The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1878-05-04
Southern Pacific Railroad.
Emphatic Condemnation of Subsidies.
The Thirty second Parallel Road can be
Constructed without Pleds ing
the Public Credit.
The Texas and Pacific Railroad.

The Texas and Pacific Railroad.
SYNOPSIS OF THE MINORITY REPORT
The Pacific Railroad committee of the
House having by a vote of seven TO six
agreed to report the Texas Pacific Bill favor.
ably-two or more of the seven expressing
their desire to amend it, or defeat it on the
fioor-the minority members Messrs. Morri-
son, Landers Luttrell, Blair, Rice and Hew-
| lit have stated their views in report of
which the following are the material por-
! tions:
We are unable to concur in the views of
the ma ority of the committee, but desire the
adoption by Congress of such measures as
will secure the early construction of a trans
continental railroad for the special use and
| development of the Southern and South
western States and Territories. We believe
that this important object can be accom-.
plished without subsidy from the govern
ment, 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 con-
struct its road and telegraph from Marshall
| IN Eastern Texas, along and near the thirty
second parallel of North latitude, through
that State and the Territories of New Mexi.
co and Arizona to San Diego, small city on
the Pacific coast, ON the bay of the same
name, supposed to be well adapted to com
| mercial purposes, and having a populate on
OF 1000 to 5000 people. The distance from
Nj arshall to San Diego is estimated at l ,574
miles by the authorities of the Texas and
Pacific company, while those of the South
ern Pacific company believe it to be about
| 100 miles greater.
| Failing to meet these provisions, the Texas and
Pacific company has obtains bv construction and
purchase and has DO In operation miles OF
road hich ~ cores raiIe ogram III Nor beast
ern Texas, having b ,se of les miles, extending
! from Marshall t. Fort Worth now the western
terminus Of the road, which ny is part of the
trunk line. be remainder Of tie Ar miles is so
| located secure the val, able lands ant
ed by the state Of Teas, probably because the
| pecun1ary embarrassll ents of thA company were
such that Its credit based chef, upon the
! gran Ell aId-. here is thus r, naming of the
trunk line between Fort o1th aud San Diego, a
distance OF 1,=9i MI IS, III on which nothing has
/ been done
OF the ten years allowed by the charter wi hin
which 10 comp etc this great woIk, only four re-
main, and considerable polt or one of these
| must eSpse be the enactment of the desired
legirla'i- il ossiLle SIX enths the time has
! been consumed in the construction Of less Than
one eighth of the trunk Inc, and that at the East
erly terminus, IN close nj ectl With the great
middle 8, ste IN of reads and the central bet OF
roads and the Southern sta es
The corporation has fallen nus far short of the
performance of its undertaking, although it re-
ceived from the State of Texas the muniicent
grant of The alternate sections f land for forty
miles in width along each side of its line or eigh y
miles in all, through the State OF Texas, and the
| same from the Uni ed States through the Terri
tories and in California, contingent upon its com
pliance with the conditions OF The grant.
THE SUBSIDY DESIRED MORE THAN The ROAD.
The credit of the Texas and Pacific company was
! civ Of
under its influence has still fuTther dec Jned. 1t
admits it's pecuniary inability, aud assigns that as
a reason for its failure to comply with the condi-
tons posed uron it By Law.
In 1875 it applied to congress for a subsidy OF
S60000,t 20, in addition TO Its land grant of
22,52o,t0 acres in Texas, and c00,m0 in the ter
ritorie beng money suit sdv OF twice the pro ba
be cost Of building and equippipgi S 4.
The Applicant III failed. 1t now changes the form
rather than the ST. staDca of lis requ st. ana asks
| Tor guaranty of interest on $3.50 mile for the
easier, and SiO,W tor the beaver portions of
the road, amounting in all to s38,090,5U0 at FIVE
per cent annually, for fl ty years.
the bonds of the government bearing four and
half per cent interest have recently been sold at
par in II funding the national debt If the public
faith is kept its credit unimp ired. the time is
not remote when the government will be able TO
effect loans ut the rates of three ana three and
| half per cent Low paid by England. The dill
ference between the interest these five per cent
Texas and Pacific bonds for fifty yeirs and the
ordinary rates which the government will have to
pay on the same amount for the same time, If in
vested as it might be by the government tor the
payment of its debt, would amount mu Oh
more than the cost of the road, that the govern
ment would be far better off to build the road and
| give it to the Texas and Pacific company outright
than to guarantee the interest five per cent.
fifty-y ear bonds, according to its request.
The total amount of Interest guaranteed by the
governmet would if paid into a sinking fund
amount to more than 500, 900 in fifty years,
and We are calle d upon to guarantee the pawn Mt
of this sum in addition to the proceeds of toe land
grant in ord'r to enable the Texas and Pac fc
com any to com lete its road.
! We are opposed 10 all IecI MARY subsidies and
guarantees by the government III haiever form
for the benefit of railroads at this time, however
| desirable their construction, In time of peace
private capital seeking profitable Investment Will
/ generally promo commercial deyel, pment quite
fast j. consistent with safety and PEE 4nent
prosperity. II the men in charge of a merltorious
ent. rprise command the footde0ce of capitalists,
| or the too-easily trust Of the middle
classes, there is nee ed of calling upon the nation
for subsidies or guarantees.
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.
| The Sou hern Pac fic Railroad company is cor
porarion of the State of California.
This corporation has constructed its road TO Fort
Yuma, on the Easterly bank Of the Colorado
River in the Southwestly corner Of the Territory
of Arizona, which IT claims 10 be the authorized
point of connection with the Texas and Pacific
Road, distance of 100 miles. Its track has been
| laid through and over extraordinary natural OBJ
stac,es at the expense of about $780, 90 and the
$50 miles of its Southern portion asses through a
desert and for 164 miles rearest the Colorado with
charter j. of tile value except for its anticipated
connections with the Southern States from which
owing to the failure of the Texas and Pacific COM
pany to comply with the acquisitions of law, 1t is
now more than 2U0 miles distant.
| The road is already there with its millions of
money invested over a sar dy waste, upon the good
faith of the government that the Texas and Pacific
Road should be constructed to meet it at the
colorado River in the event of the failure of
that corporation to do that Congress should take
such measures as should ma BILE it to connect with
A,xt Ct1tn nFi 1o TTpi0y,
POSITION THE soUTHtRN PACIFIC COMPANY
The Southern Pacific Railroad, by force of the
absolute ssity of its securing Eastern
lions as soon possible, ia order preseI ye its
capital, is the only pJrty which has both the power
and the disposition to build this road.
! he Sout hern Pacific company interposed no or
vosition I, the guarantee asked by the Iexas and
Paciic east of the Rio Grande; but contemp aiing
the contingency of he denial of guarantee OF bonds
! 10 the Tex's aud Pacific company, and the conse.
auent total collapse of It's Idertakng strongly in
sisted justice require that they SHOULD not be
held in check awaiting tee Iesult Of continued APP
plications by the Texas and Pacific company for
the money or credit of the nation with which
| perform what the southern Pacific was ready tC
do immediately for the land grant alone
To this bill the lexis and Pacific company OBJ
jected. TIL only argument entitled to weight. in
cur opinion, was that the eouthern Pacific connect
ing with the ocean at san Fraucis CO, and hav e
intimate business relations with the Central Pa
cic Railroad, might enter into cnmt stations with
that corporation ag inst the rubllc interest and
that the advantages OF compet1tion and OF ccca
sional come San DI go would then be lJst
COMPETITION AND CONVERSATION.
We believe that any competition between riya
parallel Ines of a railroad foe the same business
which r. suits in loss to the companies, is SURE
10 end in one of two ways, either in con binatior
by which the public will lose lar more tnan it has
ever gained from comp tition, or, GU the Other
hand in the rul. cutting OF rates persisted in
! until the weaker corporation is Iuiuea, the pubi
is left the rap lcity of the survivor. There is M
real prote cton to tie public but in the Ell force
ment of the Law Of the land Competition ahi 1
takes from corpo just compensation is quite
as ruinous as ombinatiJn which yes them to.
much.
No believe that Il e Tex's and Pacif,