Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-05-04
IRRIGATION AND RAILROADS.
SENATOR STEWARDS PLEA FOR
THE PACIFIC COAST.
Should q Particular Locality Alone
Pay for What Benefits the
Whole Country?

UNION last week. Senate Bill No. 3,405
providing for the settlement of the indebt
edness of the Pacific railroads, was undel
consideration and the Senator had intro
duced resolution providing that such in
dehtedness should be paid by the compan
les in the building of branch lines, or feed
ers, and the development of the country
by the construction of irrigation works.
Continuing his speech Mr.. Stewart said
For the purpose of showing that we arr
attempting now to realize q different con
sideration from what was anticipated by
either party at the time this contract was
entered into, will read few extracts from
speeches that were made when the bill
was under consideration in the two Houses
of Congress. Mr.. Campbell, in the House
of Representatives, April 2, 1862, in discuss
ing the question, said
In recent imminent peril of collision with
naval and commercial rival, one that bears II.
no love, we ran the risk of losing, at least for
time. our golden possessions ON the Pacific fol
want of proper land transportation.
Mr.. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, in the same
debate said:
In case of war with foreign maritime powe,
the travel by the Gulf and Isthmus of Panama
would be impracticable. And such European
power could throw troops and supplies into Cal
ifornia much quicker than we could by the
present overland'route. The enormous cost OF
supplying our army in Utah may teach us thai
the whole wealth of the nation would not en-.
able us to supply a large army on the Pacific
coast. Our Western States must fall a prev 10
the enemy without speedy way of transport
ing our troops.
Mr.. Wilson, of Massachusetts,, when the
bill was pending in the Senate, said:
have little confidence in the estimates made
by Senators or Members of the House of Repre.
sentatives as 10 the great profits which are to be
made and the immense business to be done by
this road. l give no grudging vote in giving
away either money or land. would sink $780,
Oo0,O6O 10 build the road, and do it most cheer.
fully and think l had done great thing for
my country if could bring it about What are
seventy-five or a hundred millions in opening a
railroad across the central regions of this CONT
nent, which will connect the people of the Pa
cihc and the Atlantic and blnd them together?
Again he said during the same debate:
As to the security
And / want to call particular attention
to this
As to the security the United States takes on
this road, would not give the paper il is writ.
ten on for the whole OF it. j do not suppose il
is ever to come back in any form except in do.
ing on the road the business we need, carrying
our mails and munitions of war. In nv jude-
ment we ought not to vote for the bill with the
expectation or with the understanding that the
money which We advance for this road is ever
70 come back into the Treasury OF the United
states: vote for the bill with the expectation
that all we get out of the road, and think that
IS great deal, will be the mail carrying and
me carrying OF munitions of war and such
Things as the Government needs aud vote for
1t cheerfully with that view. / do not EXPECT
any of our money back. I believe no man can
examine the subject and believe that it will
come back in any other way than is provided
Tor IN this bill; and that provision is for the car
rying of the mails and doing certain ether work
Tor the Government.
Mr.. Clark, of New Hampshire, expressed
his views upon this question and how he
understood the effect of the bill, as follows
The Senator from Massachusetts may be en-.
tlrely night; that the Government mar never
receive back this money again and it NAV be
tnat we make the loan for the purpose of re-
ceivlng the services. But it will be well tc
Take mortgage, to secure the building of the
road through. and then to secure the perform.
unce of those services which we expect them to
perform in the Transmission of mails and mn.
nitions Of war after the road is built. l think
we mad better adopt the amendment OF the
committee. II will make it safer for the Gov.
eminent safer in this regard that we shall
have the road built and have the service per
formed. -
Mr.. Clark further remarked:
Whether am right or not 1 do not build the
road because / think it is to be paying road
VI,
country together and hold ii together; and do
not care whether it is to pay or not Here is
the money OF the Government TO build it with
want TO hold portion of the money until we
get through, and then let them have 1t all.
He did not care whether it was to paw O,
not; we were going to have these Other
advantages. And now it is not proposed
to have this debt paid by Government
service, but to make the people who live
on the line of the road pay it. The com.
pany is willing to pay it if we give them
time enough, no matter what the conse
quences may be.
Mr.. Ten Eyck, of New Jersey, expressed
himself in this wise:
Tho great object of the Pacific Railroad bill il
10 have national means of communication
across the continent. This is the idea which
the public have entertained for years past anC
the only idea: great national measure is Il
cement the Union, to bind with a belt of ireI
the Atlantic and Pacific. This is tn.
1ndueement which the old States have in doint
what they believe will be for the benefit of tht
common country, to the prejudice of the Treas
nry, so to speak, yet the general returns ma,
be beneficial in the long run.
Is it not manifest that it was not antici
pated that the local business along thi.
road should pay all this debt? 1t was sup
posed that there would be through bust
ness and Government service The loca
trary to expectation, the through business
is diviced up among rival roads, also aidet
by the Government. The Northern Pa
cific. the Atlantic and Pacific, and now Thu
Canadian Pacific, comes in, dividing up tn
through business and bringing il down t.
the lowest possible point, so that there i
little profit in it, and the payment of tn
debt, if paid at all, has to come out of tn
local business.
do not complain of the policy which
subsidized the other lines. The Northern
Pacific land subsidy was
WORTH TWICE AS MUCH AS ALL THE SUB
sIDIKs
Given to the Central and Union roads. in
GLIDING bonds and land l do not obiec
TO that. IL has built up the country an,
made States that we are about to admi
into the Union. Dakota. Montana all,
Washington are coming into the Uniol
without dissenting voice. 1t has create,
four great States. | advocated the subsid
for the Northern Pacific; but the direc
effect of it was TO draw its share of the bust
ness away from the other subsidized line
and throw the burden of paying this deb
upon the people, which they cannot bear
They Union Pacific is better situated
than the Central. 1t passes through grea
deal of good country. But if you load tn
debt on the Union Pacific / predict that i
will be failing institution; that it canno
compete with its rivals; that il will be i'm
poyerished; and carrying this load is goin,
10 be tax and a burden upon the peopl,
living along that line that they ought no
to bear.
The Central Pacific has no resource
other than its line IN Nevada and Califor
mia. 1t is without branches in Nevads
The construction of the Central Pacifi
road was vastly more expensive than tn
Union. 1t was regarded almost as impos
sible. Most engineers thought il was
wild scheme to attempt to build it at all.
Loaded with this great debt, any schem
TO collect it without allowing the money ;
be used for
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY
Is an unequal and unfair distribution {
the burdens of this Government, and wa
never anticipated when the law was passed
Here is what Mr.. Collamer, of Vermont
said. A clearer headed man never was il
the Senate. He was minded, judi
cial man. He was here when first cam
to the Senate, and learned to reverenc
him for his wisdom and candor and fair
mindedness. Mr.. Collamer said in III
course of this debate on the passage of tn
first bill
This bill carries the idea, and in this sectio
provides for the repayment oftbe loan, as gentl,
men call il. In a subsequent section it is prt
carrying OF the mail. supplies and m;litar
stores for the Government Mt fair nrieos N