The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-21
TIE PACIFIC RAILROAD.
A Practical view-WiIl 1t Pays

Now that the first gush Of exutation at the
completion of the Pacific Railroad is over, tbe
ssgacious Western journals. with their practi-
cal and versatile knowledge Of railroads, begin
to indicate what, in their opinion, the under
taking actually amounts to. Some question
has from the first existed as to whether this
long line. through an unpopulated country
would pay in the outset, though in the end the
settlement Of the intervening lands might rem
der it profitable, aud these, as thu company
has been endowed with such large porlioh OF
them it will be Its interest to get settled up as
rapidly as possible. But whether the railroad
Is at once q success or not, the sasacIous cor
porators have so Manipulated the government
that their own success ls placed beyond the
reach of contingencies. The Cincinnati Gazette,
the leading Republican paper OF Ohio, says:
The Pacific Railroad was great enterprise,
worthy o. great nation. 1t had become po-
li,lcal necessity, and u Lad also bac1me D'auk
for the platforms of both parties. The IND leuce
Of easy oommunlc1hons IS Ieo~ssary To sup
plement the biudng n.9deucs OF political
uulon. II was nec,s sary that the road should
b, built. aud it is ! subject for Great regret
that the government diu lot tahe the cons rue.
ton into lie own hands. Its emplO! OF
an Intermediate agency Was very unfortunate.
for It has Il suited In the expenditure OF enough
to build and equip road IN the b~st nAnner,
without giving III re.uru reliable road.
After referring to tho munifcence OF the
government 10 the road, the Gazstte says:
Thus the very bounteouSness OF the subsidy
worked against the gcoI construction OF the
road. The government gave land enough for
Great empue-teO secll Ius per mile; subsidy
In bonds OF $16 600 per mile, and treble this
amount for $50 miles, which alone would go
sreat way toward build .ng the road. Besides
this, 1t authorized the companies 10 mortgage
the roas to the amount OF SIG 600 per mile,
and treble this amount tor $50 miles OF the
mountain region, the government taking
second mortgage Only for the security o. its
subsidy IN bonds. All this riohness gave the
companies . chance to build the road and
pocket an immense profit, aud then abandon it.
This chance they increased by corupting
the government officers who had supervision
Of the work, by which they rJcured it's ac-
ceptance by successive sections In very ia-
complete state, aud by VIII ca they perpetrated
great frauds IN engineering both by increas
ing grades 10 save cost. aud by il creLsing tue
length Of tho load 10 procure subsidies all
this fraud Is bel eyed to have been CRAFTY -fs-
oilil o ed Dy making NUMBER Of members OF
Congress interested III tue prufvs OF these cnOr-
nous subsidies.
What the manner Of construction is our
readers have besn ADVISED bv the information
published in this paper at various times.
fnese companies can now aOan Ion tae road
and carry off au enOrm )us pruhr. THIS would
leave the United Safes 10 rscourse for iis
m than TO AXE I, @ road aud assume the
first mortgage bonds. IL ID qlrsIlon yet 10
be detsrmlncd whethnr the road eau bo made
10 pay the cost Of running anj VI tho Trent
tepars. The probabi.it. is that it will come
upon The United States GOVERNMENT 10 mako
this experiment..
That the road will ever do any extensive
business in through freight Is notion which
eau only be enterL md By forgetting The con-
diuons Of cost on roads Were tue running ls
much cheaper. 1t may carry the bullion OF
California, but tnis will not be very large
item IN the business OF q railroad. Pdssen-
gers will be the principal through freight that
can afford to pay the cost SCme teas from
CHINA may be imported that way from curios-
lty. Possibly the silks OF China might stand
th,s costly tran -portatiun; but X they all come
by that route, the business would hardly be
perceptible.
The only through business Of the road, OF
any great importance. will b, the carrying OF
passengers. And while the country on 80
large part OF the line continues wilderness,
and, therefore, furnishes little local business
to the road. We expect that it will have to be
run at the expense OF Educational government.
However, as our Cincinnati contemporary
says, the work is grand in all its features;
nothing has been done on q small scale; 1t is
grand in its magnitude, and grand in its gi-
gantic frauds. Our feelings at the laying OF
it's last rail should be grand accordingly.