Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-04-19
The Republican.
The Great Saiircad to the Far
"egf


West.
From the Independent, April T.
Few ofu have sufficiently considered
the effect upon the country OF the compile
ton Of the railroad to the Pacific. We
may imagine the rich streams ofcommerce
flowing back and forth across our CONT
nent, interchanging the products Of China
and the East Indies with Western Europe,
which now have TO find their way round
the southern capes by route four times
the distance. The opening of railroad
line between the Atlantic and the Pacific
Oceans will give us the shortest road round
the world one which has the advantage of
living within the same temperate zone. We
have the shortest road and the best road TO
the East This. however. is the least i'm
portant benefit TO follow the establishment
of the great highway. An immense pOpu-
lation must spring up along the line of the
road Itself. Experience shows that steam
roads create their own business they are,
in fact, among the principal agencies for
opening up, civiliZing, and improving the
wilderness. OF the $50 miles between
the Missouri River and the Western coast,
which, up to the beginning of the war,
were trayersed only by stage coach and
mule team, 400 had been spanned by the
iron road on the LIST of January last, the
greater portion of it during the past year.
Now that the energies and capital OF the
nation are somewhat unfettered by the
close of the struggle for the national life,
we NAV expect this great national work 10
make rapid strides. \ full third of our
territory will thereby be brought within
easy access. and rendered astonishingly
productive Nature. as If in her economy
she had determined that nothing should be
altogether useless, has placed in the rugged
Western mountain ranges, and among the
arid deserts of the interior Western plains.
rich seams and veins of the metals which
by common consent have become the
worlds standards of value. The United
States have more of this mineral wealth,
as well as more coal and iron than the rest
of the world together; and it needs only
the facilities of access, labor, machinery,
and home comforts to render us four times
as productive of gold and silver as we have
been.
The road, as most readers know. is be-
ing built from both ends 10y two distinct
Companies, each striving tO build as fast
as il can: the Government granting It's
credit aid To both, according to the pro-
gress and difficulties of the road. The ma
iional subsidy, whGh is practically do
nation in return for the military and com
mercial advantages the road Is t0 confer on
the nation at large, is reckoned TO be about
half the cost of building the entire line
the other half. together with tie cost OF
equipment, will be abundanily provided
for by the private capital, which will seek
such an investment. The road must be
built the intermediate territories are Ian
gushing for il the tTans-cOniinental trade
is waiting for it and the half million OF
our kinsfolk. and their families on this side
are impatient for it. The necessary means
will no doubt be forthcoming as fast as il
is needed, because no other enterprise OF
the same magnitude offers half the pros
pcct of Immediate prosperity.
The Calilornians on their end OF the
line. have shown great sagacity and de
termination. Already they have reached.
in the first one hundred miles, the top of
the formidable mountain range, and in Jul
" next will be near the great Nevada sill
yer mining regions. The local traffic al
ready existing upon this incomplete9 frag-
ment is aStonishingiy lucrative. During the
three Autumn months of 1866, when the
freight could be forwarded across the
mountains. the earnings were at the rate of
81 100000 wear IN gold and il is reason
able to assume that when the whole mount
ain district is crossed ESQ niles the gross
earnings will cover S3,O00,O00 Il year. of
which. according TO past experience. two
thirds viii be net earnings, applicable To
the payment of interest upon its bonded
debt and for further construction. The
former by reason of the munificent Gov
eminent and State aid, is extremely light
in proportion 10 its resources. The inter
est dues incurred BY the company in build
ing and equipping the loo miles 10 the Cali
fOrnia state line will be but Sj45, IGO; or
about 2ls per cent. upon lis cost. and on
the remaining six hundred miles across
the plains the ratio will not DC larger OF
course, with such present and prospective
returns, added to the fact that most of its
obstacles have been removed, no doubt re-
mains Of its speedy completion. and OF the
stability of the company securities now in
the market. The present year will proba-
bly see five hundred miles of the gap closed.
The following statistics from the n. y.
World will give some idea of the progress
and prospects ofthe road: The California
projectors have, in addition To all the white
labOrers they can get, laid hold of all the
superintendent Chinese they could reach,
about 10000 in all; and, having passed the
bulk of their difficulties, are making extern
siye preparations for sweeping advance
across the interior plains. The following
table win show the rate of prOgrcss and the
elevation above the sea level:
Miles Feet
January l. 1865, to Newcastle u $50
Nav -. 1855, To Auburn 80
June TO- 1865, to Clipper GAP Il 1,sOO
September 4, 1865. to Colax - 2iis
NJ iSfc In Secret Town 34lS
July 10, 1856. TO Alta - 300
November %, lsJG, TO Cisco 81 j,9ll
All this, together with a very liberal
equipment, has cost goodly sum Of mon
ey (SI4, 55S, $50 up to January ], 1863;
but such are the prospects of rcmunerative
traffic upon the completion of the next
fifty miles that its friends are justified in
using every man and every dollar they can
get. The Indebtedness of the company
and its annual charges are correspondingly
light, as it's business profits arc heavy. The
following is statement OF resources and
annual debt charges:
Interest
Resources Liabilities.
Donation City San Francisco
thirty year per cent. gold
bearing bonds foo,eO
4. s. Government Bonds ssS36,OO0
First Mortgage Bonds 7.336.Oo0 $40 l66
Convertible Bonds l,5ooOO 1oo,HO
State Aid Bonds 100000
Subscriptions to Capital Stock -
mostly in gcld) 100000
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