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University of California • Berkeley
The Peter and Rosell Harvey Memorial Fund
RAIL ROAD AND TELEGRAPH TO SAN FRAN-
CISCO.
TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA AND OF OREGON.
Fellow Citizens,
Constitutional Scruples have never built a Rail Road ; nor can Constitutional Scruples exist, even for a moment, against a work, like the one we propose ; because this work will place all the resources of the Union — Naval, Military and Financial — within the reach of our Fellow Citizens, on the Pacific Coast, and will consequently form the best, the cheapest, the most scientific defence of California and of Oregon. In this point of view, it is pre-eminent in its eff'ect, and cannot be classed as simply a local work.
Is there a Statesman — is there a man of common sense, who will maintain that it is unconstitutional for the United States to defend our own Territories ; — merely because the plan pro- posed will effect this, without charge, upon the Public Treas- ury 7 — merely because the plan proposed will render the force of the United States so formidable, as to command respect, for our just rights, from all Nations, under all circumstances ; — thereby averting the danger of Foreign aggression and thus avoiding all expenditure of blood or treasure?
Is there a Statesman, is there a man of common sense, who will maintain that it is unconstitutional, for the United States
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to cherish, to foster, to adopt a plan, which will avert the chance of Indian Wars ; — merel7 because this will be done, without expenditure of blood or treasure ?
Is there a man of sense, who will maintain that it is uncon- stitutional, for the. United States to make a contract, with an incorporated company, for the transportation of Troops and Munitions of War, at a cost not one twentieth of what it would be, either round Cape Horn or by the way of Panama ? — and at a risk, in time of war, not a fiftieth of what it would be, by these Routes ? — And in reality, at no risk at all, for most of it; because the mere existence of the Rail Road will, by its silent influence, command Peace, and will therefore render the Trans- portation of Troops and of Munitions of War, to any great extent, entirely unnecessary 1
Will any one maintain that it is unconstitutional for the United States to make a Contract, with an incorporated Rail Road Co., for the Transportation of the Mail, both on the land and by lightning, in the only way worthy of the Age we live in ?
Is there an enlightened man, who will maintain that the Power to make War and to defend the Country, which is ex- clusively vested in Congress, — should not be exercised to avert war ? — should not be exercised to secure the Right to transmit, by lightning, to our possessions on the Pacific, — the news of the declaration of War, by any European Power, against the United States ?
Is it not perfectly clear, that the frame of a large War- Steamer, marked and numbered, and her Armament, as well as all that is to belong to her, being at rest, at the Charlestown Navy Yard, could, in ten days, be transported, on the Rail Road to San Francisco, with all the workmen and seamen, needed to put her together and to man her? — and is it not
Ill
equally clear that our web of Rail Roads would, in a like manner, place at the disposal of the United States, on the Pacific Ocean, all the Naval resources of our Atlantic Sea- board 7
Away then, with the pusillanimous and .degrading notion, that the Constitution of the United States was so unskilfully framed, as to deprive us of the capacity of being one of the greatest and most powerful nations on earth ! — The wise men who framed this Constitution would have shuddered, at the very thought of having placed in fetters the high destiny of our Great Country !
It is therefore beyond a doubt Constitutional, for Congress to make or impel to be made as many and such military Roads, as may be necessary, for acquiring the capacity of concentrat- ing, as if it were by enchantment, all the military and all the Naval resources of the Union, upon any given point ; — and it is not the less Constitutional, if the plan proposed reaches this great result, without a wasteful expenditure of blood and treasure.
THE PLAN OF P. P. F. DEGRAND INSURES THE BUILDING OF THIS TELEGRAPHIC LINE WITHIN TWO YEARS AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS RAIL ROAD WITHIN FOUR YEARS; because the Na- tional Credit will import the needful funds from Europe, while individual sagacity will invest those funds in the work, with the greatest celerity, well knowing that the Road must be fin- ished, before it can be made profitable. — We deem this the all important point— THE FINISHING THE ROAD IN THE SHORTEST TIME ALLOWED, BY ITS PHYSICAL OBSTACLES.— It is this finishing of the Telegraph and of the Rail Road Line, which will enable mothers, sisters, friends and fellow citizens, (living 3,000 Miles apart,) to converse and to
IV
visit, as if they were near neighbors, — and it is this finishing the work quickly, which will enable them to do it ; before the present generation shall have passed away.
Allow us then to call upon you to give us your aid, in mould- ing public sentiment, by a diffusion of the knowledge of a plan, which is to secure these great blessings, while you live, — It is Public Sentiment which will impel Congress to sanction an act pregnant with the mightiest consequences, for the welfare and for the high fame of our Great Nation.
WILLIAM INGALLS, E. H. DERBY, JAMES C. DUNN, S. S. LITTLEHALE, P. P. F. DEGRAND, ROBT. F. FISK, O. D. ASHLEY,
> Committee.
KAIL ROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO.
At a Meeting of the friends of a Rail Road to Cal- ifornia, convened by public notice, in the Newspapers, at the United States Hotel, on the evening of the 19th of April, 1849,
Dr. WILLIAM INGxlLLS, was chosen Chairman,
THOMAS R. SEWALL, Secretary.
P. P. F. Degrand, after a few preliminary remarks, read " An Address to the People of the United States," setting forth the Plan which he proposes, for the pur- pose of effecting the object in view.
Robert F. Fisk, after some pertinent and inter- esting remarks, proposed the following Resolves :
Resolved, That this Meeting approve the Address pre- sented hy P. P. P. Degrand^ and the Plan therein set forth^ for a Railroad from St. Louis to San Francisco, deeming it the only plan, as yet proposed, which can secure, promptly and certainly, and hy a single act of Legislation, the Construction of a Railroad to California, in the short- est time allowed, hy its physical obstacles.
Resolved, That a Committee of seven be appointed to transmit this plan to the President of the United States, and to request him, (if he approve it,) to recom- mend its adoption by Congress.
Resolved, That this Committee suggest to the Presi- dent the importance of immediately adopting such meas- ures as may be necessary to secure the Indian Title to the land for this Rail Road, and to procure the prelimi- nary surveys, and all the information which may be within the reach of the Executive, to be laid before Con- gress at the opening of the next session.
Resolved, That this Committee transmit the plan, (in a pamphlet form,) to the Heads of Department, to each member of Congress, to the Governors of the several States, and of the Territories of Oregon, and California, and other Territories, and to the various Newspapers, for general circulation, in all parts of the United States.
Resolved, That each one of us be a Committee, to impart the views contained in the Address, and the rea- sons therefor, as generally as possible, and to diffuse the same through the Public Press, in all parts of the Union ; thus moulding Public Opinion, whose all-powerful im- pulse will produce the desired result.
P. P. F. Degrand made some further remarks. E. H. Derby addressed the Meeting in a very eloquent speech.
Joseph G. Martin read a very late letter, from Wm. Hooper, in California, confirming the previous accounts of the abundance of Gold, and also read a paragraph from the St. Louis Eepublican, showing the rush from the whole West towards California.
Dea. Samuel Greele addressed the Meeting, elo- quently describing the moral effects of this E-ail Road ; after which, the Resolves proposed hy Robert F. Fisk were unanimously adopted.
On motion of P. P. F. Degrand, the Chairman of this Meeting was nominated, unanimously, to be Chairman of the Committee appointed by one of the foregoing Re- solves.
Voted, That the Chairman nominate the other Mem- bers of the Committee, and he proposed the following :
E. H. Derby, P. P. F. Degrand,
James C. Dunn, Robert F. Fisk,
S. S. Littlehale, O. D. Ashley.
They were unanimously approved, and the Meeting was dissolved.
WILLIAM INGALLS, Chairman.
THOMAS R. SEWALL, Secretary,
A D D EE S S
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
RAIL ROAD FROM ST. LOUIS TO SAN FRA.NCISCO.
Fellow Citizens :
/ propose that a Company (COMPOSED OF MEN, IN WHOSE INTEGRITY AND STEADINESS OF PURPOSE, CONFIDENCE CAN BE REPOSED, BY THE NATION,)
be chartered by Congress, to construct a Rail Road from St. Louis to San Francisco, with a capital of 100 Millions of dollars, and that this company, (after having paid in $2,000,000,) shall have the right to borrow United States 6 percent. Stock, to such an amount, (not exceeding $98,000,000,) as may be sufficient to finish the Road and carry it into full operation, with a double track.
I propose that Congress give to this Company, a strip of the Public Lands, 10 Miles wide, on the North side of the Road, and the Land for the bed of the Road, and for Depots, and the right to take, from the Public Lands, Wood, Gravel, Stone, Iron, and other materials, necessary to construct the Road.
The adoption of this plan will secure the completion of the Road, in as brief a space of time, as may be permitted, by its physical obstacles :— and WILL SECURE THIS BY A SIN- GLE ACT OF CONGRESS, free from the chance of future freaks of Legislation. THIS IS THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF MY PLAN,— awe? it is free from the objection of absorbing the private resources of active men ; — and free from the risk of halting^ in this great work^ at every step^ for want of tangible means.
I propose that, immediately after the Surveys are made, the Company proceed to construct this Rail Road on the whole Route, going to work, at once, on as many different parts as practicable; and building at difficult points, temporary Rail Roads, to be used while the permanent Rail Road is construct-
ing : — and actually bringing into use the various portions of the Road, as fast as completed.
The Company, being thus in possession of tangible means, and acting under a sense of the imperative necessity of giving to the public the facilities of Rail Road travelling, as fast as practicable, will very soon reduce to a moderate distance, the inconveniences of a Land Journey to California, and will secure the completion of the entire line, in the briefest period practica- ble : — and in the interim, the Mail-Stage and the traveller, by the Land-Route, by following, as near as convenient, the Track marked out for the Rail Road, will avail themselves more and more, every day, of the comfort and protection, naturally inci- dent to the incipient stages of civilization, which accumulate on the line of a Rail Road, from the very moment it is begun, to the day of its completion.
I propose that, while the Road is constructing, a Line of Tel- egraph be established, as far and as fast as practicable, to trans- mit intelligence for the purposes of the Road, and for the Gov- ernment, and for the public generally.
I propose that no stinuilus, stronger than Cold Water, be al- lowed to be used, by the officers and men, employed by the Road, or by the Contractors. This Rule has been found of in- estimable value, in Building and carrying on the New England Rail Roads, in the construction of the Boston Water Works, and in the Navigation of New England vessels.
I propose that, at points of any difficulty, two separate sets of men (relieving each other,) be employed, to secure the continu- ation of the work, night mid day, and that, at the most difficult points, three separate parties of men (working, each of them 8 hours a day,) be employed, to secure continual work, without interruption, either by meal-times or by night, employing, in all cases, as many men, as can work to advantage, and having all sorts of work going on, at the same time, for the purposes of the Road, both on the Route of the Road, and elsewhere; so that there may be no delay, which can be avoided. This course was pursued, in bringing the Waters of Cochituate Lake, into Bos- ton, from a distance of 20 miles, through two summits and great physical obstacles : — and in the unprecedented ly short space of 2 years and 2 months, from the day the 1st spade struck the
ground^ to begin the work^ the City and its Citizens found them- selves, in the full use of the water, flowing through a wm^k, calcu- lated to endure for ages.
The importance, in a pecuniary point of view, of using the Road, at an early day, is shown by appendix B, by which it will be perceived, that the extra expense of tr4velling, is es- timated AT $67,750,000 A year, over and above what it will be after the Rail Road is in use.
The ARGUMENTS, IN FAVOR OF THE PLAN, ARE FULLY ELUCIDATED IN THE APPENDIX. By MOVING FOR THIS PLAN, THE FRIENDS OF THE MEASURE WILL, BY ONE SINGLE EFFORT, VlZ., *'tHE PASSING OF THE ACT," SECURE THE COMPLETION OF THE RoAD, IN THE SHORTEST POS- SIBLE TIME ; WHEREAS, IF THEY ADOPT ANY PLAN, WHICH RELIES ON FUNDS CREATED BY THE SaLE OF THE LaND ; OR ON A LARGE AMOUNT OF
FUNDS, FROM PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS ; or on funds to be, from time to time, appropriated by Congress, — they will impose upon them-'
SELVES THE NEVER-CEASING LABOR OF SiSYPHUS, AND BY THE DE- LAY WASTE ENORMOUS SUMS FOR THE NaTION. ^
To secure the Loan of the United States Stock, made to the Company, and to secure the carrying forward, in good faith, of the contract made with the Company, the United States may, if they desire it, take a mortgage of the Road, and its appurtenan- ces ; take ^ of the Stock ; and appoint J of the Directors, fol- lowing the precedent so successfully practised, by the State of Massachusetts, in the case of the Boston and Albany Road, (commonly called the Western Rail Road,) in which case, as in the contemplated charter, the Rail Road Company do provide punctually for the Payment of the interest on the Public funds Loaned to them, and also are to provide, and are providing, by a sinking fund, (and occasionally by extinguishment by pur- chase,) for the Payment, at maturity, of the Principal of the Public Loan.
The $98,000,000 of the United States 6 per cent. Stock, loaned to the Company, being Coupon Stock, payable in London, will, (as have the Massachusetts Sterling 5's, in the case of the West- ern Road,) furnish, at any time of need. Exchange on England, to be sent there, in lieu of our specie, and operate as additional capital, to be used by the Citizens of the United States.
The $98,000,000 of United States Stock, loaned to the Com-
pany, (being made payable at the Rate of $2,000,000 per annum, after 50 years,) will be paid off, by the Company, with perfect ease, either by actual Profits, or by the creation of new Stock, to represent the amount paid off.
THE OTHER DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF MY PLAN IS THE CREATION, BY A SINGLE ACT OF LEG- ISLATION, OF ONE HUNDRED MILLIONS OF DOL- LARS OF AMERICAN LABOR, BY ORDERING, IN THE VERY CHARTER, THAT THE MATERIALS USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROAD SHALL BE EX- CLUSIVELY OF DOMESTIC ORIGIN. THESE ONE HUNDRED MILLIONS OF TANGIBLE MONEY WILL NATURALLY, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, BE DIS-' TRIBUTED TO PAY FOR THE LABOR, THE MANU- FACTURES, AND THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF EVERY STATE IN THE UNION, AND WILL SET THE WHOLE INDUSTRY OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY IN MOTION.
The moment this Rail Road is made, it will be the great thor- oughfare for the Mail and for passengers, from Europe to the Pa- cific and to India. The saving of Interest (by the saving of time) and the saving of insurance, for gold and silver and for valuable goods, will secure to the Nation a great profit and a vast trade.
Whether we consider this Rail Road as an indissoluble bond of Union between greatly distant parts of our widely extended Empire; or as a means of averting European Wars and Wars with the Indian Tribes ; or as a means of transporting the Mail and communicating Telegraphic intelligence ; or as a measure of Internal Commerce, so vast, so varied, as to defy all prece- dent ; or as a measure for National Glory, obtained without waste of blood or treasure, by constructing and completing, in a brief space of time, the Great work of the Age, — we are irre- sistibly led to the conclusion, that National Glory and National Interest alike dictate the adoption, at the earliest day, of a mea- sure calculated to obtain, for the present generation, the honor, which posterity will award to those who secure, for all future ages and by this single act of Legislation, the immeasurable benefits flowing from the existence of this great work.
P. P. F. DEGRAND.
APPENDIX TO THE ADDRESS.
A*
RAILROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO.
Remarks by P. P. F. Degrand, at Cohasset, at the opening OF THE South Shore Railroad, January 1, 1849.
If we take into view the actual wealth created by the exist- ence of a Rail Road, it will be found that the actual cost of a Rail Road is (as to the whole community) less than nothing. Take, for instance, the South Shore Rail Road. The actual rise of land on its borders, caused by the existence of the Rail Road, cannot be valued, on an average, at less than $50 an acre, for a strip, two miles wide, on each side of the Rail Road. A square mile contains six hundred and forty acres ; which gives two thousand five hundred and sixty acres for every mile of the road, taking a strip two miles wide on each side of it.
The rise of $50 per acre on 2560 acres, gives an additional value to the land of $128,000 for every mile of the road. Each mile of the road, therefore, creates wealth to the amount of $128,000
While the road only costs, per mile, . . . 28,000
Whence it necessarily follows that it costs, in fact, $100,000 per mile less than nothing.
Is not the case demonstrated beyond all doubt and cavil ? Will not, in fact, the land very soon rise, in some places, twenty cents per square foot, which makes $8,800 per acre.
This rise of the land, and of other property, real and personal, right and left of a Rail Road, accounts for the facility with which thousands of millions have, within the last twenty years,
become tangible, and have been spontaneously appropriated to make Rail Roads of vast extent in all parts of the world. The existence of a Rail Road not only creates the wealth which re- pays its own cost, but it also creates the means wherewith to build the next Rail Road.
This vast creation of wealth, by the existence of a Rail Road, will easily produce the cost of the rail-road line in continuation of the South Shore Rail Road, (via Boston,) to St. Louis, in Mis- souri, or to some other point in the West, and thenc6 to San Francisco, the centre of the gold region, and the future centre of the trade of the Pacific, and of India. Private enterprise, aid- ed by donations, from Congress, of alternate sections of land, will do much to carry this line to St. Louis, in Missouri. But, farther on, the national arm should, in its might, push unhesita- tingly the. great work to completion in the shortest possible time. It should do it by the mighty lever of the public credit, thus leaving private resources to fill up the manifold channels of em- ployment opened by our late vast accession to our already vast empire.
From St. Louis, in Missouri, to San Francisco, the distance is 1600 miles. At $66,666 per mile, fully equipped, the Rail- Road will cost $100,000,000. Let a charter with this capital be granted by Congress, to a company, in which individuals take the stock and furnish $2,000,000 of the capital, obtaining from the United States the loan of United States stock for the balance. Let this company be bound to carry the mail and to carry troops and munitions of war, on very reasonable terms ; and let Congress also grant them, through the public lands, a strip ten miles wide, on the North side of the Road, and let the company be beimd to build the road with American iron and other materials exclusively of domestic origin.
Let us now consider what will be the consequences of such a plan : —
Thus fortified, with tangible means, the Road will be built in five years. When buill, its very existence will defend our possessions on the Pacific. It will avert all danger of Indian wars J North and South of its line. Upon its bed, a telegraphic wire loill enable the Government to issue its orders to California 2
10
and to Oregon, with the rapidity of Hghtning— and will trans- mit individual correspondence with the same electric speed.
In case of a declaration of war against the United States by a European Power, the instantaneous transmission of the news and of the implements of war, including even seamen, to our possessions on the Pacific Coast, will give us the command of the trade of our enemy in the India Seas, and enable us to protect our own.
The cost of this Rail Road will be more than repaid, by the additional value which it will impart to the Public Lands West of Missouri.
Employing Iron and other materials^ exclusively American^ will give life and animation at once to a great mass of industry^ now lying dormant.
The plan now proposed^ will finish the Road, in the short space of five years, because the money will be easily obtained, by the sale of United States Stocks.
Another plan, which is before the public, contemplates to create the money by the sale of the land. But by following that plan, the land cannot be sold, until after the Road is built, and the money to build the Road, ca?inot be tangible, until the land is sold. The plan is therefore radically defective. If it be adopted and adhered to, 50 years will not suffice to bring the Road to completion.
And what is 50 years, as to the accumtdation of interest, while the Road is in construction 7 It is an increase of its cost more thati four fold. And what is 50 years, in the onward march of this mighty Nation 7 It is, {judgi7ig from the past,) the in- crease of its population, from 22 millions, its present number^ to the prodigious number of SS 7?iillions. And what is 50 years, in the existence of most of us 7 Alas ! it is the passing to the grave of more than two generations.
As to the constitutional power of Congi^ess, thus to loan the public credit, to the amount of $98,000,000, there cannot, in this case, be a shadow of doubt ; because this loan is made, in pursuance to the clearly defined powers of Congress, viz. : —
To provide for the National defence :
To pi'ovide for the transportation of the mail, (which will be done, both on the land and by lightning :)
To take provident care of the public domain, by increasing its value, by the best known modes of internal communi- cation : To cement the bonds of union, between parts of this vast em- pire, which will be thus rivetted together, by unceasing intercourse. Mr. President : — I perceive that you are already convinced, and that you go with me and with my intelligent fellow citizens around me, for a Rail Road to San Francisco, and for a Rail Road to be used before most of us shall have departed for another world. Let us then resolve that it shall forthwith be done, and it is done ; and let us say :
The South Shore Rail Road — Its extension, via Boston, in the shortest time possible, to San Francisco, by the mighty lever of the National credit.
B.
RAILROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO.
[Extract from P. P. F. Degrand's Remarks.] When the Rail Road is in operation, from Boston to San Francisco, the length of passage, for its 3,000 miles, (going night and day, at the rate of 25 miles per hour, including stops,) will, for the ex- press train, be only 5 days.
For 1st class cars, at 2 cents per mile, the fare will be only ...... $60
For 2d class cars, at 1 cent per mile, the fare will
be only ...... $30
The cost then of transporting, from the Atlantic sea-board, 150,000 persons to California, and of bringing back 50,000 per- sons from California, will be as follows : —
Fare of 150,000 passengers, 1st class, at $60 each, $9,000,000 Time and food, for said 150,000 passengers, for 5
days, at $5 per day, say $25 for each person, . 3,750,000 Fare of 50,000 2d class passengers, at $30 each, . 1,500,000 Time and food, for said 50,000 passengers, for 5
days, at $2 per day, say $10 for each person, . $500,000
Total cost by the Rail Road Line, . . $14,750,000
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The Express train can be provided with berths and other conveniences, for the night time. It can make short stops, at convenient places, for meals. It can be provided with Newspa- pers, Pamphlets, Books, Chess-Boards, Backgammon Boards, and other amusements, as is a Steam boat. The cars can be well ventilated, night and day, by Espy's at the top, and can be lighted by lamps, serving also as ventilators. On a portion of the Road, they can occasionally, have a Band of Music.
If it be said that all the travellers will not elect to go by the Express train, night and day, and that there should be, for their time, a greater allowance than 5 days, the reply is, that many of the Travellers will, at their starting point, be at the west of the Atlantic sea-board, as, for instance, he who starts from St. Louis, in Missouri. Starting thence, he will spend only about half the time, and pay only about half the fare of him who starts from the Atlantic sea-board; because his journey will be only 1,600 miles.
We may, therefore, safely estimate, that the above amount, $14,750,000, will be the average of the whole, by the Rail Road line.
Let us now examine what is the expense, by the sea route, for the same individuals.
To transport, by the sea route, the same number of persons, will cost as follows, part going round Cape Horn, part through the Straits of Magellan, and part through the Isthmus of Pan- ama:— i
Passage for 150,000 1st class passengers, at $160
each, ..... $22,500,000
Time of said 150,000 passengers, for 100 days, on an average, at $3 J per day, say $350 for each per- son, ..... 52,500,000
Passage for 50,000 2d class passengers, at $50 each, 2,500,000
Time of said 50,000 passengers, 100 days on an aver- age, at $1 per day, say $100 for each person, . 5,000,000;
Total cost by the sea route, . . . $82,500,000
Deduct cost by the Rail Road line, . . 14,750,000
Clear saving in the expense, . . . $67,750,000 '
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To this saving we may add the extra risk of life, by the sea route, and the disappointments and extra delays occasionally incident to a voyage by sea.
In point of time, of great hardships and of expense, the route by land, as it now exists, over a trackless waste, compares even more unfavorably with the Rail Road line.
If, then, we estimate that there will go to California annually, 150,000 persons, and that 100,000 of them will settle there, and 50,000 come back, the annual saving of expense, by having the Rail Road, will be $67,750,000.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE SAVING IN TWO YEARS WILL MORE THAN REPAY TO THE NATION, THE WHOLE COST OF THE RAIL ROAD FROM ST. LOUIS, TO SAN FRANCISCO.
IF WE ADOPT THE PLAN, NOW BEFORE CON- GRESS, OF BUILDING THE ROAD, WITH THE CASH PRODUCED BY THE SALE OF THE LAND GIVEN BY THE UNITED STATES, (WHICH LAND CANNOT BE SOLD AND REDUCED TO CASH, UNTIL THE ROAD IS BUILT,) WE SHALL INEVITABLY DELAY THE COM- PLETION OF THE ROAD, MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS. THE LOSS OF $67,750,000 A YEAR, AMOUNTS IN FIF- TY YEARS, TO $3,387,500,000; A SUM SUFFICIENT TO PAY OFF THE WHOLE BRITISH NATIONAL DEBT !
Shall this enlightened Nation — responsible as we are for our high fame — tamely submit to this disgraceful and enormous loss ? Or shall we avert it and show ourselves worthy of our high destiny, by the simple process of borrowing United States Stock, to the amount of $98,000,000; thereby creating the tan- gible and efficient means of completing this Great National Work, in the short space of five years 1
14
C.
RAIL ROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO.
Rev. Thomas F. Norris, Editor Olive Branch, Boston :
Boston^ 17 Febmary^ 1849.
Dear Sir : — Agreeably to your request, I will give you my views of the Bill and Speech of Col. Thomas H. Benton, on the Rail Road to San Francisco.
The Speech is worthy of an attentive consideration, by every citizen. It is replete with highly valuable information, and ele- vated National views, worthy of our high destiny. It shows, beyond a doubt, from the exceedingly precious information ob- tained by the indefatigable and talented Col. Fremont, that the Route from St. Louis to San Francisco, is a practicable and even a good Rail Road Route, — and it also shows, very clearly, that St. Louis is marked out as the proper starting point, by being a central place already accessible, by Steam, to every portion of the United States, North, South, and East of that City ; and by its being made, every day, more and more accessible. Winter^ as well as Summer, by the Rail Roads now in progress.
Col. Benton demonstrates, beyond a doubt, the necessity of making at once, an ample appropriation to obtain the Right of way, for this Rail Road, from the Indian Tribes, and of making also, at once, a collection of all the information, to enable Con- gress to mark out the exact line of the Rail Road. I hope and trust that the present Session will not be allowed to pass, with- out the enacting of a Law, to that effect. Col. Benton's plan is, in the main, a very good one ; but it differs from mine in some important features, and so far as it differs, I give the pre- ference to my own, for reasons, which I will submit to your and his consideration, and to the consideration of my fellow Citizens.
FIRST AND FOREMOST.— THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF MY PLAN IS, THAT ONE SINGLE ACT OF LEGISLATION, SHALL SUFFICE TO DECIDE MATHEMATICALLY, AND IRREVOCABLY, THAT THE ROAD SHALL BE A RAIL ROAD, ALL THE WAY FROM ST. LOUIS TO SAN FRANCISCO, AND THAT IT SHALL BE BUILT, IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE SPACE OF TIME.
15
An act passed, according to my plan^ will produce this effect. It will give, irrevocably, to the Company, tangible funds, ena- bling them, at once, to make all the contracts necessary to car- ry every portion of the Road to completion, as briefly as phys- ical obstacles will permit. The plan of Col. Benton will require (before it can have suflacient tangible funds,) some time and many acts of future legislation, leading usually to intermina- ble debates, and to an uncertain result ; as is illustrated by the " Cumberland Road;" by our desultory system of permanent Fortifications ; and by nearly all our other Public Works.
My plan is, that individuals shall furnish $2,000,000 real Money, and that the Nation shall lend to the Company, United States 6 per cent. Stocks, to the amount of $98,000,000. This act once passed, the contract, once thus made, between the Na- tion and the Company, leaves only one thing more to be done, viz. To move onward till the completion of the Road, and never to halt, not even for a moment, until the impatience and the neces- sities of the NatioJi are satisfied, by having the Rail Road ifi actual use.
The advantage of the Rail Road, being entirely conducted by a Company, (which, in case of loss, is to be the 1st loser of its $2,000,000,) is also that it places the Rail Road, in the hands of more economical and better practical managers, and takes it out of the vortex of politics.
Again, the advantage of its being done by a Company, is, that no freak of future Legislation, by the United States, can arrest or impede the work. The contract, once made by the Nation, with a private Company, must be carried into effect ; whereas, if it is simply a Public Work, it is very naturally^ at every session, a subject of debate, — of political squabble, — of delay, — ajid of change.
If, then, the people decide that this Rail Road shall be built, with all possible speed, is it not perfectly clear, that the plan I offer, is the only plan, as yet proposed, which will, at once, se- cure the object PRACTICALLY, MATHEMATICALLY, AND IRREVOCABLY ?
Yours respectfully,
P. P. F. DEGRAND.
16
RAIL ROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO. To the Editors of the Atlas :
Boston, February 24, 1849.
Gentlemen: — Agreeably to your request, I will submit to the consideration of my fellow citizens, some additional reasons in favor of my plan : —
If it be said that the loan of $98,000,000 of United States 6 per cent, stock and the gift of the road-way and of depot- grounds, and of materials from the public lands, and of a strip ten miles wide, on the North side of the Railroad, is too great a boon to grant to any company, the reply is, that the stock- holders of that company can get nothing, from these gifts, until the road is completed, (viz : until after the expiration of five years) — and even then, can get nothing, unless their enterprise is conducted with indefatigable attention, with great skill and with economy. It is also to be observed, that the stockholders run the whole risk of the operation, by the loss of their $2,000,000, if the operation should result in a loss; — whereas the nation will still be a very great gainer, even if it lost the whole amount, which it loans to the company. Not only so, but it is for the public interest that the profits of the stock- holders of this company should be large ; because these profits will create an impulse, which will cover the Great West with a web of Rail Roads, and thus add immense sums to the value of our vast public domain, and be of incalculable benefit to the whole nation. It is by the profits of the leading New England lines that the impulse has been given to cover New England with a web of Rail Roads, — and it is to the aid of the State, given to several of our first lines, that these first lines owe their very existence. To the Western Rail Road, the State of Massachu- setts furnished the loan of its credit to an amount, which, con- sidering the then state of the Rail Road art, and the objects to be attained, and considering the resources of Massachusetts, as compared with the resources of the whole United States, may
VI
fairly be said to exceed, b}'- far, the credit now proposed for the United States, in aid of the San Francisco Rail Road ; and it may be well to remark that the aid given, by Massachusetts State Stocks, to the Norwich Rail Road, Western Rail Road, Eastern Rail Road, Boston and Maine Rail Road, Nashua Rail Road, and New Bedford Rail Road, has produced much public good, without the loss of a single cent to the public treasury, and without the delay of one day in the payment, by each Rail Road, of the amount, as fast as due, on the State stocks. Nor do I perceive any chance of loss to the United States, in the loan of their name, as now proposed, by me ; or any chance of delinquency, if my plan is adopted as a whole.
Again, these individual profits of the proposed company, (if they should be made,) are like dust in the balance, when com- pared to the iron-will of the sovereign people, pointing to the imperative necessity of the immediate completion of the St. Louis and San Francisco Rail Road ; a work whose very ex- istence will give us the mastery of the Pacific and of the In- dia Seas, thereby averting foreign wars, by warning foreign powers of the necessity of being on good terms with so power- ful a country as ours ; a work, whose very existence will ward off all danger of Indian wars ; a work which will enable us to carry the mail and to transmit telegraphic intelligence, in the only way worthy of the age we live in ; a work which will furnish a great mart, in Oregon and in California, for the agricultural products of the Mississippi Valley, and for the domestic fabrics of the Eastern and Middle States ; in fine, a work which will render indissoluble the ties of our ancient, with our modern possessions.
Another distinguishing feature of my plan is. THE RE- QUIREMENT THAT ALL THE MATERIALS, USED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILROAD, SHALL BE OF DOMESTIC ORIGIN; THUS CREAT- ING, BY A SINGLE ACT OF LEGISLATION,
$100,000,000 WORTH OF AMERICAN LABOR TO BE REAL- IZED WITHIN A FEW YEARS, AND TO BE PAID FOR, IN GOOD MONEY— and thus vivifying the iron busi- 3
id
ness of Missouri and Pennsylvania, as well as American in- dustry all over the. United States, including the agricultural industry of the Mississippi Valley. A very large amount of the Flour, Beef, Pork, Butter and Cheese of that valley will necessarily be consumed, on the Rail Road, while in construc- tion. It will be consumed by the various mechanics, employed every where in the United States, in bringing forth the iron rails, locomotives, cars, digging machines, pickaxes and shov- els, used by the road, not only while in construction, but after it is built and until time shall be no more.
Even the Cotton-planting and the Sugar-raising States will come in for a share, to a large amount, in the consumption of these staples, created by the construction and existence of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad.
Again, let him who makes objections to any portion of my plan, bring forward a better plan, which (free from objections) will yet attain (as my plan certainly does) the great object, viz : SECURING PRACTICALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND MATHEMATICALLY, AND BY A SINGLE ACT OF LEGISLATION, THE COMPLETION OF THE ST. LOUIS AND SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD, IN THE LEAST POSSIBLE TIME.
Yours respectfully,
P. P. F. DEGRAND.
E.
RAIL ROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO.
Remarks by P. P. F. Degrand, at the Complimentary Dinner GIVEN TO William Parker, March 13, 1849.
I take a different view from that which has been presented by the distinguished speakers, who have preceded me. So far from lamenting the departure of our valued friend, I rejoice in his pro- motion to a higher salary, and especially to a more enlarged
19
sphere of action : — 1 glory in it, and I trust that many more of our meritorious engineers and superintendents will be called upon from our New England schools, to lucrative places iu other States, to carry into their Rail Roads the practical talent and economy, which can alone secure good dividends.
Good dividends, founded on actual net profits, depend much on the administration of a Rail Road. If well administered, about one half of the gross income goes for expenses. If admin- istered without proper system, intelligence and economy, the gross revenue is diminished, the expense is increased, and the net income is very apt to be " null and void !"
Good dividends are essential to the extension of the system ; because these dividends attract naturally the loose capital of widows and orphans, and a large proportion of the surplus earn- ings of the whole community. The New England Rail Roads have thereby become a grand reservoir of Savings Banks, on a grand scale and on a profitable scale. Bad as the year 1848 has been, as to business generally, the vast amount invested in the completed Rail Roads in New England, has, in that year, av- eraged more than 7 per cent, net dividend. What other line of business can boast of a like result in the disastrous year 1848? and let it not be forgotten, that this result is mainly due to the intelligence, economy and thrift of New England administra- tion, in making good Rail Roads, and carrying them on in the best way.
I rejoice, then, that our friend is taken from one of our suc- cessful Rail Roads, to carry thrift, economy, and consequent profit, to the great line of roads from Baltimore to the Ohio. The Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road belongs to our fellow citi- zens, and to our common country — their thrift is our thrift ; as is the thrift of every portion of our vast empire. I shall rejoice to meet this line at the converging point, when it is prolonged to St. Louis, in Missouri. I shall rejoice to meet it, at St. Louis, by our Boston Lines — " The Boston and Buffalo Rail Road," and " The Boston and Ogdensburg Rail Road," also prolonged to St. Louis, — which they all will inevitably be, at no distant (Jay,— and 1 glory, in the anticipation of our onward march, in triple alliance, on the Grand National Central Rail Road, from
30
St. Louis to San Francisco — in company with our friend T. H. Benton, to pay a visit to his daughter.
Mr. President, — This Rail Road to San Francisco is a great project, worthy of a great people. It is a great project, and should be carried to completion, with a celerity worthy of our- selves— and this can be done, by the adoption of the plan I pro- pose. Of the efficiency of this plan, none are better able to judge than the intelligent men now around me.
The distinguishing feature of this plan is, that one single ACT OF Legislation shall suffice to secure, practically, mathe- matically, AND irrevocably, ITS COMPLETION IN THE SHORTEST TIME
allowed by ITS PHYSICAL OBSTACLES. This wiU be secured, by confiding the care of it to a company, into which, individuals are to pay $2,000,000 real money, and to which the Government are to lend $98,000,000 of United States 6 per cent, stock. Tan- gible means J thus created^ will enable us to finish the road, within the present term of Gen. Taylor'* s Presidency,
Once confided to a private Company, no future freak of legis- lation can arrest or impede its march, as could be done, at every session of Congress, if it were merely a public work. We, of New England, who, in the last year, have opened 500 miles of Rail Roads, amidst all the difficulties of the money-market, will certainly be capable (if tangible means are thus confided to us) of constructing and carrying into operation, the 1600 miles, from St. Louis to San Francisco, before March 4th, 1853; for there are, on that line, no obstacles greater than we have, on more than one occasion, met and conquered on the rugged, rocky surface of New England. Neither is it to be feared that the snows of the West will arrest our trains, while we are able, in the mountains of Berkshire, to pass without interruption, through drifts of snow higher than the top of the chimney of our Locomotives.
If the Rail Road to San Francisco is undertaken as a public work, we are warned by the fate of our system of permanent fortifications, that the great resurrection gun may fire, before its completion. Our system of permanent fortifications was devised by Gen. Bernard, first appointed to attend to it, in 1816. This system met with the approbation of the Executive, of Congress,
21
and of the nation, and deservedly so : for it was the production of a master mind ; the production of the intimate friend and companion, and pupil of the highly gifted military genius of the age ; and it was sustained by the reasoning of that master- mind, carrying conviction of its necessity, and of its efficien- cy.— 33 years have already elapsed, since, by universal as- sent, the system was thus confided to the man who commanded universal approbation ; and where is the system ? Where was it when we were threatened with a war with two of the most formidable powers in the world — France and England ? I ask, where was it then ? And where is it now ? Alas ! it is as yet, at its threshold — incomplete — inefficient — and likely to be so for fifty years to come !
The extra expense (over and beyond the cost by Rail Road) in money, and in time, of carrying from the United States to California, 150,000 persons, and of bringing back 50,000 per- sons a year, is estimated at $67,750,000 per annum. The Rail- Road, from St. Louis to San Francisco, will cost $100,000,000, and of course, the hastening its completion, even two years, will more than cover the whole expense of its construction and equipment.
And a delay of fifty years^ in carrying this Rail Road to completion, will (by this mere diflference in the cost of transpor- tation) waste^for the nation^ $3,375,000,000; a sum, a hundred times as large as all the specie now in the United States ! a sum, which the most sanguine man dare not predict, as the gathering of the California mines, during a whole century to come !
The existence of the Rail Road will place California within the reach of our fellow citizens generally. At two cents per mile, for first class cars, the fare (for 3000 miles, from Boston to San Francisco) will be only $60, making (with the food and time for five days) a total of only $80. It will be only half that sum, for second class cars. At twenty-five miles per hour, the passage from Boston to San Francisco, will be made in five days ; whereas, now it averages one hundred days, taking the various routes, viz : round Cape Horn ; through the Straits of Magellan ; over the Isthmus of Darien ; and over-land.
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The loss of time, and the great sum of money, necessary now to make a trip to California, are entirely beyond the reach of the generality of our enterprising young men ; because $500 worth of time and money must be wasted by the present mode of pas- sage. Even for those who have at hand the needful sum, it is a great hardship to be obliged thus to waste it, instead of keeping it as a nucleus of their future fortune. Yery few of our richest men in Boston began their career with a sum in hand sufficient to carry them to California at the present time.
Another distinguishing feature of my plan is^ that all the ma- terials employed in constructing and equipping the Rail Road to San Francisco shall be of domestic origin ; thus creating,
IRREVOCABLY, BY A sInGLE ACT OF LEGISLATION, $100,000,000 WORTH
OF American labor, in which^ practically^ every State in the Un- ion will participate.
A private company will construct and equip the Rail Road much more economically than the government, and make a sav- ing of at least one third in the expenditure.
The existence of this Rail Road will defend California and Oregon, and will avert Indian wars. North and South of its line. In the transportation of seamen, of troops, of munitions of War, and of the Mail, a great saving will be made to the public Trea- sury.
If it be said that the plan proposed by me, of a private Com- pany, (furnishing $2,000,000 real capital, and aided by the loan of United States Stock to the amount of $98,000,000,) will not work well, we need only refer to the well known favor- able result of the Boston and Albany Rail Road, in which Jths of the capital was furnished by stocks of the State of Mas- sachusetts, and of the city of Albany. A well-conducted Rail Road has but one thing to do, viz. : To serve the public well, as it thereby promotes its own interest, as well as its own self- satisfaction.
The plan which I propose^ will finish the Road in 4 years. Should a delay of 50 years arise from pursuing some otherplan, let it be remembered that our population is marked out by our past experience, as destined, during those 50 years, to increase from its present number of 22 millions, to the vast number of 88
23
millions ; and in these 50 years, two generations, will have passed to the grave ; and let it also be remembered, that the loss of interest, on the cost of construction, during 50 years, will much more than four-fold its cost.
The plan which I propose ^ willfijiish the Road in 4. y ear s^ and thenceforth every mother in the old United States, will be ena- bled to hear from her son, if in California, within 7 days, by regular mail, and almost instantaneously by telegraph. Every mother^ then, and every sister, and every one of the fair sister- hood, whose friend may have gone to that distant land, will cherish a plan, which will thus give her news, and give her the chance of a prompt return, or of a flying visit from her relative or friend. Let me then commend the plan to their fostering care. This care will be a sure harbinger of success — as suc- cess, in the adoption of the plan, is to be founded on public sen- timent ; which, from their gentle hands, can receive, impercep- tibly, the desired impress.
If the gift by the United States, of 10 miles of land, on the North side of the Rail Road, and of depot grounds, and of ma- terials from the public lands, should prove advantageous to the Company, it will (without cost to the public,) reward their en- terprise, industry and indefatigable attention, and it will also lead to the establishment of other Rail Roads, in the great West, thereby advancing very much the value of our public lands, as well as the welfare of the Republic.
The mere existence of the Rail Road to San Francisco, will add to the value of our public lands, an amount more than cov- ering its whole cost. By creating this additional value, at an early day^ it will add still more to the means of wealth of the whole country.
The existence of this Rail Road will render our union with our fellow citizens in California, and in Oregon, indissoluble. It will afford the means of transmitting government orders ; gen- eral news and private intelligence by telegraph j and of trans- mitting the mail, in the only way worthy of the age we live in. It will furnish a great market for the productions of the South, and of the Mississippi valley, and for the manufactures, fisher- ies and imports of the Atlantic States.
24
St. Loui& is marked out as the proper starting point, by the feasibiUty of the route starting thence, and by its being a central place, ah-eady accessible by steam, to every portion of the United States, North, South, and East of it.
Common sense then dictates the adoption, at the eaeliest day, of some plan, which, like the one i propose, shall secure, at once, practically, mathematically, and irrevocably, the
COMPLETION OF THIS RaIL RoAD, IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME. I
rejoice that we shall have with us the Maryland Pioneer Line. Near the seat of Government, their aid will be of great value to illumine the path which is to lead to National honor, National convenience. National interest, and National glory.
Let us invoke the friends of Internal Improvements through- out the Union ; let us invoke the Public Press, that mighty en- gine, ever ready to move, for great National good. Let us re- solve that this great National Work shall be carried to completion^ in a shorter time, than any work of equal magnitude was ever constructed by any other Nation ! And in conclusion let us say : — New England tact and talent, in building and in admin- istering Rail Roads. — May this tact and talent spread its innu- merable benefits throughout our vast empire !
■^/^'
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