The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-04-25
SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD
Emphatic Condemnation Of Sub
sides.
The Thirty-SecOnd Parallel Road Can
be Constructed Without Pledging
the Public Credit.
The Texas and Pacific Railroad.
Synopsis OF the Minority Report.


The Pacific Railroad Committee of the House
having by vote of seven to six agreed to re-
port the Texas-Paci6e bill fayorably-two or
more Of the seven expressing their desire to
amend it, or defeat it on the foor-the minor
ity members, Messrs. Morrison, Landers, Lut-
trell, Blair, Rice and Hewitt, have stated their
views in report of which the following are the
| material portions;
| We are unable to concur in the views OF the
majority of the committee, but desire the adop-
ton by Congress Of such measures as will Sc
| cure the early construction of trans-continen-
tai railroad for the special use and develop
ment Of the Southern and Southwestern States
and Territories. We believe that this import
ant object can be accomplished without
| subsidy from the Government, and submit the
following views and the accompanying bill for
the consideration of the House:
| THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SOUTHERN LINE.
| The Texas and Pacific Railway Company,
corporation Of the State of Texas, in the year
| 1871 was authorized by Congress to construct
its road and telegraph from Marshall, in East
| ern Texas, along and near the thirty-second
parallel of north latitude through that State
and the Territories Of New Mexico and Arizona
| to San Diego, small city on the Pacific coast
on the bay Of the same name, supposed to be
we'll adapted to commercial purposes, and hav-
ing population of 1000 to 5000 people. The
distance from Marshall to San Diego is esti-
mated at 1874 miles by the authorities Of the
| Texas and Pacific Company, while those OF the
Southern Pacific Company believe it to be about
100 miles greater.
Failing to meet these provisions, the Texas and
Pacific Company has obtained by construction and
| purchase and has now in operation 443 miles of
| road which incose paraLlelogram in Northeastern
| Texas having base of 1873 miles, extending from
| Marshall to Fort WORTH now the western terminus
of the road, which only is part of the trunk line.
| The remainder of the 443 miles Is SO located to
secure the caluable lands granted by the State
| of Texas probably because the pecun1ary embar-
easements Of the company were such that it's credit
was based chiefly upon the granted lands. There Is
thus remaining of the trunk line between Fort
Worth and San Diego distance Of 491 miles upon
] which nothing has been done.
| Of the tsn years allowed by the charter within
| which to complete this great work only four re-
main, and considerable portion of one of these
must elapse before the enactment of the desired
legislation is possible. Six-tenths of the time has
been consumed in the construction of less than
oneeighth of the trunk line, and that at the East
ely terminus, in clone connection with the great
| middle system Of roads and the central belt of
States, rather than with the Southern system of
roads and the Southern States,
The corporation has allen thus far short of the
performance of its undertaking, although it re-
| ceived from the State of Texas the munifcent
grant of the alternate sections of land for forty
miles in width along each side of it's llne or eighty
miles in all. through the State Of Texas, and the
same from the United States through the Terri
tories and in California, contingent upon its
pliancs with the conditions of the grant,
THE SUBSIDY DESIRED MORE THAN THE ROAD.
4 The credit of the Texas and Pacific Company
was seriously impaired before the panic Of 1873,
and under 1ts influence has still further declined
1t admits its pecuniary inability, and assigns that
ifc
| tons imposed upon it by law.
! In 1878 it applied to Congress for subsidy of
over $50 OOO,0O0 In addition to it's land grant of ~,
1000 in Texas, ard 900 900 in the Terri
tories, being money subsidy of twice the proba
| Ole cost OF building and equipping its road.
| The application failed. It now changes the form
rather than the substance of it's request and asks
for guaranty of interest on 1000 mile for the
easier and 900 for the heavier portions of the
road, amounting in all to $38 900 600 at per cent.
| annually for fifty years.
The bonds of the Government bearing ~ per
cent interest have recently been sold at par in re-
| funding the national debt If the public faith is
kept and It's credit unimpaired, the time is not re-
| mote when the Government will be able to effect
loans at the rates of and 81 per cent as now paid
| by England. The difference between the interest
| on these 5-per-cent Texas and Pacific bonds for
fifty years and the ordinary rates which the Gov
eminent will have to pay on the same amount for
| the same time If invested it might be by the
Government for the payment of its own debt would
amount to much more than the cost of the road, SO
so LnaC the government would De lar better OH to
build the road and give it to the Texas and Pacific
Company outright than to guarantee the interest
its 5-per-cent. fftyyear bonds, according to its
| quest.
| The total amount of interest guaranteed by the
| Government would, if paid into a sinking fund,
amount to more than $500 900 600 in fifty years, and
we are called upon to guarantee the payment of this
sum in addition to the proceeds Of the land grant
| in order to enable the Texas and Pacific Company
! to complete it's road.
| We are opposed to all pecuniary subsidies and
guarantees by the Government in whatever form for
the benefit of railroads at this time however desr-
able their construction. In time of peace private
capital seeking profitable investment will generally
promote commercial development quite fast is
consistent with safety and permanent prosperity
| If the men i'll charge Of meritorIous enterprise
command the confidence of capitalists, or even the
too easilywon trust of the middle classes there is
need of calling upon the nation for subsidies or
guarantees. -.tE+E ri r.fsf
| THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. t...,
The Southern Pacific Railroad Company is q cor
poration of the State of California
This corporation has constructed its road to Fort
Yuma, on the easterly bank of the Colorado river
in the southwesterly corner of the Territory of
Arizona Which it claims to be the authorized point
of connection with the Texas and Pacific read, a
distance of about 100 miles. It's track has been laid
through and over extraordinary natural obstacles,
at the expense of about $50 100000, and the $50
miles of its Southern portion passes through des-
ert and for 164 miles nearest the Colorado without
oasis. This road, built to preserve the charter
is Of little value except for its anticipated
tons with the Southern States, from which, owing
to the failure of the Texas and Pacific Company to
comply with the acquisitions of law, it is more
| than l, 200 miles distant
The road Is already there, with It's millions of
money invested over sandy waste, upon the good
faith of the Government that the Texas and Pacific
road should be constructed as to meet it at the
Colorado river or, in the event of the failure of
that corporation SO to do that Congress should take
such measures should enable it to connect with
the Southern States of the Union.
POSITION OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY d
The Southern Pacific railroad, by force of the abb
solute necesstyof its securing Eastern connections
as soon az possible in order to preserve It's capital
is the only party which has both the power and the
disposition to build this road. .4 Enf
The Southern Pacific Company interposed no oppo-
stion to the guarantee asked by the Texas and Pa
cfc east OF the Rio Grande but, contemplating the
contingency Of the denial of guarantee of bonds to
the Texas and Pacific Company, and the consequent
total collapse Of Its undertaking, strongly insisted
that justice required that they should not be held ia
check awaiting the result of continued applications
by the Texas and Pacific Company for the money or
credit of the nation with which to perform what the
Southern Pacific was ready to do at once for the
land grant alone.
10 this bill the Texas and Pacific Company OBJ
iecte0 The OnIy to oiohf iv