The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-02-09

muDication between the Mississipnj rive
ana Pacl1o coast Certainly, IL was the orig
lnal ueslsn, ahd TO promote IL, the genera
government made expensive and numerous
explorations to determine the most nraotina
route. The results were published with mans
| profiles, tables of observations and renort.
ON the vegetation and animals Of the different
| routes; SO as to give preliminary ipformatior
to aid In the selection of route and invit,
capital to invest I'm the construction of the in
| Dictated railway communication Now, how
| does this bill with it's ampndmentsl provide
| tnr the accomplishments Of the avowed design
| With redundancy of specification, provis
ion Is made for a commission of engineers ia
| select the point on the Mississippi where the
| main trunk line by extension eastward shall
connect with that river II limits the field OF
| selection to some point not north Of Memphis
IL establishes the standard OF the work to be
done; it permits the committee to issue first
mortgage bond for the contempt lted extern
sion OF the main trunk-line to the Missssipp III
river; provided, said mortgage shall not be a
lien on any property franchise or security
pledged 70 the government "for the guaran-
tee of interest on the bonds issued to con-
struct any portion af the line between Fort
Worth and San Diego" Further. It Is pro-
vided, that this eastern extension shall be
constructed without any guarantee of inter
est by the government" and, with album
dance OF caution, that the authority of the
State or States through which the line may be
located shall be obtained before the road
shall be built. and 1t Is further required that
this part of said line shall be built at the rate
OF not less than fifty miles per annum OF
what value Is II to give authority to the com
pany To issue its mortgage bonds, without n
guarantee by the government. and with a de-
NAL Of liability of the other and main portion
of the company's property? As we'll might
authority have been given that any one who
chose might at his own risk buy these bonds.
or what effect is 1t to prescribe the number of
miles which shall Toe built per annum, after
the several contingencies named shall have
happened when no aid Is to be furnished, and
the guarantee deemed necessary to make the
other bonds of the company saIsble is not
only withheld, but publicly refused2
III 1t had been declared that the aid OF the
general government should only be given to
that portion of the road lying In the uncut
tivable country, and that the fertile and in
habited sections should be- left to build con.
Meeting branches wherever and whenever they
should be commercially demanded, the posi-
ton would have had the merit of GandOr, and
would have been not without a reasonable
foundation: but, as presented to us, 1t looks
too bare TO be called deIusive.
ls 1t made better by the proposed amend
ment to the Inefficient section Just Consid-
ered2 The palpabe omission of any penalty
for Don-executipn of the described eastern ex-
tension of the main trunk line may have
sugge sted the addition of the provision in the
amendment to the ameudatory bill tSepate
No, 942l, by which IL Is provided that failure
to comply with the requirements of Che bit in
regard to the eastern extension 'shal work an
absolute forfeiture OF all right to the guaratl-
tee Of the government on the interest of the
bonds to be issued for SO much of the line as
may remain uneonstructed at the time of such
default Here we have another device for
holding the promise to the ear, yet breaking
II to the hope. AS there is no guarantee for
the line of eastern extension, no forfeiture is
there possible; therefore the reference can
only be to the guarantee for the road from
Fort Worth TO San Diego. The time at which
the work on the eastern extension may COM
meDoe Is tn be after the commission of eng-
neers have selected the terminus on the Mis-
sissippi river, and after the selection has been
approved by the President, and after the
several States Immediately concerned have
given their consent. This last contingency
may involve the action Of three State Leg
slatures, and the authority may not be OBJ
tanned, or, If 1t be, who can say when it will
be obtained If the railway shall he in the
meantime completed from Fort Worth to San
Diego, there is. neither in the amendatory
bill nor In the amendment TO it. any penalty
Tor failure to secure by eastern entension a
connection of the main trunk line with the
lower Mississippi. At least it. is left to the
ability and volition of the preferred contrac-
tor What motive. then. would the Texas
Pacific railroad, alias the Pennsylvania Gem
tral railroad, company have to make such
No material aid is to be fur
nished them for that purpose. They have by
existing railways from st. Louis to Texas,
connections with the eastern end
OF the main trunk liRe: they have projected q
more special connection by extension of their
road from Vnita, so that a connection be-
tween the eastern terminus of the "main
trunk line and the lower Mssissippi would
be competing line, to be successful only as
it should divert freight and travel from their
main line through st. Louis to Philadelphia;
that IS to say, as it should inure the owners.
Louisiana is now hopefully struggling to
port. This, when completed, will gives direct
communication between the emporium of the
lower NJ iSsissippi and the projected trans
continental railroad from northern Texas
through New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern
California With carefully guarded and rigid
~ enforced regulations against unfriendly
it is easy to see that there will
still be decided advantage for the cities to
which the Pennsylvania Central r.. r. and its
bear the nearest relation. If
this be the consequence of the capital and
enterprise OF that company no one has q
right to complain, but the people may claim
81 their representatives that q personal pre-
ference for particular bidder shall not decide
a question OF such magnitude as this.
The inquiry naturally ariseS-why, If the
Congress could fix Fort Worth and San Di-
ego as termini for the western extension was
it necessary to adopt such dilatory and con-
tlngent measures to fix the terminus on the
Mississippi river; and why such formality In
icAelhhiulnS Iue pOliI, WDeu no adequate
was made for securing connection
with t2 Memphis, Vcksburg, Natchez and
New Orleans have each been advocated as
the proper point on the east bank of the Mis-
5issippi at which Southern Pacific Railroad
should terminate 1t would matter little
under present circumstances, which of them,
pr what other point south of Memphis should
be selected, as by this bill and its amendment
The only semblance of aid is authority to sell
the unguaranteed bonds Of company which
has not been able to find purchaser for its
bonds, unless they had the guarantee of the
nited States government. The many objec-
lions to the financial features of the bill have
been so fully presented by others, and the
OF the claim that cheap rates
would especially result from the adoption OF
the proposed measure is so palpable, that I
will not extend this already long letter Dy
further to those features. When
we shall have regained our former prosperity
We OF the lower Mississippi Valley will no
doubt build branches to connect with any
Southern Pacific railway which may In the
meantime. by and with the aid of the Fed
eral government, be made to span the "Ameri-
IAN Desert"
Lower California has an interest like ours
a lnter-communication. The wheat of that
-ppiOD needs a shorter and ohoo nor ps;t 70