The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-22
PRICE THREE CENTS.

celVc' III some manner, aid from the gov
eminent, either by loan. or bv an on.
dorsement of its bonds.
For one, ain opposed to any such aid
being given any road. Why should moi
the government own it, and give the peo.
pie the advantage accruing from its con.
struction And why should the people aid
in building so gigantic monopoly as this
will be, If left in the hands of private
corporaton-a monopoly not only in trans
porlation but in land. The citizens Of
California already see the effect and feel the
oppression of the Central Pacific. and shall
we place another burden, that will be
equally oppressive, upon the people of the
northwest?
Still think the road should be built at
once, and by the government, and made az
practically free TO the commerce of the
world rs ii can be without loss TO the ma
ton. You will readily see, by little re-
nectlon, the Importance Of making this
great highway free What / mean is. free
from any monopoly in its management.
The importance of this great enterprise.
with the connection it will make with the
navigation Of our inland waters cannot be
ovcrestimatcd. BY its peculiar and favora.
be location II will be, TO certain extent.
the key to the great Asiatc trade, that
iiiuoN w thtudIlg CIDSS lnlS continent. inc
advantage it possesses in terminating at the
point Of shortest distance between the
Aslatic and our own coast the superior
harbors it will possess on this coast: its
adaptation to large carrying trade, owing
to It's favorable grades and alignment: its
freedom from deep and damp SHOWS in
the winter the large amount of arabic
land through which it passes and last, but
by no means least the favorable connection
1t makes with the navigation of the great
lakes, all tend to give this route a pre-emi
hence over all roads that have been or will
he built across the continent. And shall
this route so important in all respects. be
lett IN the hands Of a great monopoly. and
will the government lend its aid in fasten-
ing It upon lis! trust not.
Bat it will be said by many that the build.
ing OF railroads by the government is i'm
practicable and thousand and one obiec-
tions will be raised against it, objections
more often based on the frailities of our ma
ture than upon anything else But if it is
practicable for the government to build for
tiiications and breakwaters, and improve
our rivers and harbors, why is it not equally
practicable for it to build railroads? 1t is
not the building hut the operating that will
be the important question. Time and cir
cumstances will settle that
But how is this scheme to be brought
aboutE The first thing is, for the govern.
ment to obtain possession of the franchises
of the Northern Pacific road by remuner-
ating the stockholders amply for every cx-
penditnre they have made on it, and By
guaranteeing the payment, with interest of
the bonds that have been issued in its con-
struction. This being done, let the gov
eminent 90 on and complete the road, de
voting the receipts from sales of land along
its line to payment for its constructions
These lands should not be held at specula-
tive prices, but at such prices as will in
duce not only European but the Asiatic
immigrants to buy and settle them, and the
government should do all in its power to
encourage this immigration
With this road built, opened, and run.
free rom any monopoly in its management,
there would follow Improvements in our in
land waters that would greatly facilitate
their navigation and cheaper transportation
ana which even now seem to be demanded
by our already vast and rapidly increasing
inland commerce. There should be a ship
canal around the falls of Niagara. and in
time a canal from Georgian bay into Lake
| Ontario; the st, Lawrence river should be
improved and for the interest of New Eng
land ship canal should be opened from
! the ST. Lawrence river into Lake Cham
plain; an what is known as the Northern
New York canal. from Whitehall on Lake
Champlain into the North River, should be
widened.
In presenting the scheme herein indicat-
ed, mean TO say nothing against other
lines, perhaps equally important, that
ought to be and undoubtedly will be built;
but it does seem to me that this one is both
feasible and practicable, and one in which
we could interest other nations besides our
own to assist in carrying out
If the scheme something like the one |
have indicated could be carried out, we
should do much toward keeping in
check the tendency of corporations
owning great lines OF road to combine.
to monopolize and Cypress the inland
commerce of our country. If some plan
could be conceived by which Il cheap line
of transit could be secured between the two
oceans, we should be comforting a benefit,
not only on the present but on future gene
rations, the magnitude of which cannot
well be conceived. Should it not be done
before this excellent opportunity is lost?
GEO. L, CLARK, Civil Engineer.
Flint, Michigan, March 80, 1874.