Amador ledger., 1904-05-13
THE RAILROAD
PROPOSITION

The railroad is coming, and coming
soon, if all signs of the times do not
fail. The people of Amador county
are ready. and have been ready for
years to welcome its arrival. 1t mat
ters but little to us what route it
takes, what town it touches first,
whether it be single or double track,
broad or narrow gauge, whether pro-
PEELED by steam or electricity, or who
furnishes the money and brains to get
it through just so it gets here and gets
here in time to handle the immense
amount of freight that will be used in
the mining belt during the coming win
ter season. 1t does not stand to reason
that men who put their money into an
enterprise OF this kind can cater to the
wish of one man or dozen men. They
must look first to their own interests,
and where those interests conflict with
individual interests the latter must be
dropped and the former adopted. If
by selecting route that would bring
the road from lone to jackson and
then on to Amador City, the company
found they could get better results than
by running from lone to Amador and
thence on to Jackson, let them adopt
the first route and reject the last.
But if on the other hand the latter
proposition should seem the most
feasible to the company, then build the
road over that route. and reap the
largest reward possible for the money
expended. What we want is the road.
and we want it right away. What diff
ference if we reach home Is minutes
before or 15 minutes after the people
from Sutter and Amador. If we are
the last to arrive we can even things
up the next trip by getting Is minutes
the start of our neighbour Let us
quit pickering over routes and try to
get the road.
Much sympathy is now being extend
ed to the poor teamsters, most of whom
have been playing losing game ever
since they made their first trip, and the
question is being asked, What will they
do with their teams? Can anyone
point out an instance where a railroad
passed through new country that it
did not open up new enterprises that
required the use of two horses and men
where but one had been used before.
What became of the negro when Whit
ney invented the cotton gin? Many
ventured the assertion that he would
have to be exterminated, but no. he
was put to cultivating large areas of
the soil, the production Of cotton in
creased, and to-day the south is one of
the most prosperous sections on the
face of the globe. Slaves were in
greater demand than ever, and just so
will horses be after we get the railroad.
The parties now proposing to build
the road are all business men, and have
gone to work in business-like manner.
They first ascertained the amount of
business that they could reasonably
depend upon, put everything down in
black and white, and by liberal calcula-
tions decided that it would be a safe
and paying Investment. After secur-
ing substantial financial backings, such
as the California State Bank of Sacra-
mento, they proceed to incorporate,
specified the route as nearly as it was
possible to do so at that time, estimated
the cost at so much per mile, and
actually paid in, in cash, to treasurer
j. j. Pagan ten per cent of the subscrib-
ed capital. They have asked for the
franchise to run through the county,
and the supervisors have done their
duty by ordering it sold to the highest
bidder on the 9th day of June, which
is in accordance with the state law. 1t
is not presumed that any other COM
pany will endeavor to outbid the pro-
moters of the present scheme, for it
would only necessitate delay in Sc
curing another. A large force of men
are in the field making surveys, get
ting distances estimating grades, and
figuring on probable costs. AS soon as
the franchise is definitely secured
rights of way will be asked for, and if
obtained without difficulty the directors
and financiers will be called together,
the route selected, the final survey
made, contracts for grading let, and
the work will actually begin and be
pushed to an early completion. The
state law requires that five miles be in
operation within one year after the
franchise is secured, but this company
does not hesitate to say that the entire
road will be in operation in less time.
We trust that no unforeseen difficulty
will arise to retard the early completion
of the road. Amador county is far be-
hind her neighboring counties in this
matter, and as there can be no dou BIT
about it being a paying proposition we
see no further cause for delay.