Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-05-01
0REeON AND CALIFORNIA II. r.,
some Pointed Facts Concerning Its Land
Grant and Construction.


Grant and Construction.
A letter from San Francisco in tie In
dianapolis Journal on Pacific coast rail-
ways gives the following plair facts in
regard to a road whose land grant some
politicians are clamoring TO have forfeited 4:
A practical line to connect Oregon and
Washington Territory with the other rorth
and south lines on the Pacific coast had
been started previous TO the building of
the branch line from Moiave. 1t was an
admitted military and public necessity. 1t
was intended to cover the whole coast
north of San Francisco, from a military
point of view, and at the same time develop
an unsettled region, which was hedged in
from the ocean by the Coast Range on the
west and the Sierras on the east. It's rich
| valleys were uncuitiyated, because their
products had to be hauled in wagons for
distances varying from two to four hun
dred miles. The proposed route had the
usual land grant, but SO mountainous was
the country that not more than one-tenth
of the whole grant was worth the cost OF
surveying it, and even to-day much of it
has never been seen By q surveyor But
the Stanford syndicate had begun the work.
had expended large sums upon II, and they
could not stop. Bonds were issued which
covered the road and all =. land grant, but
they had no buyers, and the syndicate itself
could not take them. The lands were not
regarded as security, aud no one has ever
believed that the road could be made self
sustaining under ten wears. Finally. the
syndicate sold bonds on over 200 miles of
. the road, but the members OF it-Stanford.
Huntington, Crocker and Hopkins-had to
indorse every bond guaranteeing both
principal and interest. They made these
| guarantees up to the limit of their private
| fortunes, and spent the money in building
road to the edge of the region where the
| granted lands were valuable Then began
| the clamor to have the grant forfeited, and
| the louder The clamor the less value the
| bonds had, for where public attention as
| thus drawn to the scheme, ii was seen that
without the grant the road could not sup
| port itself.
Very recently came down from Oregon,
and rode by stage over the gap OF $50 miles
| which yet remains to be built to connect
J this road with Portland The country
| along and tributary to that $50 miles OF
! projected road would support three million
| people if ii had transportation facilities
| But to-day there are not 200 souls living in
| the whole region. To-day the Government
has thirty million acres of land in that re-
gion which it cannot give away but if the
road was completed tomorrow, in less
/ SAl<ii iifC NCoiio IL COuAu Stil lliteCD
acres for nearly twice as many dollars.
| The private guaranty of Mr. Stanford and
his friends have made it possible to COM
plete this road, which probably would
never have been built They went into il
with land grant guaranty of the Govern
ment, the party which would be the chiei
beneficiary, and pledged their credit fol-
more than ten million dollars The de
mand now made is that the sovereign
! United States revoke its guaranty and take
back its pledge, because the people need
| this land. The man who makes this argu-
ment is either knave or fool Without
| a railway the people would not have tho
! land as gift, and it would remain as it is
now, free grazing ground for the cattle
| kings who are Occupying it TO the exclusion
| OF honest farmers, who would buy it in
! small tracts from the Government or rail
! ways, and make homes for themselves anC
children If the land grant is revoked the
| land monopolists stand ready to buy it al
the Government price, as was done in
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, anC
| when the settler wants it it will be sold a
the standard land-graober price of $40 pei
acre. Railway Age, April % 1886.