The Portland daily press., 1867-08-05

that the way to the resumption of specie paw
ments might be made shorter and easier,-an
those prudential reasons finally pleased with
such weight upon Congress, that it determin-
ed that the road should be made. There
were, indeed, many others; two thousand
miles OF additional territory would be opened
| Tor settlement; vast bodies Of land now value
lesswouId be made productive; the tide of
business and travel that now winds a tedious
and dangerous way along the borders OF two
| oceans, would be increased ten-fold and how
| would the fathers in the East strike hands
with their sons and daughters of the Golden
Tate, II they could only be borne on the wings
OF the locomotive!
me mpera i've need of .the work was ad-
mitteu, Out II was too vast for individual ell
terplise to attempt No combination of nri-
! Vate Capitalists was willing to risk a hundred
mllion dollars In the construction of 2OO0
miles of railroad through a wilderness hS
the undertaking was strictly national. so no
| power less than that of the nation was sniff
cient to accomplish it; and large as The cost
necessarily would be. the expenditure would
save much greater cost to the country.*
| But the Government did not wish TO enter
| upon any new system OF internal i'm
| pTovements on its own account; and its on
| ly alternative was to grant its aid in the most
| careful manner to such responsible individuals
| OF suitable character and energy as might be
| willing to risk a portion Of their private
means in the construction of the road
| THE CoMPANY's CHARTER AND ROUTE.
| This charter was granted and perfected by
| various acts Of Congress, and the Company
| comprises meT. of the highest reputation for
| integrity, wealth, and business experience
| Among the officers are General John A. Dix,
| President, Thomas c. Durant, Vice President,
and Hon. John j. Cisco, late Assistant Treas
urer OF the U. S. Treasurer.
The Capital authorized by the Charter is
One Hundred Million Dollars, of which il is
| estimated that not exceeding Twanty-Fiye
| Millions viii be required, and of which Five
Millions have already been paid in.
Surveying parties were at once pushed out
| in various directions across the continent to
! find and locate the best available line between
| the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean.
| This was established at Omaha, in Nebraska,
| on the east and will finally be at San Fran
| cisco, in California, on the west-a distance of
nearly 1900 miles. The Chicago and North
| Western Railroad is now completed from Chi
cago to Omaha, a distance OF 492 miles; and
| several fOther roads are rapidly building to
unite with the Union Pacific at the same
point; so that its eastern connections will be
numerous and complete.
| The general line Of the road from Omaha
is west qp Che Valley OF the Great Platte, and
1
| miles, to the Black Hills, or easterly spur OF
the Rocky Mountains. Col. Seymour, the
Consulting Engineer, reports that the grade
is much more favorable than was anticipated
| the maximum to the Rocky Mountains not
exceeding 80 feet TO the mile, and from that
| point to the summit, or divide of the conti-
| dent, it will not exceed so feet to the mile
| From the Rocky Mountains, the best practi
| cable route will be taken to Great Salt Lake
City, and thence by the Valley OF the Hum
bOldt River to the eastern base OF che Sierra
| Nevada Mountains. The Central Pacific
! Railroad is now being Iapidly built east from
| Sacramento, Cal, and is already completed
| about 100 miles, and will connect with the
| Union Pacific. $500 -,t...,
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AND ITS COST.
As we remarked before, there has been very
| little talk, and great deal of work. Almost
| before the public were aware, it had been be-
| gun. On the LIST ofJanuary, 1867, the Union
Pacific Railroad was finished for 305 miles
west from Omaha, and fully equipped with To-
| comotives, rolling stock, repair shops, depots,
stations, &c.-and the Company have on
hand iron, ties, and other materials, sufficient
4 to finish theroad to the Rocky Mountains, or
| 5l7 miles from Omaha, by the first OF Sept.
| 1867. 1t is expected that the whole line
through to California will be completed in
! 1870
The first sos miles were graded, bridged
and ironed, with heavy Trail, and supplied
with suitable Depots, Repair Shops, Stations,
Locomotives, Cars, and all the necessary ap-
purtenances of first-class road, for $4,000
| per mile, and it Is believed that the remain
ing portion will not increase the average cost
TO more than S66,000 per mile, exclusive OF
equipments. ,i.
| MEANS FOR CONSTRUCTION.
When the Government determined that
| the road must be built, it also determined TO
make the most ample provision to render its
| speedy construction beyond doubt.
1st.-THE GRANT OF MoNEY.-The Gov
ernment issues TO the Company its SIX PER
| CENT THIRTY-YEAR BONDS at the rate of
| $4,000 per mile for the whole road and, in
addition, for $50 miles across the Rocky
Mountains the grant is trebled, making il
| SfS,O00 per mile; and from the Termination
of this section to the California line (about
o95 miieSl, the grant is doubled making $32,-
600 per mile,--the whole amount being S44-
2OS,0OO. These bonds are issued by the Gov
eminent only on the completion of each sec
tion OF twenty miles, and after the Commis-
sioners appointed by the President of the
United States have certified that it is thor
oughly built and supplied with all the ma
chinery, &c, OF first-class railroad The in
terest on these bonds is paid by the u. s.
Treasury, and the Government retains, as a
| sinking fund to be applied to repayment of
principal and interest, one half the regular
/ charges made for transportation by the Com
pany against it. These bonds, which are a
second mortgage, ere not due for thirty years,
| and it is not improbable that the value OF the
services to be rendered to the Government
during that period will constitute a sinking
fund sufficient for their redemption at matu-
| rity.
| I'd The FIRST MORTGAGE BoNDs.-The
| Government permits the Company to issue
| its own Mortgage Bonds at the same time
| and on the same terms, and for the same
amount, and By special act of Congress these
bonds of the Compny are made a FIRST
MORTGAGE on the entire line and property
OF the road, the Government bonds being sub
| ordinate. The amount of these Bonds to be
issued by the Company is limited to an
amount equal to those issued by the Govern
ment TO aid in the construction OF the road.
| 3d.-THE LAND GRANT.-While this is
certainly munihcent, at the same time it is
| most advantageous to the Government, for
without it, all its own lands would remain al
| most worthless. 1t is donation OF every al
ternate section for 20 miles on each side of
the road, or 1880 acres per mile and
amounts to 20,032,O00 acres, assuming
the distance from Omaha to the Cali
lornia state line to be 1866 miles,
Much of this land, especially in the Valley of
the Great Platte, is rich alluvium, and is
considered equal to any in the world for agri-
cultural purposes. Hon E. ID. Mansfield, the
learned Commissioner of Statistics for the
State of Ohio, estimates that at least 100000
acres will be available to the Company within
a moderate length of time, and that it is far
within bounds to estimate this entire grant at
$1.50 an acre, or $30O00,000. The Illinois
Central has realized more than four times
this sum from similar grant.
RECAPULATIoN OF MEANS FOR / ,565 MILES,
U. S. BONDS, equal to money, $34, 900
First Mortgage Bonds, 4i,20S 600
Land grant, 2O,O32yOOO acres, say 3O,8OoOOO
$10S 416,OOO
equal to a cost of nearly $4,000 per mile
| which is believed to be liberal estimate.
| This does not take into the account the value
of the right OF way and material, the stock
subscription already paid in or to be paid in
the future, or the present discount at which
the bonds are offered, as they are expected soon
| to be at par.
The interest on the bonds is more than
provided for by the net earnings of the various
sections OF the road, as they are completed
| On the 3O5 miles on which the cars are now
| running west from Omaha, the receipts for
| the first two weeks in MAY were $1i3OOO:
| and as the road is extended towards the great
| mining centers, the business i'm freight and
passengers constantly increases-and as there
can be no competition from rival roads, the
| COmDany has full Dover tn cborsro ron,unc cra-