Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-10-17
THE FREE PRESS.
4 RAILROAD SUBSIDY.
GRiNGEvILLE. IDAHO.



money, or wheat, or iron clad
notes, and make a proposition
to extend the line up here.
As matter of principle, the
FREE PRESS is opposed to sub
sides, bonds, tariffs or any
other form Of subvention-the
more especially when levied
on behalf Of an overgrown rail
road corporation which has
been enriched by royal grants
of the public lands which
should have rightfully been
reserved as the heritage of our
children, and our children's
children. Subsidies, in our
opinion, are synonymous terms
with blood sucking. Never
theless, there may be some
thing in it for Camas Prairie.
1t would be worth a good deal
to everybody here, for instance
if the elevator companies had
an agency here for the purpose
of paying cash for our wheat.
This they have been doing in
Lewiston since the harvest be-
gan. Nobody else, except the
millers, have bought a bushel
Of the product of the Lewiston
country. With the certainty
of a railroad the elevator COM
panies established themselves
in Lewiston a good six months
before the railroad. The road
isn't there yet, but the farm
ers have sold their crop and
the elevator companies practi-
'cally advanced them the money
to pay their railroad subsidy
assessment.
The situation here is pecu-
liar, in that the only market
we have is the home Market
where the price of what we
buy is fixed away up, and the
price of wheat is fixed away
down. To reach the outside
market a railroad is necessary.
1t seems that in order to get a
railroad subsidy is necessary.
Whether the game is worth the
candle is a question for the
people themselves to reflect
upon around their firesides du-
ring the winter. The matter
and amount of a subsidy is re-
garded as simply one of pay
ing interest on borrowed mo-
hey. If we of Camas Prairie
offered a subsidy of one humid
red thousand dollars, the COM
pany would ask itself this one
question:
!. will the subsidy pay inter-
est on the cost of construction
until the road can be made to
pay It's own way"
That is all there is to the
subsidy business from the rail-
road point of view. Down in
Lewiston we have an example
of what a subsidy will accom-
plish in the way of fastening
railroad construction. Is it
worth while for the people of
Camas Prairie to offer a subsi-
dy? or will our best interests
be served by awaiting the nat
ural course of events? The
conundrum has two sides to it,
and it will be an interesting
topic for our readers to study
over this winter. If we want
d railroad so bad that we are
willing to pay q subsidy for it,
the effort must be made next
spring, so that it can be built
next summer.
The whole question of a rail-
road to Camas Prairie could be
very easily settled by the peo-
pie themselves if the necessary
nnanimity could be secured.
For instance, what is to hinder
the people from organising a
company of their own, having
the route located, and then
having the farmers turn out
and grade the road bed them
selves, stock being issued in
proportion to amount of work
done !or money subscribed.
Any Trust company would adj
vance money to equip the road
by taking mortgage on the
road bed. Such a road could