The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1874-12-26

accessible by the building of the road. this
public domain, part of the assets of the ma
tion, the completion of the road will increase
IN market value by an amount many times
greater than the entire cost of the work.
The completion of the road will transform
belt of territories, now governed and pro-
tected at great cos, to the nation, into self
governing, self protecting States, whose
industries and natural wealth will swell the
revenues of the national government
The document goes on to state
the results accomplished. The
company have made a heroic effort
To build the road by using the road
itself and the land grant as a basis
Of credit 1t has built 555 miles of
railroad and telegraph; it has an
equipment Of IS locom ptives and L.
Cos cars; it owns valuable proper
ties on Lake Superior and Puget's
Sound. 1t has become entitled to
lo,000,00O acres of land, and has
already sold at an average price of
$3.50 per acre more than 250,0OO
acres largely to actual settlers.
The company now proposes to
complete the road westward and
extend it eastward through Wiscon-
sin to the boundary of Michigan on
the south shore of Lake Superior.
1t will then have something more
than 1000 miles of completed line
extendin" through all our northern
tier of States and territories from
Lake Superior to Puget's Sound. Tne
writer of the document estimates
that one-third Of the net earnings
Of the Union Pacific in 1873 would
nearly or quite meet the annual in
terest at ) per cent. on the entire
cost of the Northern Pacific Rail
road.
To enable the company to fin
ish the road, the bill now pending
provides that in addition to the
bonds now issued, the company may
issue 5 per cent. gold bonds to
the amount of $4,000 per mile of
its authorized line Of road-the en-
tire issue to be delivered to the
Secretary of the Treasury.
2. As often as the company shall
complete 90 miles or more OF
new road, the Secretary Of the
Treasury shall deliver to the com
pany $4,000 of these bonds, inter
est only guaranteed by the United
States; the remaining $4,000 to
constitute IA reserve interest fund.
3. For each $4,000 of these guar
anteei bonds the company shall de-
liver to the Secretary $4,000 Of its
own 80 fist mortgage bonds, to
secure the United States for it's
guarantee of interes., and the hold
ers of the per cent. bonds whose
principal is not guaranteed by the
government.
A. AS a further security, the com
pany IS To surrender its entire land
grant of 100000 900 acres to the
government to be sold by the Sec.
retary OF The Interior on trust, At
the rate of $3.50 to actual settlers
and as further security, every
six months the entire net earnings
of the road for the preceding six
months are to be paid into the ma
uOnai treasury.
5. All surplus funds from the sale
of lands to be paid into a sinking
fund for the payment Of the princi.
pal and interest of the per cent.
! bonds.
6. That any holder of the outstand-
ing 7-30 bonds issued prior to the
passage of this act may exchange
them tor the 3 per cent. guaranteed
bonds.
Z. That Congress may fix and de-
termine the fares, tolls and charges
on the Northern Pacific railroad.
II is difficult to see what val,
i'll objections can be made TO the
terms on which aid is asked 1t
virtually surrenders the land grant
to the government it reduces the
price of agricultural lands to $3.50
per acre it forever aboIIShes any
monopoly of transcontinental traffic
by reserving to Congress the ri ght
to fix freights and fares; it makes
the construction of the road the im-
perative condition of any issue OF
guaranteed bonds, and gives the
government not only a first mort
gage on the entire property of the
road, but actual possession of the
| land grant and of all revenues arls-
ing from sale of lands, and in addi-
ton deposits $4,000 per mile as a
further security for the guaranteed
interest. In a word, as the docu-
ment says, the Company asks the
encouragement of the government
but not a dollar of money. 1t sur
renders everything it has or is t.
acquire-earnings, lands, revenue
directly to the government as Sc
curly.
OF course the bill will be assault
ted, but it is hard To see on what
ground, except upon the principe
that the government should never
aid works of this character-a prln'
ciple difficult to maintain.