Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-11-20
a WV METHOD.

The completion OF transcontinen'ai
line Of railroad across the Republic ef
Guatemala. from 81. Thomas. on the
Atlantic side, ~ the Pacific coast, Is 70
be accomplished by compulsory sub
ssrip.ion Of a per snnnm, payable ~
quarterly instaliments of { each Ac-
cording 10 the decree of President bar
rios, payment of these subscriptions
vill commence on January 1t, 1884, and
continue for ten years thereafter. he
subscription 10 to be collected from All
inhabitants Of the Republic whose III
oome liz not less than - per MONTH
and any one who refuses to pay Is 70 Dc
compelled TO do 50 after tie Last DAY OF
each ouarter and be fined an equal
amount extra, to be paid into the rail-
road treasury as an additional con'ri-
button to the enterprise. Subscriptions
are not limited in amount, however ana
foreign residents in the country are per
nitted to take shares IN the NATIONAL
enbsnriptiou. Every subscriber 10 regis
tered at the beginning az shareholder
of the company, which Is TO be known
M the Northern Pacific Railroad Com
pany, and Ia entitled 70 all the rights
and privileges accruing from the
amount of his subscription. A railroad
ia now being built from tbs city OF Qua
temala TO the Pacific ocean, by Stan
ford. Croker and Huntington, and the
road thus to be built bv the people VIII
RIM from 81. Thomas to connect with
this private line. The total distance
acroee il less than 300 miles and from
81. Thomas to New York, 175O miles
or thereabouts, five days trip for
iirst class Atlantic steamship.
This method of building railroads Is,
It must be confessed remarkable limo
walton upon the methods which have
heretofore obtained. The practice OF
our Government has been first to make
proposed road present OF a sufficient
land grant TO build it, II sold or mort
gagged, then TO guarantee interest on an
amount Of bonds also sufficient to build
IL. In brief, TO make the completed
road present to its stockholders. We
are inclined 10 accord superiority to the
Guatemala plan. True. 1t makes pay
ment of per capita subscription com
pulsory. But it also makes the sub
scriber shareholder In the stock Of the
company in exact proportion a. he con-
tributes and insures his due share Of,
and control Of It's net earnings or dtyi-
dsnds, whereas Congress gives away in
fee lands which belong TO the whole
people, and taxes them in addition to
pay interest guaranteed on the bonds Of
the subsidized roads, neither people MOI
government having directly or indirect
" any claim to dividends upon the
stock, nor voice in the management Of
the lines. A government railroad could
be constructed across the United States
under this method without an appre'
ciable drain upon the people. There
are 100000 people in the United
States whose monthly income exceeds
%. A oapitation tax Of 81 per year on
these for ten years, even with no add
ton 70 the population, would bald a
double track standard gage railroad
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. and
equip II better than any railroad in the
United States. The power that can
levy and collect an income tax is com.
petsnt TO enforce the collection Of a
compulsory subscription for govern
ment transcontinental line.