The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-12-24

proposed in his book on the internal i'm
provementS of Maryland, Virginia and
South Carolina, to connect the two oceans
by a steam road. from the head navigabIe
waters OF the noble rivers disembOguing
into each ocean,
What was the first report to be present
ed to congress on the construction of a
railroad to the Pacific ocean was made in
1916 by Sidney Breese, chairman of the
committee on public lands. This report was
the first result of the efforts of one, Asa
Whitney, a merchant of New York, who
had become an enthusiast on the subject
of a Pacific railroad.
Whitney's original idea was to con-
struct a steam road from the head Of Lake
Michigan to the mouth of the Columbia
river on the Pacific coast. His plan en-
braced the provision for a grant of land 60
miles in width-30 miles on either side Of
the hne-fOr the whole length of the road.
The Land Grant Subsidies
This land grant subsidy, as proposed by
Asa whitney, was the plan, which when
adopted by the government in later years,
road ventures of national importance. 1t
was through the assistance of the United
States government which gave it great
tracts of land lying along it's right-Of-
way, that the Northern Pacific railway
was able to build the first t-ranscOntinent-
al railway system across Montana forty
three years ago.
The first railways to be granted land
I1N@- ~ kAG AAAO CAkL AOL
building from Dubuque, Iowa, to Chicago
and to the Ohio river, and the Mobile &
Ohio for building from the Ohio river
to Mobile. These two land grants were
passed through congress as a result of the
activity of Senator Stephen A. Douglas Of
Illinois.
The total amount of land acquired by
the Northern Pacific through this land
subsidy plan amounted to 31,65S,331 acres.
By far the greatest portion of this land
has now passed into private ownership
and, in Montana, much of it is owned by
successful farmers and stOckmen. 1t con-
sists OF every other section lying along
the right-Of-way in a strip 80 miles wide.
Thtrty-four other railroads besides the
Northern Pacific received great subsidies
to assist in the construction of a portion
Of their lines, the government having given
in that manner in the years between 1853
and 1872, 107, 722,564 acres of public do
main. All Of the great western railroads
received some assistance of this nature.
The Northern Pacific with it's 31,628,331
acres stands well in the lead. Second on
the list is the Union Pacific with 1906
O36 acres, and third is the Southern Pacif-
ic with 16,012,22 acres. OF the other lines
which now operate in Montana, the Chi
cagO, Burlington & Quincy has received
from the federal government in the past
3,954,934 aeres; the Great Northern 2,924,26s
acres, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & st
Paul, 1,465,554 acres.
These land grants and the railroads
themselves have played an incOnceivably
important part in the political, commere-
ial and industrial development of Mon
tana. AS this state has grown in wealth
and SplendOr, the railroads have progressed
and the land with which they were endowed
has increased in value until in many in
stances it is worth one hundred fold more
than when the government made the gift
In the days when the land grant subsid
les we're voted to aid in the construction o.
tranccntinental railway systems, there wa
much criticism, while In the years tia
followed. as the land increased in valu
and the country prOspered, the question
was frequently asked whether the govern
ment received any direct benefit from It
donation. This question was definitel.
answered during the late World war, an
q at other lines when troops and other gov