The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1869-05-22
She Albanp Re9jstcr.
SATURDAY, MAY %, 1869.
synopsis of Report of Senate Committee
OH Pacific Railroads.

The report of the majority of the Sen
ate Committee on Pacific Railroads, made
February 10, 1869, is an exhaustive ar
gument In favor OF two additional trunk
railroads to the Pacifc-one from Lake
Superior to Pugct's Sound the other
the terminus of the Kansas Pacific rail
way III Kansas, by the route of the thirty
fifth parallel, to San Diego and San
Francisco. The report declares affirma-
lively that the bill reported by the ma
jority of the committee was intended to
be the finality of legislation in aid of
Pacific railways; that after having pro-
vided substantially two additional trunk
outlets-one for the Northern States and
one for the Southern States-at suitable
initial points, it was intended to stop
there all Congressional aid, and leave to
private enterprise and State endowment
| the future construction of branches. The
report shows at length, and with large
array of statistics, derived from the ex-
perience of the influence of railways in
England, France, Belgium, Holland 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
principal 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 a
tax on railway receipts is the best sink
| ing 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, de-
monstrating that a single line cannot do
the work that will be thrown upon it !;
| that additional lines, free from obstruc-
| tion by snow, are needed to maintain
uninterrupted intercourse; to prevent
the evils of a monopoly; to avoid politi
Cal oiSCouleuG III tHc NOItHeTu anu
| Southern sections of the Union to bring
| the public domain into market to
| increase immigration from Europe; to
| quadruple our yield of gold and silver
to save two-thirds of the cost of wagoning
supplies to the 100 military posts in the
| Indian country, which now amounts to
about seventeen millions year to reduce
| by one-half the number of troops main
tained in the Territories by the greater
mobility the roads will give the remand
er, and to practically end Indian wars,
which the report shows cost the country
during the last campaign about one mil
lion dollars week. The majority of
| the committee urgently recommend aid
| to the roads as measure Of immediate
and lasting economy. to the Government.
| The report proves that it is safe for the
| Government to aid them, without refer
ence to the incidental advantages of doing
so, by showing from the accounts of the
| Quartermaster's Department with the
| Kansas Pacific Railroad that upon an
| average use of 220 miles of the road its
earnings for work done for the Govern
ment not only paid the interest on the
| bonds advanced to the road and provided
the sinking fund to redeem them, but
| broug ht the Government in debt to the
road. The report opposes grants hereaf-
ter of Government aid like that given to
the Union Pacific and Central Pacific, in
| bonds directly issued, but advocates a
| guarantee of the interest of the mortgage
bonds of the two additional trunk Pacific
roads, to be issued to defined and linn
tied extent. It declares that they are
military, commercial and political neces-
sites, and concludes with the averment
that the people demand their construc-
ton, and do not, as has been alleged
participate in, or sympathize with, the
recently raised outcry against Pacific
Railway aid.
Chrome steel, just introduced into use
| 10 an allow IF iron apd oh ror1;Y,Y,, NJ 90,