The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1910-04-02
HOW GOVERNMENT
WAS fLEECED
BY THE C.P. Rf


te2tral Pacific. which he character
lies as the greatest steal ever per
petrated on the United States govern
nent. and i'll support of his charges
says:
The four projectors of the road,
Coils p. Huntington, Leland Stan
ford, Mark Hopkins and Charles
Irocker, divided among themselves,
= stock, land grants from the gov
ernment, government bonds and
bonds which the government guaran-
iced, and donations from California
counties the sum of $l49 900 900 for
which they did not pay one cent. The
toial of the government subsidy
which Huntington by clever lobbying
got from congress, Mr. Russell de-
cares, was $50 000, 900
How the figures were jugsled to
trn most of this immense subsidy
into the pockets of the four promo
rera is explained by Mr.. Russell as
follows.
The bill provided that the govern
.nens should issue to the road 81 900
six per cent bonds; for every mile
n valley or level land, $4,000 in
binds; for every mile in the foothills
s32 900 in bonds, and for every mile
in the mountains, $4,000 in bonds.
Mr. Russell alleges that the company
charged the government at the noun
/, in rate, $4,000 a mile on thirty
miles of level, or nearly level ground
near Sacramento, and at the foothill
rate, $685. mile, for many miles
IF level building in the valley east
il the Sierras.
"Abating nothing of admiration, y
says Mr.. Russell, speaking of the
completion of the road, for the ply
sical perfoi nance, it is time now to
| reflect that it was also a monstrous
lumph of greed, fraud and corrup-
ton; that it might have been bless
| ing instead of a blight to that rich
ountry of which 1t was esctatically
| called the Gateway.
How much toll do you think they
| took?
From the day the gate was erect
d and closed, down to the pres
| at year. first Mr. Huntington and
bis associates and then their success
5 have taken and divided more thar
| 500, 000,00 in unjust tolls, all from
| lie people of the United States, who
% kindly erected the gate across
| their own highway"
In the course of his article Mr.
| russell describes wildly the race fol-
junction between the Central Pac
&c and the Union Pacific, the roads
low attempting to merge.
"The act of 1854" he says, "hat
authorized the Central Pacific tt
uild eastward to junction with the
fion Pacific wherever that nigh
c. At first the four partners hat
4sumed this junction would be far t
| eastward, allowing them goot
Mileage and many fat bonds, but thu
wifi advance of the Union Pacific
gan to annoy them, and by 1856
hey were thoroughly alarmed. TIL
ZION Pacific was approaching TIL
fountains. If it should thread then
irst the Central Pacific would los
le latest part of its contract witt
| g government also the best of tn
Joint haul when the roads should b
| a.ted
There ensued the maddest chapte
all railroad history. The two road
entered into a race, tearing into tn
work before them regardless of an
question of cost, working day an
lisbt with relay gangs
III Was the widest romance of raj
road building. Winter came on, tn
terrible Sierra winter with it's PHI
lolnenal snowfalls, but to the world
,mazement the work never stoppet
Ia the dead of winter, rails, machil
cry, cars, even locomotives in piece
were dragged hundreds of miles Q
, | wagons. trayersing roads heavy an
: BADLY made, threatened with immi
| ,nt disaster from snowslides an
, | storms
: Talk about the present high co
i bN ing-listcE to this.
| Food for men and fodder for Il
a,rses reached fabulous prices. Ga
: were sold by the rcund at IL to
c.nts ,av was $10oa ton and som
:. lines $50: FOL teams the contra
: ors paid ST. and S1% day.
d 'In April. 1869, they were almo
|. within sight of the enemy's line
+ Before them was Ogden, the goal
t the rae, i'll the great valley betwe'
t the Rocky and the Sierra Nevat
e ranges In the fury of competitit
I both companies far overshot Il
mark The Union Pacific had
a GRADES one hundred miles west of Q
r len: the Central Pacific had its a
!. lance line forty miles beyond
A. tacklayers Only the iron actual
!. o,t mo POSITION counted in the raj
3 ON the last day ten miles we
n aid: or April 2Sth, they struck t
8 nion f, cific line fifty-three mil
2 west of Odgen; and May 10th tn
b drove the golden spike that cemel
; II he Two roads. The Union Pacii
II had won BY fifty-three miles. Sub.
b. queD " the Central Pacific bong