Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-04-15
Synopsis Of Report Of Senate
Comm; ;ttce On Pacific Rail.
roads, February 10, 1860.

The report Of the majority of the Senate
Committee on Pacific Railroads is an exhaus-
tive argument in favor of two additional
trunk railroads to the Pacifc--one from
Lake Superior TO Pugets Sound; the other
from Little Rock, in Arkansas, and from the
terminus Of the Kansas Pacific railway in
Kansas, by the rout Of the thirty >hfth paral-
lei, to San Diego and San Francisco. The re-
port declares afirmatively that the bill re.
ported Wy the majority Of the committee was
Intended to be the fnality q legislation in
aid OF Pacific railways, that after having pro,
vided substantially two additional trunk out
lets-one Tor the Northern States and one for
the Southern States--at suitable initial
points, il was intended to stop there all Com
2rcssona aid, and leave 10 pirva,e enters
prise and State endowmt mt the future cons
| struction CT branches. The report shows at
length. and with large array of statistics
Derived from the experience OF the influence
OF railways in England, France, Belgium,
/. olland, and the United States, that they are
the greatest Of all modern agencies for the
production Of wealth and The development of
trade and commerce. 1t demonstrates that
the import and export trade of the priacipal
countries in Europe are in precise proportion
TO the development of their railway systems,
respectively; that the experience of Belgium,
France, Austria, Spain. and Italy, shows that
. tax on railway receipts is the best sinking
fund thus far devised for the speedy payment
of national debts. 1t also shows that two
additional trunk railways TO the Pacific are
commercially necessary, demonstrating that
q single line cannot do the work that will be
thrown upon it; that addi,ioal lines, free from
obstruction by snow, are needed to MAINTAIN
uninterrupted intercourse, to prevent the
evils of monopoly; to avoid political dis
content in the Northern and Sou hern sections
of the Union; to bring the public domain in
TO market. TO increase immigration from
Europe to quadruple our yield OF gold and
silver; 10 save two>thirds of the cost of wagon
ing supplies to the l09 military posts in the
Indian country, which now amount to about
seventeen millions year; to reduce by one
half the number of troops maint ined in the
Territories by the greater mobility the roads
will give the remainder, and TO practically
end Indian wars, which the report shows
costs the country during the last campaign
about one million dollars week. The ma>
Jority of the committee urgently recommend
aid 10 the roads as measure Of immediate
and lasting economy to the Government. The
report proves that 1t is safe fer the Govern
ment to aid them, without reference to the in :
cidental advantages of doing so, by showing
from the accounts of the Quartermaser S
Department with the Kansas Pacific Railroad
that upon an average use of 220 miles ofthe
road It's earnings for work done for the Gov
ernment no, only paid the interest on the
bonds advanced to the road and provided a
sinking fund 10 redeem them, but brought the
Government IN debt to the road. The report
opposes grants hereafter Of Government aid
like that given to the Union Pacific ami Cen.
tral Pacific, IN bonds directly issued, bus ad-
vocates guarantee Of the interest of the
mortgage>bouds Of the two additional trunk
Pacific roads, 10 be issued 10 a defined aud
limited extent. At declars that they are nils
itary, commercial. and political necessities,
and concludes with the averment that the
people demand their construction, and do
not. as has been alleged, participate in, or
sympa'hize with. the recently raised outcry
osainst Pacific Railway aid.