The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-21

pleHon Of Che road doubly sure. G. They
are stimulating emigration, asking the indus
trious Germans to settle along the line Of the
new road and thus inviting to America tons
of thousands Of useful citizens.
All these charges WILL when properly con-
sidered, only help to commend the road to
public confidence and to stimulate subscrip-
tions to the bonds. When wisely con
strued, the attacks of our contemporary will
prove frst-class advertisement. Investors
will decidedly prefer land grant ifty miles
wide across the continent to one which is
only forty miles in width; aud if they can
buy bonds secured by such magnificent
domain, as well as by mortgage upon the
whole property and franchise of the projected
road, at a heavy discount we shall not wonder
at their preference for an Investment Of this
superior character. So far as the interests
of the Government are concerned, the best
method which past experience has developed
for speedily comforting valuo upon the im-
mense wastes of the West is the construction
of the great highways which at once open an
avenue to emigration and a road to market
for agricultural and mineral products. AS a
mere pecuniary transaction the public treasury
will gain immense sums by giving away half
Of a wide belt of land in return for the
assurance that buffalo-stamping grounds and
resorts for murderous savages will quickly be
dotted with peaceful and productive settle
ments. We have no sympathy with the
anguish experienced by our contemporary at
the thought that German immigrants may be
tempted from their peaceful homes to the
new wilderness. Tens of thousands OF their
ancestors have sought their fortunes in this
hospitable land and found them here. They
may suffer some hardships, but as people
they rarely fail to achieve an honorable indie
pendence, and the disposition to purchase
the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad
will be greatly strengthened by the fact that
q large portion of the land adjacent to its
route will be occupied by this useful and un-
tiring race.
In spite of the slallful employm ent of all
these elements of success, however, our con-
temporary predicts a disastrous failure to the
Northern Pacific enterprise, and its most
serious charge is that the mortgage will
eventually be foreclosed and the road sold for
an insignificant sum to a small knot of stock
holders This assertion must go for what it
is worth The facts adduced to sustain it
give irresistible strength to the opposite
conclusion, and capitalists will
base their judgments rather upon
tangible evidence than randem
and ill-natured guess-work. No great public
improvement was ever undertaken in this
country without host of croakers springing
up to declare that it was either impracticable
OF ruinous. If their counsel had been needed
we should have nothing better than mud
roads and mountain mule-paths up 10 this
day. America has become rich, populous,
and powerful because she has cherished and
sustained progressive enterprises and it will
require great deal better logic than our con-
temporary has yet adduced TO persuade her
people to put down brakes and reverse their
engines.