The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-04-24
Southern Pacific Railroad.
Tho Thirty -cosa raka,iel Road can be
ConstruS ca wa, nov t rle dying the
Publtcs Cfettlt.
The Texas and Pacific Railroad.

having by vote OF seven to SIX agreed to re-
port the Texas Pacific Bill favorably-two or
moro of the seven pressing their desire to
amend it, or defeat it on the hoor-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; 81 3ra b.
We are unable to concur in the views of the
majority of the committee, but desire the
adoption by Congress of such measures as will
secure the early construction of transconti-
mental railroad for the special use and devel-
ment of the Southern and Southwestern
States and territories. We believe that this
important obectecan be accomplished with
out subsidy from. the government and sub
NIT the following views and the accompany
ing bill for the consideration Of the House.
THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SOUTHERN
" LINE. i SIS a.
The Texas and Pacific Railway company, a
corporation ofsthe State Texas, in the year
1871 was authorized by Congress to construct
is 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 Arizo.
ma to San Diego, a small city on the Pacific
to be we'll adapted to commercial purposes,
and having population OF 1000 to 5000 peo-
pie. The distance from Marshall to San Diego
is estimated at ], 57f miles by the authorities
of the Texas and Pacific company, while those
of the Southern ;Prcitic company believe it.
to be about 100 miles greater.
Failing to meet these provisions the Texas and
Pacific company has obtamed by construction and
purchase, and hass7now in operation 445 miles Of
road, which enclose parallelogram i'll Northeastern
Texas, having base OF 1873 miles, extending from
Marshall to Fort Worth, the western terminus
of the road which only is part Of the trunk line.
The remainder of the 44s miles is SO located to
the valuable lands granted by the State
Of Texas, probably because the pecuniary embarass
ments OF the company were such that its credit was
thus remaining of the trunk line between Fort
Worth and San Diego distance of ,49l miles upon
which nothing has been done. -.
OF the ten years allowed by the charter within
which to complete this great work only four remain,
and consiier portion Of one of these must
elapse before the enactment of the desired legisa-
ton is possible. Six-tenths. of the time has been
consumed in the construction of less than one
eighth OF the trunk line, and that at the Easterly
terminus in close 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 fallen thus far short of the
performance of its undertaking, although it received
from the State of Texas the munihcent grant OF
the alternate sections of land for forty miles in
width along each side of its line, eighty miles in
all, through the State OF Texas, and the from
the United States through the Territories and in
California, contingent upon its compliance with the
conditions of the grant.
The SUBSIDY De SIRED MORE THAN THE ROAD.
The credit Of the Texas and Pacific company was
seriously impaired before the panic of 1873, and
der its influence has still further declined It ad-
mits its pecuniary inability and assigns that as
for its failure to comply with the conditions
In 1875 it applied to Congress for subsidy of
over 6ooooOOo in addition to its land grant OF 49,
52s,oo0 acres in Texas and 1sOoo,oo0 in the terri
tories, being money subsidy Of twice the probable
cost OF building and equipping its road. -.
The application failed 1t now changes the form
rather than the substance of its request asks
guaranty OF interest on 900 mile for the easier
and $4,000 for the heavier portions Of the road,
amounting in all to s3s 900 at five per cent an
The bonds of the government bearing four and a
half per cent interest have recently been sold at par
in refunding the national debt. II the public faith
is kept and its credit urimpared, the time not re-
mote when the government will be able to effect loans
at the rates of three and three and half per cent
as now paid by England. The difference between
the interest these five per cent Texas and Pacific
bonds for fifty years and the ordinary rates which
the government will have TO pay the same amount
for the tilne 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
that the government would be far better of to build
the road and give it to the Texas and Pacific company
outright than to the interest five per
cent fifty year bonds, according to its request.
The total amount of interest guaranteed by the
government would if paid into the sinking fund
amount to more than $780, OOo 900 in fifty years. and
We are called upon to guarantee the payment Of this
order to enable the Texas and Pacific company to
complete its road.
We are opposed to- all pecuniary subsidies and
guarantees by the government in whatever form for
the benefit OF railroads at this tme however desir-
able their construction - In time of peace private
promote commercial development quite as fast as is
consistent with safety and permanent prosperity
the men in charge Of neritorious enterprise com
ia n or fho too
silly won trustsof the middle classes, there is nc
need of calling upon the nation for subsidies OF
guarantees.
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.
The Southern Pacific Railroad company is a cor.
poration of the State of California. ..
This corporation has constructed its road to For
Yuma, the eastery bank of the Colorado river, IL
the sothwestery of the Territory of Arizona
which it claims to be the authorized point of
ton with the Texas and Pacific road, distance OF
about 72O miles. Its track has been laid through and
over extraordinary natural obstacles at the
of about S60,0OOO00, and the $50 miles of it's south
ern portion passes through desert and for 1854 miles
built to preserve the charter, is of little value exert
for it's anticipated connections with the Southern
States from which owing to the failure of the Texas
and Pacific company to comply with the acquisitions
OF law, 1t is now more than ], 200 miles distant.
The road is already there with its millions of money
the government that the Texas and Pacific rosd
should be constructed to meet it at the Colorado
river or in the event Of the failure of that
should enable it to connect with the Southern
States Of the Union.
POSITION OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY.
The Southern Pacific railroad, by force Of the alb
solute necessity Of its securing Eastern connections
as soon possible, in order to preserve it's capital
the only party which has both the power and the dis
position to build this road. s a. g. ..s-. ..
The Southern Pacific company interposed no op-
position to the guarantee asked by the Texas and Pa
c1fc 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 in
check awaiting the result of continued applications
by the Texas and Pacific company for the money OF
credit of the nation with which to perform what the
Southern Pacific ready to do Immediately for the
land grant alone. - ~ r. Esf. = 5sE
To this bill the Texas and Pacific company oh.
jeoted. The only argument entitled to weight, in
ur opinion, that the Southern Pacific, connect
lug with the oceanat San Francisco, and having init
mate business relations with The Central Pacific rail-
road, might enter into combinations with that cor
poration against the public interest," and that the adj
vantages Of competition and of an occasional con-
nection ut San Diego would then be lost. ...saE
FssCoMPETITIoN AND COMBINATION.
We believe that any competition between rival par
alel lines Of railroad for the business, which
results in loss to the companies, is to end in
one of two ways either in combination by which
the public W. lose far than it has ever gained
from competition or the other hand, in the ruin
cutting of rates persisted in until the weaker cor