The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1867-06-06
THE UNION PACIFIC RAFT ROAO.
From Omaha. Nebrssks: ,
x.u rHas nEf.N DONE. AND WHEN
lT WILL BE FINISHED.
N....s s..s q. ia l,tiss 1saSi esefl begun

No e9st S.Ssf Sfss~
about which 80 little ha, been said ana
80 mucl, ha, been lone The public have
= vagpe ,hiea sLsi .yuiiroad y be,n pull =
from somewhere III the Fast to some
where in the further West than rail
track has ever before been laid; but where
it begins, or what route it follows, or
where. it is TO end. mot one ina Thousand
can tell.
For a dozen years We have heard that
Pacific Railroad pos 10 be built, and a
dozen names and dozen companies, and
a,dozGn ROUTES -fron Tire soutIern'b oun,z
dairy of Texas 10 the northern boundary
of Lake Superior-have been urged upon
Congress as the greatest and best means
for uniting the Atlantic and Pacific
shores. Bubble after bubble was blown y
and each burst in turn when touched by
the sharp point of practical experience.
The absolute necessity for Pacific
Railroad to retain and bind more closely
together the eastern and western ex
trcmes of the continent in one great Uni
ted and Pacife country, the immense cost
O. Government transportation to its
frontier and Rocky Mountain posts, and
the even greater cost of Indian wars, in
arcgion that nothing but a railroad could
civilize,a and nothing but civilization
could pacify,-the srea. Importance Of
opening q road to the rich gold and sill:
yer mines OF the Sierra and Nevada
Mountains, so that the way to the re
sumption OF specie payments might be
shorter and easier, all these prudential
reasons finally pressed with such weight I
upon Congress, that it determined that
the road should be made. There were,
indeed many others: two thousand miles
of additional territory would be opened
for settlement, vast bodies of land now
>alueless would be made productive; the
tide of business and travel that now winds
tedious and dangerous way along the
borders Of two oceans would be increas
Ell en.fold; and how would the fathers
in tho East strike hands with their soas
and daughters at the Golden Gate, if they
could only be borne On The wings of the
locomotive! .ssfGhag zs,tg
The imperatiseSn ofCthe work was
admitted, but it was too vast for individ
ual enterprise to attempt No combina-
ton of private capitalists was willingsto
risk hundred millions in the construc
ton of 1000 miles of railroad through
wilderness. As the undertaking was
strictly national, so no power less than
that Of the nation was sufficient to &C
complish it; and large as the cost would
necessarily be, the expenditure would
save much greater cost to tire countiy.+<
But the Government did not wish to en-
ter upon any new system OF internal i'm
provements on its own account, and its
only alternative was TO grant its aid in
the most careful manner to such respon-
sibte individuals of suitable character
and energy as might be willing to risk a
portion of their private means IN the con
s,ructicn ofsthe road. n wRsP@H
TIE CoMPANY's CHARTER AND ROUTE.
This charter was granted aud perfect
Ell by varioas acts of Congress, and the
Company comprises men of the highest
reputation for integrity, wealth. anibus
mess experience. Among the officers
arc Gen. John 4 Dix, President, Thos
G.. Durant, Vice President, and Hon. J..
2. Cisco, late Assistant Treasurer Of the
US, Treasurer.
The capital authorized 10y the charter
is One Hundre,t Million Dollars, OF
l.. estimated that axcap1inn
Twenty Five Millions will be required,
and of which Five Millions have already
been paid in. sT6aE
Surveying parties were at once pushed
out in various. directions across the con-
,tinept to lind aud locate the best availa
BILE line between the Missouri River and
the Pacific OCEAN. This was established
at Omaha, ia Nebraska, on the east, and
will finally be at San Francisco. in Cali
fornia, on the west-a distance of nearly
l,9oe miles, The Chicago and North
Western Railroad is now completed from
Chicago to Omaha, distance of 49,
miles; and several other roads. are rapid.
Nv building to unite with the Union Pa
citie at the same point; so that its east
eru connections will be numerous and
complete. = hlt 81 I G}iJ dtlI
The general line Of the road from Om-
aha is west up the valley o" the Great
Platte, and thence across the plains a
distance of o1s miles, 70 the Black Hills,
or easterly spur OF the Rocky Mountains
Col. Seymour. the Consulting Engineer,
reports that the grade is much more fav.
,oorahls than was anticipated--them maxi
muraso the Rocky Mountains not sex-
-soeeame 80 feet 70 the mile, and FROM that
: ,osst & "a summit. Or divide Of the con
.tinept, it viii not exceed 50 feet 70 the