The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-12-29

i shall, In Texas, according to the require
= ments Of the acts Of 1871 and 1872, It ha
= constructed about seventy miles OF roa'
4 from Marshall northward to Texarkana
!. and about 155 miles from Texarkan,
westward to Sherman. On its main lin
I westward from Marshall 1t claims t,
have constructed about 1874 miles to For
: Worth; but, In fact, about twenty-five
: miles OF this part OF the line was built b.
the Southern Pacific Railway Compan!
; OF Texas before the Texas and Pacifl
Company came into the field. So tina
this company, since the passage OF thu
act OF 1871, has constructed only abou
, 100 miles OF the main line provided fol
by Congress. It is claimed that tnii
. company has built about $50 miles o.
road In Texas without any aid from the
government. That Is true enough, Bu
the company has received land grant
from Texas OF twenty sections OF land tc
the mile for every mile of road con.
structed. l have information, which
deem reliable. that the State OF Texas
has granted to the present company
the Texas and Pacific, 5.173,12 acres oil
land; and this does not include lands
previously granted to the Memphis and
Ell Paso and the Southern Pacific COM
panies, which have been merged in the
Texas and Pacific. Now, what is the
value OF this land? In a very able
speech, delivered in the House OF Rep
resentatives by Mr.. Culberson, OF Tex as,
on this question Of the Texas and Pacific
Railroad. on May 4, 1876, find the fol-
lowing; speaking OF the value of the
Texas lands which this company then
offered as security to the government
Tor the guarantee OF the interest on the
bonds, Mr.. Culberson said:
The value Of the Texas lands may be esti-
mated with absolute safety at 50 per acre:
And again he says:
/ have said, sir, that the present value OF the
| Texas lands may be placed at 50 per acre, but
when the road shall have penetrated the coun-
try beyond the rising city Of Fort Worth and
the gaps between Paris and Texarkana and
Sherman and Fort Worth shall have been
completed, the enhanced value OF these lands
will augment this security more than double
From this it will be seen, il we take
Mr.. Culberson's lowest estimate OF the
value Of these lands, that this company
has already received from Texas more
than $40, 100000 in value. If the COM
pany had built its road through Texas
to Eel Paso, on the Rio Rrande, it would
have received from Texas, in round
numbers, about IA DOC, 600 acres OF land.
This would represent a value of $685.
00o, 900, at Mr., Culberson's lowest esti-
mate.
THE JUGGLE OF MISSISSIPPI TERMINUS.
l proceed now to consider the twelfth
section Of the bill reported by the COM
mittee. It Is the section which provides
for, or rather does not provide for,
connection OF the road with the Missis-
sippi river. It .is that section which
meets my most determined opposition.
so far I am cnnoprno6 M NIL oho11
ever become law which does not GER
tainly provide for good and adequate
routes to the Mississippi, 80 as to give
the Southern States east'of that river
their due and proportionate share Of
benefits. Let us examine this section
critically, for IL it does not compel the
Texas Pacific Company to extend its
line from Marshall to the Mississippi.
then there Is nothing in the bill to that
end. Let US look at it in the light Of
the past and judge what the Intentions
their acts heretofore. Recollect that |
the president and controlling man OF |
the Texas Pacific is also the controller |
OF roads extending from Philadelphia to |
st. Louis; that among the many bills |
brought forward for the completion Of |
the Texas Pacific road, that bill which |
stopped the road at Marshall, Texas,
$50 miles west OF the Mississippi, and
established direct connection with st. |
Louis by way OF Vinita, was most vehe-
and persistently urged, although |
the Vinita connection or extension was
positively prohibited in the original
charter. Viewed In these lights, and in
the light OF its own terms, insist that
the twelfth section will never be exc
cuted 80 as to establish connection
with the Mississippi, and that no such
connection or route Is intended or con-
by its projectors and abet-
tors.
The first provision is that as soon as
The terminus Ia fixed the first mortgage
bonds for the construction Of q road
rom some point on the Texas and Pa
,ific line to the Mississippi shall be
offered to capitalists, but it is carefully
stated that the mortgage shall not in
II road west OF Fort Worth. That is to
Jay, no part Of the road aided by gov
shall be mortgaged to build
my part Of the road from M arshall to
he Mississippi. which receives no aid
rom the government, and for which
lone Is asked by the Texas Pacific man
gers. In other words, the extension of
he Texas Pacific road to the Mississippi
9 left to build itself, II 1t can, with the J
trong intimation from its managers
md controllers that the extension Is not :
lesired by. them. and that they will
make no effort to secure 1t. IT this is {
lot so, why are they not asking for aid?
Next, the terminus on the Mississippi, |
I, despite the efforts Of its controllers to 6
'revent it, the road should ever arrive y
here, Is to be fixed by five commission
rs to be appointed by the President:
Who shall examine the various proposed r
outes between the Mississippi river and the :
resent constructed road Of the Texas and :
acifc Railway Company, and after consid- {
ring all questions Of distance, cost and trans '
ortation routes, In view Of foreign as we'll as q
omestic trade and commerce, and also in a
lew OF an eligible connection with the Allan O
C seaboard, and report where the line should o
3 and where it shall connect with the Missis- +
ppi river.
Now, these are complicated, import -
ut and onerous duties. The commits
oners would have to examine with
reat care (for otherwise they could
lake no correct estimate Of the proba- Il