National Republican., 1878-04-24

income winch COMES Ill ana goes out ny
the same spout, but if in all, staggering
under mortgages, harrassed by the neces-
"sity Of new fences and new shingles on the
roof burdened by the education Of chill
dren, losing by shrinkage Of values in real
estate, he can still count an income Of
$4,000, he must pay the cost of an earnest,
hard-working, provident, and unselfsh
life" There Is sense, wisdom, and sound
philosophy in tho above criticism of the
proposed income tax, and If Congress has
the sense of plow-iogger, they will knock
this thing higher than kite"
II IT MUCH.NEEDED LEGIsLATION3
Tho country is suffering for legislation
incident to its absolute wants, and yet Con-
gress affords no promise of aid. Appropria-
tion bills are delayed, the interests of the
District of Columbia are suspended, nothing
is being done for the industries of the coun-
try, and yet the time and attention Of Con-
gress are absorbed In the consideration of
railroad schemes In which arc centered
more individual than public interest. 1t is
intimated that other important measures
are to be held in allegiance until the Texas
Pacific bill shall have been pushed forward
and accomplished at all hazards The in
terests Of the country at large do net seem
| to demand this measure now Mt the expense
Of Others intimately connected with the
machinery of the Government, and II GER
tainly should not be pushed through with
out mature deliberation and an intelligent
| discussion Of it's merits
The action of its partisans the other day
| in having It reported and placed on the cal
endar, without having n day fixed for it's
| consideration, reveals a weakness and pur-
pose is plain; II is to have the bill forced"
as the phrase goes, through the Senate, and
then TO squeeze II through the House dur
ing the last days or hours of the session,
when debate is impossible The problem
for the lobby is now how to so manage that
a bill to which majority of both Chambers
is opposed shall nevertheless slip through at
some auspcious moment as If favored
by majority of both, and yet not
have the responsibility placed on the
members present. Discussion is fatal
to this attempt, since it will be shown
conclusiyely that this lending of the na-
tional credit is both pornicious and need
less, and that, in the case of the Texas Pa
cfic, it has not even the small benefit of
being boon to the Southern States to rec
ommend it. 1t cannot be too often nor too
distinctly repeated that the road proposed
by Colonel ScoTT will have one end in Phil
adelphia and the other at little wayside
port on the Pacific, where neither commerce
nor travel wants to 90. except possibly for
the purposes of winter sanitarium. The
real animating motives at the bottom of 1t
are the needy condition OF the Pennsylvania
maSnates finances and the desire to become
master Of q continuous line to the Pacific to
the prejudice of all other transportation
routes. II is not to benefit the South, but
to enable few .speculator to divide profit
of ten or twelve millions from construction
the aid is asked. The country can do
better. 1t has the offer Of the Southern Pa
cihc Railroad Company to build the western
half of this overland line for the old aban-
doned land grant alone, and of the New
| ollSsius tuu 'ndi 10
construct the eastern half so as to actually
protect the border, for an advance of $4,000
per mile, or less and these two together
would promptly give q real Southern road
to the Pacific, from which that section
would have nothing to fear but everything
to hope, and if the thirty parallel
lines were aided In like manner across
Texas it would give to Vicksburg and Mem
phis the shortest and most efficient connec-
tion to the East.
If it be the determination Of Congress, at
this time, to promote this thirty-second par
allel route by grant of financial assistance
lin the face Of the declaration that the
forty-seventh parallel route can be conf
pleted by the simple extension of its land
grant, this is the obvious plan on which it
should be done The two forks across Texas
tone from San Antonio and the other from
Fort WORTH TO Ell Paso can be built for one
third the amount of bonds to be indorsed by
the Texas Pacific bill, and would result in a
road more serviceabie to the Gulf and Lower
Mississippi States, as the traffic could not be
diverted from it. All the incomplete gaps
would inevitably he filed up so as to make
a symmetrical Southern system. The alteru.
ative before Congress would seem to be
either to let the whole matter go over t0
another year, or to adopt this modified form
OF subsidy, to which we are utterly opposed,
and which loes not furnish all the means to
build the road and a large profit beside, but
compels the investment ofan equal amount oi
private capital along with that of the Gov.
ernment. There can be no doubt that a
premium of $4,000 mile would hasten
and bring all the roads that are necessary
either for commerce and trade, or to give
military protection to our frontier and that
ought to be the outside limit of assistance
but it is equally clear if Congress takes nc
action at present that the several companies
interested in closing the gap will quit be.
seiging Washington and seek idle capital in
the money markets, and in due time close /,
without further legislation at all. 1t is alb
surd to suppose that nation that has built
$4,000 miles of railroad in forty years can,
not close Loo mile gap in the next five
or six years without taxing the Treasury to
do it.