The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-05-11
GheGmteltiqerrter
THEPACIFIC RA1LRoAD.


great work. The line is now continn-
GUS from ocean to ocean. More than
two thousand miles of it traverse a
wilderness. It crosses the two great
mountain ranges of the continent, one
of them presenting obstacles to the en-.
gineer which once were deemed insur-
mountable. On another page we print
an interesting article showing the ORR
gin and progress of the work. The
problem which less than five years ago
involved so much doubt has been
solved. Steam communication between
the two oceans is an accomplished fact.
New York and San Francisco are within
eight days OF each other. Accustomed
as we have grown since Europe and
America were united by telegraph, TO
vast conceptions and grand enterprises,
this is indeed notable event of the
times not In our own country alone,
but in the other hemisphere.
Recent developments concerning the
enterprise mlngle some alloy with the
satisfaction which the American citizen
would like to feel over this achieve
Inent. They show that schemes OF ras-
cality here are on a scale commensurate
with even the grandeur of building a
railroad across continent. The Gin
cinnatl Gazette thus recites with peril
nent comment some unpleasant facts
which have become certainly and gen.
orally known. We quote:
The Pacific Railroad was a great en-
terprise, worthy of great nation. 1t
had become political necessity, and it
had also become plank for the plat
forms of both parties. The influence OF
easy communications is necessary to
supplement the binding influence OF
| political union. 1t was necessary that
the road should be built, and 1t could
be built only by the Government fur
nishing the means. 1t is a subject for
great regret that the Government did
not take the construction into its hands.
It's employment OF an intermediate
agency was very unfortunate; for 1t
has resulted in the expenditure of
enough to build and equip a road in the
| best manner, without giving in return
| a reliable road.
The novelty of the circumstances Of
this undertaking, and the unknown
quantity that was to be provided
against, made it necessary to give sub
sides enough to provide great margin
against tie unknown. In such case
the Government had better assume the
risk, than to make the large extra al
| lowance that other parties require for
taking it. These subsidies were made
so large that they gave the railroad
companies the means ofnetting an enor-
| nous profit without regarding any pro-
prietary interest in the road.
Thus the very bOunteousness OF the
subsidy worked against the good con.
~ o,,k
gave land enough for great empire,
ten sections per mile; subsidy in
bonds of $4,000 per mile, and treble
this amount for $50 miles, which alone
would go great way toward building
the road. Besides this it authorized
the companies to mortgage the road to
the amount of SIG, 600 per mile, and
treble this amount for $50 miles OF the
mountain region, the Government tax
ing a second mortgage only for the Sc
curity of its subsidy in bonds. All this
richness gave the companies chance
10 build the road, and pocket an i'm
mense profit, and then abandon 1t.
This chance they increased by cor
rupting the Government officers who
had supervision OF the work, by which
they procured lis acceptance by sue
cessive sections in very incomplete
state, and by which they perpetrated
great frauds in engineering, both by
increasing REd1Gs5 ~ save SOSASI oHN OS
Increasing length of road to procure
subsidies. All this fraud is believed
to have been greatly facilitated by
making number OF members OF Con-
gress interested in the profits Of these
enormous subsidies.
What the manner of construction Is.
our readers have been advised by the
information published in this paper at
various times. These companies can
now abandon the roads and carry oil
enormous profit. This would leave
the United States no recourse for its
claim but to take the road and assume
the first mortgage bonds. 1t is ques-
ton yet to be determined whether the
road can be made to pay the cost OF
running and OF the current repairs.
The probability Is that 1t will come
upon the United States Government to
make this experiment.
The Gazette expresses the opinion that
railway of such length can never be-
come profitable as q freight line, be-
cause freights would be too costly; that
to passengers and light or valuable ar
ticles, such as bullion or silks, which
can afford to pay the tariff. This
is at variance with the generally re-
ceived opinions, but the fact can only
be ascertalned by experiment.
We strongly suspect this line of rail-
way will not quite fulfill the high
wrought expectations of the country. 1t
has been indifrerently built. 1t will still
require a large outlay to make it a first
class road; and should the builders
find it improbable to equip or keep it
up as such, they will be likely, having
made all out of it they can, to abandon
it to its creditors. Ultimately the Gov
ernment may have to takeit, as the CO.
-ette suggests. One very serious draw
back, as shown last winter, Is the liablli-
ty to obstruction by snow. For this rea'
son a line will sooner or later be oullt
further South. This country has so great
a future before 1t, that numerous lines
to the Pacific will be required a
second will be built before many years.
Persons are now living, no doubt VINO
will see the vast region traversed no"
by Indians and ,buffaloes, thickly peo'
pied and webbed with railways as the
older States of the Union now are
Then they will revert to the early times
when the pioneer lines penetrated
those then unpeopled solitudes' mucn
as we look back few years to the
times when the Baltimore and ONO
and Pennsylvania Central pushed their
lines across the Alleghanies into