Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-07-21
The Northern Pacific Railroad, Con.
greSS and the pUIo'ie Iahds.
From the Advance (C'lcag3 }.

ant, both In amount of capital involved
and in the character and extent Of antici.
pated results, is the building of the North
ern Pacific Railroad, with its branches,
feeders aud connections. The Su canal,
constructed under the auspices of the
French government, cost about sixty mill
ion dollars. The Union Pacific Railroad,
extending from Omaha to Ogden, dis
lance OF 1902 miles, involved necessary
outlay OF perhaps forty millions dollars,
and the Central Pacific, completing the
line from Ogden TO Sacramento, 743 miles
further. did not cost more than equal
amount The Northern Pacific Railroad,
controlled b. single corportion, will span
the continent from deep water navigation
on Lake Superior to tide-water on the Co
lumbia river and Puget Sound-a distance
Of about |, 750 miles; and the branches al
ready projected will increase the total
length of road.bed to nearly 2 SEQ miles. -
The cost of construction and rolling-stock
will not tall far short of one hundred mill
ions dollars.
1t is the comprehensive design of the
projectors OF the Northern Pacific, not
simply 20 build railroad from lake to
ocean, and then wait for results, but to rem
der results certain by a. securing favora-
Bile connections with the railroad systems
of the Pacific coast and the Atlantic states
and with the commerce of the Pacific
ocean; q, by constructing series of lat
erai branch roads to the South and North
of its main line, which will drain the en-
tire Northwest between latitude AZ and
Central British Columbia; (S,) and by Or
gsnizing such a thorough, wise, and hu-
name system cf emigration .trom Northern
| Europe and the thickly peopled portions
Of our own country as will settle an6 rem
der speedily productive the vast belt OF fer
ivile lands tributary to the road aud extend
/ ing across the continent. During the
! years occupied in its construction the road
will give employment to thousands OF men
4 and create a large demand Tor everything
that our PEOPLE manufacture OF produce.
1t is impossible that such aG enterprise,
managed by the sort of men that control
this one, should not benefit the whole
country, while specially and vestly benefit
ing theTegion known as the Great West. -
This greatest of commercial projects, view
cd as matter of national import, is enti.
tied to the same hearty sympathy and con-
tidence that greeted the fret Pacific Rail.
road aad tie recent attempts, III Congress
and by a portion at the press, to represent
the NoTthern Pacific company as an iHsat
liable Gevourer of the pUbNu lands, were as
unfair as they were uufou-ded. bit OF
Pacific Railroad history mfy be in place:
The Illinois Central was, we believe the
first raslroad to receive a grant of lauds di
recly from the government. OF the wis
dom &nd good results of That initial grant
probably no one now ertertains Il doubt
When the Union and Central Pacific road,
we're chartered in 1852, two other charters
We're also granted-one for Northern ant
another for Southern aciic Railroad e.
Upon the Union and Central Paci
fc Companies, whioh proposed tc
build their roads at once. subsidy
of Lar DIS and bonds Yves conferred, mort
than enough in actual value to build tn.
roa6s-the bonds, however, being in tht
charac Ter of loan. Ihs Northern Pacific,
which it was correctly believed, would b,
the SO ond line built, received only lane
grant, equal in amount, but far superior il
quality, to that of the Union and Central
The OF estlon of money subsidy or loan
to the Northern line was left in allegiance
until TIE time when its construction should
be nesg at hand; and the Southern Pacific
was lett with bare charter, the state OF
the country then seeming to indicate thai
many years would eiapse before the actual
constpu elton of Southern road could be
though: Of In this way the government
made provision for three man lines OF
railroad across the continent Ind fully
committed itself, loiRV.he hearty approval OF
both political parties, to the policy Of these
three rational highways. The motives
which lead to this aston were obvious
enough:
a. The Government considered itself
under scme obligation to assist in opening
communication between the older and the
newer sections of the continent thus bene-
fitting beth and begetting closer sympa-
thy and a better understanding between
distant communities and the general gov.
eminent which taxed them and claimed
their allegiance. CD Ii was known that II
time of peace the bulk of our standing a
my is employed on the Western plains act
ing as police between the Indians and the
white settlers, and that large part of the
great expense Of maintaining troops at
frontier stations consists of the excessive
cost OF transporting men and supplies
4 where there are no railroads The saving
of several millions year in army trans
portation, and the redoubled efficiency of
troops when they can be rapidly conveyed
from point to point, were legitimate reasons
for extending government encouragement to
railroads built beyond the settlements. g.
The third and weigbtiest of the reasons
which influenced Congress to adopt the
land grant policy was one which appeals
even moe directly than the former two to
the common sense OF plain people, and is
enough of itself 10 Justify the system, as
applied to the three continental lines of road.
Five years ago the United States Govern
ment was proprietor of eleven hundred
million acres of wild lands, lying between
the Mississippi and the Pacific coast, not
including the state public lands OF Texas.
Sucn domain is too vast for comprehen-
sion, and only an approximate notion of its
magnitude can be obtained by considering
that it is equal to hirty-four states tle size
Of NeU York, or two hundred and four
states as large as Massachusetts,. OF THESE
l.