Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-05-13
The Last RAN of the Pacific Railroad.

The Last Rail of the Pacific Railroad
1t has been announced that the las
rail, which will connect the Central Ps
cific Railroad, which has approache
from the east. will he laid te-day, wit
much ceremony; and that the last ii
will be silver-plated, and the last spik
will be of gold, and will be driven witt
silver sledge-hammer, whose success
sive strokes, as they are dealt 10y tn
successive favored strikers, will be tele
lgraphed to the Atlantic and Pacific, an,
that the hammer will be forwarded Z
some sacred place of deposit to be KEEP
for future distinguished occasions, lik
sabre de mon pere. Fhe wonders whicl
are done by gold beaters, in spreading
small weight of that metal over larg
surface, will be infinitely outdone b,
this ceremony, which will spread tina
golden spike, driven by a silver ham
mer, over the whole length of the read
making it appear to have been con
structed without regard to expense.
The Pacific Railroad was great en-
lterprise, worthy of great nation. L
had become q political necessity, and il
had also become plank for the plat
forms of both parties. The influence o.
easy communications is necessary ts
supplement the binding influence O
fpolitical union. 1t was necessary thai
the road should be built only by the
Government furnishing the means. II
1 is subject for great regret that the
Government did not take the construc.
tion into its hands. Its employment oi
an intermediate agency was very unfor.
tunate; for it has resulted in the expen-
diture of enough to build and equip a
4 road in the best manner, without giving
in return reliable road.
The novelty of the circumstances oi
this undertaking, and the unknown
tquantity that was to be provided
against, made it necessary to give subsi-
dies enough to provide a great margin
against the unknown. In such case
the Government had better assume the
risk, than to make the large extra al
lowance that other parties require fol
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 bounteousnesso ofthe sub
sidy worked against the good construction
of the road. The Government gave land
enough for great empire, ten sections
per mile; subsidy in bonds of SIC, 900
/
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 $4,000 per
mile, and treble this amount for $50
miles of the mountain region, the Gov
ernment taking second mortgage only
for the security of its subsidy in bonds.
All this richness gave the companies a
chance to build the road, and pocket an
Immense profit, and then abandon it.
This chance they increased by cor
rupting the Government officers who
had supervision of the work, by which
they procured its acceptance by success
sive sections in very incomplete state,
and by which they perpetrated great
frauds in engineering, both by increas-
ling grades to save cost, and by increas-
ling the length of road to procure subsi-
dies. Ali this fraud is believed TO have
fbeen greatly facilitated by making a
number of members of Congress inter-
ested 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 off an
enormous profit. This would leave the
! U. States no other recourse for Its claim
than to take the road and assume the
first mortgage bonds. 1t is question
yet to be determined whether the road
gan be made to pay the cost of running
and of the current repairs The proha-
bili5y il that it will come upon the
/ United States Government to make this
experiment. cl1sE
That the read will ever do any extern
sive business in through freight is a no.
tion which can only be entertained by
forgetting the conditions of cost on roads
where the running is much cheaper. 1t
may carry the bullion of California, but
this will not he very large item in the
business of a railroad Passengers will
be the principal through freight that
can afford to pay the cost. Some teas
from China may be imported that way
| for curiosity. Possibly the silks of China
might stand this costly transportation;
but if they all came by that route, the
business would hardly be perceptible.
The only through business of the road
of any great importance, will be the car
rying Of passengers. Itsvalue is chiefly
of political character, In facilitating
communication between. the Atlantic
and Pacific States, and in bringing the
important Territory-almost independ-
ent StateAof Utah into communication
with the world. And while the country
on so large part of the line continues q
wilderness, and, therefore, furnishes
little local business to the road, we ex-
pect that il will have to be run at the
expense of the National Government.
Besides the Importance of this work
in binding together States so widely
separated, it will probably have great
| influence in solving the troublesome
Mormon question, which has SO dis
turbed the minds of some good people
that they felt moved to have the Nor
mons treated as Samuel served Agag.-
Poiygamy belongs 10 2 single and mex
pensive style of living. When rail-
road shall have introduced the fashions
into Deseret, and when every patriarch's s
herd of females shall be striving to outdo
every other patriarch's herd Of females
in bonnets ard hair and trains and pam
niers and founcss and laces and double
skirts, it is likely that they will rather
forego the indulgence of manly pride In
a numerous female following than en-
counter the cost CT it, This influence of
civilization, and that of emigration, will
probably bring q peaceful solution to
the polygamous problem. - 'I
The Pacific Railroad was necessary
undertaking. The Government alone
could furnish the means. II certainly
is a national work of great magnitude.
satisfaction at its approaching compile
ton is much smarred by the disgrace
brought upon the Government by the
manner in which the affairs of legisla-
ton and construction have been admin
istered. And to this were added num-
Der of so-ealied branch roads, with
subsidies at the same rate, by which
some members of Congress have plunged
their arms deep into the plumber of the
public. But the work is grand In all its
features. Nothing has been done on
small scale. 1t is grand its magnitude.