The record-union., 1894-11-08
INTERESTING HISTORICAL FACTS.
Railroads as Peacemakers in This
Country.
What General W. T. Sherman Said in
His Last Report as General
of the Army.
rFrom the San Francisco This Week.l

full or so OF dirt, by Governor Leland
Stanford. By 1879 vast amount of
work had been performed, and apparent
impossibilities had been overcome. For
nearly twenty years the ablest Govern
ment engineers had followed each other
continuously with declarations that the
natural distractions on our central route
were beyond the power of man to re-
move. Theodore d. judah had contested
this proposition with them, and Coils p.
Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles
Croker and Mark Hopkins were prob
ably the only four men in the United
States who accepted the decision of judah
in preference to the declarations of the
trained and supposed impartial engineers
OF the United States Government. By
this time these men had passed the Rubi-
con. Every dollar they possessed was
invested in this enterprise, and they had
contracted obligations to an extent which
would forever have buried them tinan-
clally had failure suspended their work,
even temporarily.
1t must not be forgotten that the whole
subject had been yoIuminously inyesti-
gated by Congress previous to the En-
9bling Act OF July l, 1862, in which the
Government assumed The payment of
interest on bonds to the extent Of
81. S53, 600 for thirty years, as we'll as the
payment OF the bonds at the end of that
time should the railroad company default
III payment. The records OF Congress
show that there was no difference of
opinion in regard To the necessity for q
transcontineulal line; no opponent in
either party to indorsing the bonds. a
lew pessimists, accepting the reports Of
Government engineers, went upon
record as doubters that the road would
ever be built. and as believing that the
expenditure would be wasted. But every
Congressman who spoke upon the ques-
ton agreed that these tWenty-seven mill
ions OF dollars would be grand invest
ment should the road be opened to traffic
by July L, 1861, even though the COM
pany never returned dollar directly to
The Treasury. The Government was pay
ing out nearly S., 600 900 q year for trans
portatiOn of munitions of war and mails
one way-frOm the Missouri River west
ward. The Indians on the route were
getting moro and more troublesome as
white men encroached upon what they
claimed as their absolute possessions.
Indeed, the expense increased until the
cost during the years 1864 and 1865, for
quartermaster's supplies alone, had
reached the sum OF 81, 374, Us, or nearly a
million dollars more than the Govern
ment had become responsible for in be-
half OF the Central Pacific Company. Our
authority for this is Senate Committee
Congress.
As evidence that this expenditure was
likely to grow In volume II may be stated
that many regiments which had been en-
gagged in the suppression of the Rebellion
were ordered TO the plains when the sur
render OF Lee released them from duty in
the South. The writer had been on staff
duty with Captain K. ii. Pratt, now of
the Tenth Cavalry and originator and
Superintendent of the Indian school at
Carlisle, Pa. In May, 1865, after most of
us had served four years in helping to
restore the Union, the purpose for which
we enlisted, our regiment was ordered to
the plains TO fight Indians, an honor TO
which very few of us aspired. AT pres
ent we have not the figures to show how
great was the expenditure Of the Govern
ment from 1868 to May 10, 1869, when the
road was opened to the use OF the postal
and military departments of the country.
1t must have been enormous. from the
very nature of things. and tar greater
than that tC which the most earnest hater
of the railroad can expand the present
alleged indebtedness of the Central and
Southern Pacific Companies.
But the opening OF the road at once
started these expenditures OH the down
grade. The increased cost of completing
the railroad TO the summit, or to con-
nection with the Union Pacific by May
10, 1869, instead of July l, 1876, was nearly
% per cent.
we have already shown that it resulted
IN saving to the Government on til
moderate service required, under the
changed condition OF things OF S47, 163,-
l1S, or nearly twice as much as the Gov
eminent had obligated itself to pay if the
company should default. What the In
dian expense would have been but for
the peace making tendency OF the rush
ing trains, who can conjecture? After
one OF his long and expensive campaigns
against the Sioux Indians General w. II.
Harney told the writer that the Indian
was not frightened by the cavalry, nor
strong bodies of infantry, but the noise
of the big guns made him meek as a
child, even when the guns were too far
distant TO do damage. For some reason
the shrek of the locomotive had terror
izing effect on the Indians which is
nearly incomprehensible. and sent them
from the warpath with greater celebrity
than IAN army with banners"
a very prominent and conservative
railroad man told us the railroad was
an outcome OF the war. The Govern
ment had TO have it. 1t could construct
1t alone and own it; it could subsidize a
private corporation and become a Joint
owner with it, or it could guarantee the
bonds, as was done with the Union and
Central Pacific Companies. The best evil
dence that the Government did not con-
slider absolute security for it's guarantee
or as much importance as the building of
the road is found in the fact that il sur
rendered its position as first mortgage
holder. and permitted the companies to
issue and sell first mortgage bonds to the
extent OF the sum it had guaranteed"
We close this chapter of our history
with an extract from the last report OF w
Il Sherman as General of the army. 1t
VIII be found in volume l., page 3, report
of 1888 Between lS49 and the date of
his retirement General Sherman had
crossed the continent by every known
route, ana by every kind of conveyance
practicable, including a good deal of
walking. 1t will be seen that 70 includes
flour great transcontinental lines" but
there is not an intelligent reader in
America " ho does not know that three of
them owe their inception and construc-
ton TO the work previously performed
by Huntington. Stanford, Croker and
Hopkins, with as absolute certainty as
though those four had constructed ali
four lines-one to each man. The build
ing of the Central and Union Pacific
made the others possible. Here is Gem
eral Sifermans testimony that the rail-
road outrankS the army as a peacemaker.
aud especially where Indians are con-
cerned:
ST now regard the Indians as substan-
tally eliminated from the problem of the
armN There may be spasmodic and
temporary alarms. but such wars as have
heretofore disturbed the pa bile peace and
tranquility are not probable. The army
has been large factor in producing This
result, buL i: has not been the only one.
Immigration and the occupation by in
dustrious farmers and miners of land
vacated by the aborigines have been
largely instrumental to that end, but the
railroad, which used to follow Ia the
rear, now goes forward with the pickle.
il he hat n n ~