorized
connection whatever with the Placerville
road to Washoe, nor did that gentleman
represent all the capital available in Eng
land. There has been no failure to obtain
the necessary means to construct the
Washoe and San Francisco Railroad wide
p. 20s. Committee Report, the sworn
statement of F. A. Bishop, civil engineer
of the road. So much for the points l
&" failed to answer" Merchant ridi-
cules the idea that we are going to have
two railroads over the mountains. I
fully agree with him on that point, and l
am, with the lights before me, fully of the
opinion that the only one road we will get
is the one now in course of construction
via Placerville. He says, "another con-
elusive fact is that no work is being done
east Of Single Springs" This accords
with his string of loose statements. Since,
Mr.. Editor, you published my reply to
his article, I have been over the mountains
and back, and I can tell Merchant"
that I saw hundreds of workmen engaged
least of Shinglc Springs" grading the
road towards Nevada; and I say to
Merchant" that the road will be
built by the way of Placerville to our State
regardless of his determined opposition.
Wells, Fargo & Co. and the glorious old
Pioneer Stage Co. will continue to connect
and run their express and stage lines
"ovcr the quickest and best route, and
thus render practical assistance to hasten
the speedy" construction of one railroad
at least, and possibly two. So much in
reply to Merchants" last.
If he is really DESTROYS Of discussing
this subject in all its bearings, or to
"handle 1t without gloves" combining
himself to facts, l have no objections to
enter the lists. l stated in my communica.
ton that I could give one reason why our
people withheld their patronage from the
Dutch Flat route, and that is, it is an i'm.
practicable road for ~freighting, for the fol-
lowing reasons-I got my information
from teamsters 4: It is not passable for
loaded teams until June or July, and then
no reliance can be placed on the length of
time it can be travelled IN account Of the
storms /; and even, last week, l was in
formed, that the SHOWS of last winter yet
remain to the depth Of several feet for a
number of miles, the track having been
shoveled out so the teams could pass.
Such a thing is unheard of on the Placer
vile route at this reason Of the year. !
have further been informed that a gentle
man who owned a large number of teams
freighting on the Placerville route, had
such favorable terms offered him-one
dollar per ton from Sacramento to Clipper
Gap and tolls free-that he concluded to
examine the shortest and best road"
Every facility was given him by the rail-
road managers !; but after a thorough en-
animation he refused to move q hoof over
on to that route, giving as some Of his
reasons that the road was narrow, turns
short, and that no such loads could be
hauled over that rJute as could be via
Placerville. Two pieces of information I
desire to whisper in Merchants" ear, in
parenthesis, Ia load via Placerville ranges
from 10000 TO 10000 pounds, and often
more. The owner Of the teams, who ex.
amined this Dutch Flat route, is known
by the name of Pete Macgraw.) Another
reason is, that our interests would suffer
if we should loose such reliable institu.
tons as Wells, Fargo s. Co. and the Pho
neer Stage Company; and be compelled to
wait for our mails and express a whole
week. in their transit over the Dutch Flat,
snow-bound route. Merchant" cannot
say that such was not the case last winter
Yet the Pioneer rolled into u city as
regular as clock-work.
a