The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-03-27

dsabls investment which N s.
Overn-Seat sseurisieA prevail
ng Of the road at THAI Zine. by setsof COO,
srsss passed July 81 sd4sh, .and March
81 and 9th, the ccpFK6y was accorded land
nd money subsitl which II declared nsces-
AIRY to the cOmpieiion Of the road within the
lime specified BY law. II now holds the
right Of way over ground to the width Of
wo hundred feet either SIDE Of its track and
nas been gwen Eve alternate sections Of gov
eminent land for every mile Of railroad.
Eyen these enormous grants Of the peoples
and were not sufficient incentive to the cor
pcFators to carry out their part Of the con-
tract, and they impOrtuned congress, and ar
gued with the pockets OF the members Of
that immaculate body until they bad gotten
its promise to give them $4,000 in bonds
for every mile Of road they should construct,
only providing that no bonds should be de-
livered to the company on sections of less
han forty miles. The government thus be
comes the principal creditor Of the concern,
and not being so exacting as creditor as
are its creditors, when il occupies the defen-
sive or debtors position. these loans are al
most equivalent to free grants We have
given the Pacific railroads, in this way, over
S27o, DOC, 900 OF money. That this aws Z
was not necessary to induce the construction
Of the road is proved by the fact that the
Northern Pacific Railroad, which is the least
promising of all those proposed, traverspg
q very cold and very mountainous country.
having been refused money subsidy, pur-
pose pushing their road to completion with
out any other government aid than the land
grants.
At this move a number Of impleccable SEN
ators grow virtucusly indignant, and we
have no reason to wonder that they do so.
This action Of the Northern Pacific Railroad
sets an e.ormous risky cat out of the Pa
clfc railroad bag cat that would turn and
scratch its frustrated jsilors numerically.
we're it not for the people'si credulity a
cat that is a fearful expose Of the rascAlity
practiced At the peoples expense. The ira
montane sections OF the Central Pacific have
/ cost the country more money than should
have sufficed TO construct and equip two
roads from Omaha 20 Sacramento, and vet
The corporators still have their agents 10 the
lobby bowling for more.
a New York paper attempts to Justify the
/ enormous cost Of the road, now nearest COM
pletyn, on the plea that il we could afford
TO be extrayagant during the war, to effect a
I questionable object, We can afford to be ex-
travagant now to effect what has been the
/ darling idea Of the nation since Fremont
first preached il and made his preliminary
surveys. 1t Is needless to say that this fee
bic attempt at the justification Of wrong
comes from rabidly partisan source, and
that il csn have no weight with such as view
the expenditures of public moneys from the
stano, ONT Of equity. the enormity Of the
cost Of carrying this darling idea" into
I practice Is just beginning to dawn upon US
some Of the evil effects Of its accomplish
ment are ioreshadowed 10 the superabun-
dance OF labor on the Pac &c coast, which
can feed and clothe itself for ore dollar 6ay,
I while the good effects which it is claimed
must eventuate, are vet in the dim distance.
We sincerely wish that the new congress
will stop up this and the other enormous
leaks in the treasury, which the bunglng
cooperage Of the last started, and widened to
the end that some particular interest might
be advanced :: inordnate and running ex-
pense to the many. Nous rsrrons