Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-12-25
Arrangements Made for the Com
pletlon of the Gulf and Ship Island
DoIINAod


Special to the Commercial Herald.
JACKSON, MISS. Dec. 2l.-Hon. w
H. Hardy, president of the Gulf &
Ship Island railroad, has at last, after
much hard and indefatigable, work
completed arrangements whereby he
thinks the above important railroad
will soon be built. He arranged to-
uay for all the able bodied convicts
amounting to several hundred, to be
turned over to him. They will be i'm
mediately carried to Mississippi City
and put to work on the roadbed of the
survey to this point. He says that
with what money the company has in
hand and is promised there is no doubt
about the road being pushed to an
early completion. This road will pass
through several counties in this State,
heretofore, untouched by any railroad
and will do great deal towards
developing the waste places.
Senator CulIom's Postal Telegraph
Bill Referred tG the Committee on
Postoffices andPostroads.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 81. Senator
Cullom introduced postal telegraph
bill to-day. 1t provides for the pur-
chase of any existing lines under the
provisions of the act of 1866 on ap
, praised valuation to be ascertained by
a commission Of five disinterested per
sons.
The postal telegraph bill was refer
red to the committee on postollices
and postroads, to be considered in con.
junction with the bill on the same SUBJ
ject recently introduced by Senator
Edmunds.
Senator Cullom's bill proposes the
purchase of existing lines when this
course may be deemed advisable under
certain limitations as to the price to be
paid. Itrecites provision Of the act
of 1866 to aid the construction OF tele-
graph lines as follows: "The United
States may at any time after the expi-
ration of five yeals from the date of
the passage of this act for postal, mill
tary or other purposes, purchase all
the telegraph lines, property and
effects of any or more of
said companies at an appraised
value to be ascertained by five compe
tent disinterested persons, two Of
whom shall be selected by the post
masCer-general of the United States,
two by the company interested, and one
8by the four so previously selected.
Senator Cullom's bill then provides
that the secretary of State, secretary
of war and postmaster general shall
constitute board, to be known as the
postal telegraph commission, which is
authorized and directed to purchase
and acquire tor the United States any
existing lines under the provision of
the act of 1866, and subject to
the approval of the President.
1t is expressly provided that no
line shall be purchased until it has
been shown to the satisfaction of the
commission that such line has earned
enough during the twelve months
prior to the passage of the act to meet
the necessary expenses of its main
tenance, reconstruction and operation
before any line is purchased. The
commission is directed to ascertain its
actual value, which is to be computed
on a basis of $1,000 for every fifty
dollars net annual earnings, and it is
provided that no line shall he pur-
chased at a higher valuation than
that ascertained upon the basis
thus prescribed to pay for
'3uy lines that may be acquired, 1t is
proposed that 80 years per cent bonds
shall be issued, which shall not be
disposed of at less than par. The
remaining provisions of the bill in
relation to the extension and opera
tion of lines that may be acquired are
similar to those contained in Senator
Edmunds' bill, and Senator Cullom
states that his purpose in presenting
his measure is that the postofice COM
mittee investigating the subject may
have both measures that have been
suggested for the establishment of a
postal telegraph system atfirmatively
before it for consideration.