New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-10-22
G0yERNMGNT SUBSIDIES AGAIN.

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| We learn from Washington that the Scnenio
of the Northern Pacific Railroad ior ge'''ns
additional aid from tho Government mas W
no means been abandoned. An assault /"
no made upon Congress this Winter, ana by
rho helm of n strong lobby and an organized
Svstem Of log-roIling tho company hopes 10
oxcbapoe a norton of its land grant for IL
,,tional ouarantee on its bonds. The sum
.brs reouired il said 10 be no less than S600OO,-
ooo which ought TO be nearly enough, accord
ing TO- the estimates of the company, TO
finish the road. The cost was placed by The
engineer in chief at $S5,0O0,OOO. Thus FAR the
company has built about 500 miles of road. OF
one quarter of the whole line, and spent
s15. 900. With a guarantee from Congress
for $4,000 900 of bonds, and the proceeds OF
the remaining land, it ought to be easy to DO
the rest of the work Then the stockholders
would find themselves in possession OF hrst-
class railway. 1000 miles long for which they
would have paid nothing, tho assessments on
the stock up to this time having been NEON
siderable. Nobody suppOses that the bonus
would be paid at maturity If the land grant,
which WAS TO form the basis of u fund Tor
their redemption, should DO wholly or IN great
part Surrendered to the Government; ana IL
| has been pretty clearly shown 10y the reports
! of the German capitalists, OF which VIC
printed one fortnight ago and give the
other this morning, that for some years to
come there would bo no reasonable prospect
of the roads earning enough TO pay the IN
| terest. The meaning OF the guarantee would
therefore be Just this the Government would
| buv back its land for SG0,000,000, and pay in
terest on that sum, at the rate of seven and
| thrce-tenths per cent in gold until the pur-
chase money became due. Why the Govern
ment should be expected to shoulder THIS
enormous load for the benefit of private cor
pOrati0n which has put very little INTO the
enterprise except its labor with the lobby, 1t
would puzzle the shrewdest advocate to say.
In reality the scheme is nothing else than
plan for inducing the Government to assume
the liabilities Of Jay Cooke g. Co.
And then We shall have another long list OF
guarantee bills. The Southern Pacific road
will want the name of Uncle Sam across its
bonds to the amount of sixty millions. The
Southern State debts will foot up some three
hundred millions more. The Postal Telegraph
bill will call for ten millions. Nearly two
stTuctiOn, purchase, and enlargement of yan-
GUS canals and perhaps a hundred millions
for different Southern claims. This makes the
astounding total of over seven hundred
millions. 1t is no fiction. The schemes
which stand for all these vast sums are
already organized, and their promoters are
pretty certain to assail the national
treasury during the next session if they are
not warned off in good season. We can
imagine what force the representatives OF so
much money may bring to bear if they only
act together. We may as well open our eyes
to the danger. There is not one of them but
could count upon considerable favor in the
House, and with the handsome percentage
which the combined friends of the nine or ten
great bills could afford to invest in the lobby
the chances of all of them passing are by no
means desperate. We trust that the first to
show itself at Washington may be promptly
Knocked OH the head.