him as soon as I would myself of being opposed to the construction of a Pacific railroad.

Mr. CAMPBELL. I am in favor of the building of a Pacific railroad, and I have reported the pending bill in good faith to accomplish that desirable object.

Mr. LOVEJOY. There is as good reason to believe that the gentleman from Pennsylvania is opposed to the Pacific railroad as I am. But I did not call in question the integrity of the gentleman and his committee. I admit their honesty of purpose.

The provision in this bill makes it utterly impossible for these Iowa roads to agree upon any point whence this road is to start. It will, therefore, make it impossible for Boston, New York, and the North to have any railroad connection with this Pacific railroad unless by going hundreds of miles south. But this will be all referred to by the gentleman from Iowa.

I have very cursorily presented some of the objections I have to this bill. I feel that no road ever can be built under the bill as it now stands. I risk my judgment upon the prediction. Undoubtedly the side roads which are to enjoy the liberality of the Government will be completed. And as the committee have reported the bill, the road, when it gets to Sacramente and San FranCisco, is to turn off at right angles and run up north, for which there is no military or national necessity. Now, mark how it works. The gentleman from Pennsylvania, on the other side, is a strict constructionist. On some points we cannot depart from the Constitution. That is all right. I go for the Constitution always-its letter and its spirit; but it is proposed now to give $2,000,000 of bonds to build a railroad to New York, as a military necessity, and that is just on a par with these lavish expenditures which are proposed in regions of the country where a donation from the Government is not a necessity, because private enterprise can do the work.

Perhaps, sir, I ought to have drawn up a substitute for this bill which would suit me better than the one which I have presented. The proper principle for a Pacific railroad bill would be to provide that the road should start from some given pointI think Fort Kearney would be the proper pointand make proper provision for the incorporation of a company, and say to them, you shall have so much money after you get to such a point, so much for so many hundred miles, and so much for so many more hundred miles. But the road provided for here is to pass over a region of country that has never been surveyed, and about which we know nothing; it is general in its terms, and yet we propose to give $67,000,000 or $100,000,000 for this enterprise. The main trunk is to receive not over $50,000,000, but when you come to trace up the side roads and branches you find $17,000,000 more stowed away in these roads, to which we ought not to give one cent.

Bu, sir, as I said, I do not intend to make a fancy speech about this railroad. The time for that has gone by. We want a road, but in providing for that road I feel bound to see that we do not give more than is absolutely necessary to achieve the object.

Mr. CRADLEBAUGH. Mr. Chairman, I do not propose to discuss at any length the bill which is now before the committee for consideration. But after the remarks which have been made by the gentleman who has just concluded his argument in opposition to this bill, I believe it to be a duty that I owe to the people that I have the honor

---mani in state hera soma fante in roforoUS I

Nevada. I am induced to do this for the reas that the desolate and dreary Territory that I re resent is selected as the one by which to ma comparisons and draw deductions in regard to t building of this railroad across the continent.

The people of the Territory that I represe have, perhaps, a greater local interest in the buil ing of this road than any other people under o Government. We, it is true, are not far fr California-some one hundred and thirty miles but we are separated from California by the Sier Nevada chain of mountains, rising to the heig of eight thousand feet above the ocean and sor four thousand feet above the valleys of the in rior great basin. Some two years ago the d covery of silver ore was made within that Ter tory. Since that ume a population of more th twenty thousand industrious and enterprising izens have located within the Territory. You fi building up there towns that will vie with ma of the towns in the older settlements in the State In point of building material and substantial there are none to excel them in any of the State The leading town of that Territory, where the were only a few tents when I visited it two yea ago, has now four thousand inhabitants, and the are streets laid off and built up with stone an brick buildings that would be a credit to any your towns. And that is not the only city with the limits of the Territory. Carson City, the cai ital of the Territory, has two thousand inhabi ants, and contains many permanent and durab buildings. Why is it that that Territory, in th short period of two years, has acquired a pops lation of twenty thousand inhabitants? Why it that they have built up their towns, and a carrying on a trade with Cal fornia that amoun to millions upon millions of dollars? It is a owing to the great discovery of silver ore mad there two years ago.

Now, our mining country is wholly differe from that in California. Ours are not placer gings, extending over the surface of the eart that you, or I, or anybody else can go there, with what we call in mining parlance a "cradl or "rocker," commence digging up the eartht extracting the gold from the soil. It is whe different from that. The minerals found in Territory are found in quartz fields, which requ machinery. It takes a miner perhaps a whe year after the discovery of a lead, to get up machinery before he can extract a single dollar precious metals from the soil. It requires and capital, and although one year ago we not a particle of machinery extracting silver fr the silver sulphurets of that Territory, or from the quartz rocks, we can now boast of havi in operation more than one hundred quartz mil and we can boast of having $5,000,000 invest there in mining operations. And this is but beginning of the matter. It is nothing to w we intend to do for this country in the next years, or before this road can be built. It amour to nothing in comparison with what we will Within this year we put in operation one hund quartz mills. One year ago we had none. Th have been gradually going into operation. In Sierra Nevada mountains there is extracted, am informed, from the silver ore and gold ro $2,000,000 per month, and from my own ob vation, I am fully satisfied that my statement below the amount actually produced.

Our country is certainly a desolate one. have no agricultural resources; or if we have they are of very limited extent. We prod nothing. All our machinery and all our supp

pense. We are not able to feed the mules and horses in that Territory. We are not able to obtain any provisions or supplies there except wliat are transported over the mountains. Now, sir, within two years we have built two regularly graded roads across the Sierra Nevada, and I presume, though I have not the facts before me, from the amount of labor that has been expended upon them, that those two roads have cost half a miliion of dollars. Another road has been in course of construction during the past year, and we now have roads by which machinery and supplies can be brought into our Territory.

Sir, during the past summer we have had engaged in transportation from California into the Territory of Nevada more than two thousand teams, that have been constantly employed, transporting, as has been estimated, and as I myself have estimated-for I live upon one of these roads -more than six thousand tons of freight during the past year in supplies and machinery for the purpose of opening up and developing the country. The cost of transportation with us during the summer months is, upon an average, about one hundred dollars per ton. Our heavy machinery costs a larger amount, perhaps one hundred and twenty-five dollars per ton, while our supplies cost us about one hundred dollars per ton.

During the last three or four months all supplies of which the Territory had fallen short, cost for transportation $300 per ton. The transportation is done during the winter by pack trains, in a great measure. We are not able to keep the mountain passes open during the entire year. I mention these facts to show the interest which my people have in the building of this railroad, or a railroad into the Territory. I believe that no people have a greater interest in it than we have. As I before remarked, our mines are in their infancy. I may say here-and time will prove the truth of the assertion-that when the great basin itself comes to be developed, it will produce an amount of gold and silver that will astonish the world. I have no doubt that the Territory which I represent will, during the next ten years, add as much to the coin of the country as California has done during the past ten years. In the Humboldt mountains there are now more than a thousand miners engaged in prospecting who will not for perhaps a year realize a dollar on their claims. The leads are known to be rich and extensive. I believe they are the richest silver leads in the world. There is none to compare to them. The lead in the Washoe mines is now open to the extent of a mile and more, and is producing rich silver sulphurets, worth $300 per ton. It is a lead equal in extent to the width of this Hall. There are no mines in the world that can compare with those in these desolate regions. I believe that the leads extend entirely through the basin; and I believe that when they are developed by the aid of railroads, they will produce an amount of silver and gold that will astonish the world. I should not be surprised if they would produce enough to freight a car daily. I am confident that if the war be closed within a reasonable time they will produce enough for that purpose within the next ten years. I therefore feel a local and special interest in this matter.

Sir, we have now in operation in that Territory two of the largest crushing mills in the world. South America cannot boast two as large. The Ophir company mill produces $20,000 a day, and it is yet only in half operation. It is expected that within a month or so it will be in full operation. It cost over one million dollars. When it is in full operation its product will not fall short of $40,000

.aay. i ne product consists of an amalgam of silver and gold, and is of more value than its weight in silver. Every ton of it will yield about forty or fifty thousand dollars. The other company expects to produce $1,500,000 a year.

I say, then, that the people of that Territory have an interest in having this road built. Transportation now costs them $6,000,000 a year. Therefore that Territory should not have been selected as one from which to draw invidious comparisons in relation to this matter. I feel favorably inclined to this bill. I do not know whether it is perfect, or whether it is the kind of bill that ought to pass. I have not examined it critically. It may be that amendments ought to be made to it. I myself have one or two amendments here which are desirable in the interest of the people whom I represent, and which, I think, ought to be adopted. I would move to amend the third section by adding the following proviso:

Provided, That the lands in the Territory of Nevada which are in actual occupancy, or which are held by constructive possession under the territorial laws at the time of the passage of this act, shall not be granted to said company, and shall be excluded from the operations of this bill.

Mr. DUNN. Mr. Chairman, the construction of a railroad which shall unite the waters of the Atlantic with those of the Pacific, will be the consummation of the great idea which filled the mind of Columbus when he discovered a new world. It will unite this continent, and all western and commercial Europe with the richest trade of the world, by a more direct route than it is possible to secure in any other way. It will place our Government in a just and merited position among the leading nations of the earth, by compelling them to pay a tribute to it for the enjoyment of a commerce, which is the chief source of their wealth. And as we are about to suppress a rebellion by which perfidious traitors have sought to overthrow and destroy our Government, and thus demonstrate our great military power, and the stability of our institutions, it seems to me to be an appropriate time to organize this great enterprise. It will be most fit that we should crown our victories of war with this higher and nobler victory of peace.

It is not a wild fancy to suppose that Providence has reserved us for such a destiny and such a history as this. No people on earth have been so blessed by God's protecting care as we have. / There is nothing, or scarcely anything, which is or can be made the source of wealth, prosperity, or happiness which we do not possess. All the varieties of soil, climate, and production are ours; and while the tide of rebellion is now rolling back before the march of our gallant armies, we should be untrue to ourselves if we did not stretch forth our hands to seize upon a commerce for which the world has struggled from the time when the Middianitish merchants brought their spices and myrrhs of the East across the plains of Asia.

The time is not inappropriate in another sense. England and France, the acknowledged rivals for years which exceed in number the age of our nation, are employing all the agency which wealth and diplomacy can furnish to obtain a direct route to India, not only for the purpose of securing the wealth of India, China, and Japan, but to retain a controlling influence over the commerce of the world. English enterprise has projected a railroad from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, but it has met with a check in the unflinching enmity of the Arab tribes who roam the plains where the flocks of the patriarchs were fed England already owns and occupies several unfortified points on the Red sea, and both she and France are struggling to overcome the

to maintain it; for if it shall have as a terminus any point which shall fail to furnish this support, it is very evident that it must fail. Everybody can see that it will be utterly impossible to construct the road if we have to wait until it is finished before it shall begin to return a revenue to those who construct it. Not a dollar of money could be borrowed to build a road upon such a plan. A proposition of this kind made to the great money-lenders of the world would not only excite a smile, but positive derision.

Keeping this leading idea in view, let us examine the proposed routes in a practical manner, so as to avoid the danger, if possible, of falling into an impracticable and impossible scheme; excluding of course any consideration of that down the valley of the Gila and through the Territory of Arizona, as one not likely, at this time, for the most palpable reasons, to have many advocates, those remaining to be considered are the route up the valley of the Platte river and through the South Pass of the Rocky mountains, by Salt Lake City, and that up the valley of the Kansas river, which crosses the mountains near the head waters of the Arkansas river.

The route through the South Pass is objectionable, to my mind, for many reasons, which I will endeavor to make as plain as possible, without consuming much of the time of the committee.

It is about eight hundred and fifty miles from the mouth of the Platte river, in Nebraska Territory, to the South Pass, and upon the whole route there are but few points at which timber fit for a railroad can be found within a reasonable distance of the line of the road. The only timber found upon the banks of this river is cottonwood, which is entirely unfit for railroad purposes, except a small quantity of cedar, scarcely enough to be considered an object of interest. Fort Laramie, which lies on the north fork of the Platte, is about five hundred and fifty miles from the mouth, and for about one hundred miles of the distance between that point and the South Pass there could be sufficient timber procured by going some distance to the mountains. Beyond this to the Pass and at the Pass, and as far beyond it as Fort Bridger, which is one hundred miles, timber could only be procured at a great distance from the road. And it would even be difficult to obtain it for most of the way from there to Salt Lake City, one hundred and thirteen miles further. There is not, in fact, one hundred and fifty miles of the whole line from the mouth of the river to Salt Lake City, a distance of eleven hundred and fifty miles, where timber can be procured without great trouble and expense. All practical minds will see at once that this is not only a serious but fatal objection.

But it is no less impracticable, in another view, to construct a railroad through the South Pass, even if there were an abundance of timber, on account of the heavy snow storms to which that region of country is subject. This Pass is in latitude 420 15' N., and it is very well known that there the snow sometimes falls several feet in depth. There are but a few months in the year when this region is exempt from snow, it generally falling in every month except June, July, and August; and not only would the usefulness of a road through this Pass be impaired by the ordinary depth of snow during the greater part of the year, but owing to the fact that the winds are drawn, both from the East and the West, through the Pass with great nolence, the snow drifts to such a depth as to render the passage of cars impossible during many portions of the year. This is an insurmountable objection; for neither science, skill, nor erergy can overcome such obstacles as these.

They are produced by the laws of nature, which can neither be regulated nor controlled by the laws of man; and if there were none other, they would settle the question, in my mind, beyond cavil or controversy. But there is still another objection of a most serious character. The whole population at this time between the mouth of the Platte river and Utah Territory, does not reach two thousand in number; and not more than one tenth of the whole distance can ever become an agricultural country. That part of it which is susceptible of cultivation lies within one hundred and fifty miles of the Missouri river; and there is not within this distance timber enough to justify the improvement of more than one tenth part of it, and what timber there is, is soft cottonwood. The line of a road up this valley would not approach nearer to Denver City than about two hundred and eighty miles; so that, in point of fact, as anybody can see, there is neither population nor commerce to attract a road, or to sustain it after it is built.

It is worthy also of remark that there is no railroad at present constructed nearer to the mouth of the Platte river than one hundred and twenty miles. It is not probable that, in the present condition of that country, this intervening space will be occupied by a road, built by individual enterprise, for a good many years to come.

The route up the valley of the Kansas river, by Fort Riley, and crossing the mountains either at the Chochetopi Pass or some other in that neighborhood, is so far preferable to the Platte route that they will scarcely bear comparison. Very few, if any, of the objections which may be urged against the latter exist as it regards this route.

Taking Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, as the starting point, the distance, by the valley of the Kansas and Arkansas river to the Rocky mountains, is from six hundred to six hundred and fifty miles. Over the whole of this line there is very nearly a natural grade the whole way, and, considering the distance, it would be one of the straightest and most direct roads in the world. A road upon this line could be constructed with but little labor, as it would be confined almost entirely to the valleys of the Kansas and Arkansas rivers -much of the country over which it would have to pass being a natural grade.

The valley of the Kansas river, from its mouth for one hundred and fifty miles, is supplied with immense quantities of limestone, and with timber unsurpassed in the West, and in sufficient quantities. This timber would furnish all the necessary cross-ties, trestle-work, and bridges at a small cost within this distance. The distance of the timber of this valley from that on the Arkansas is about two hundred miles, but even within this distance there are small bodies scattered through the prairies. It could be supplied, however, as the road would approach the Arkansas, by timber transported from the Kansas. After the road reaches Fort Wise on the Arkansas river, there is a supply of timber all the way to the mountains, where there is an abundance of cedar and pine. Some of this timber is cottonwood, but owing to the dryness of the climate it is durable and firm, being of a different quality from that which grows in the States. On the score of timber alone, therefore, a road can be constructed far cheaper upon this route than by the route to the South Pass.

Within the range of country through which this road would pass after leaving the Missouri river, the population already extends up the valley of the Kansas river one hundred and fifty miles, with sparse settlements beyond that. There is not in the world a finer agricultural and grazing region

han this; the common opinion of all our most experienced travelers being that it is far the best upon this continent. This valley is all susceptible of cultivation, and can maintain a dense population. It passes through the center and heart of Kansas, so that every portion of that State may be said to be tributary to it. The population now identified with it, within Kansas alone, is about eighty or one hundred thousand, and this is constantly and rapidly increasing. A road through this region to the Rocky mountains would pass within one hundred miles of Denver City, so that all the population of that section would be interested in it, and do their entire business upon itthey already having a good and practicable wagon road upon which they could reach it without difficulty. It would moreover accommodate the people of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and all the northeastern portion of Arizona, all of whom would do their whole business upon it. The present aggregate of the population thus accommodated is not less than from two hundred and fifty to three hundred thousand, and by the time of the completion of the road to the mountains, that number would be very much increased. It is evident, therefore, that with the trade and commerce of all this region passing over this road, increased, as it will be, by the mineral discoveries which are constantly going on there, it would be a paying and self-supporting road from the beginning, if it never were constructed beyond the Rocky mountains. Already our adventurous population is pressing in that direction, and a few years only will see this whole country densely occupied with an industrious people, whose labors will go to swell the great aggregate of our national wealth and prosperity.

The snow through this region of country rarely ever lies longer than a week after falling, and the ground is bare during the greater part of the year. The Pass through the mountains is not so subject to violent winds as the South Pass, nor does near so much snow fall. The distance between the two Passes is from two hundred and fifty to three hundred miles.

It is worthy of observation, as a point of importance to the Government, that this route passes three military posts after leaving Fort Leavenworth, which must continue to be, for many years to come, the point from which our military supplies must be sent west. The posts by which it passes are Fort Riley, Fort Larned, and Fort Wise, and these are upon the direct line upon which all our other posts in New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona must be furnished throughout all the future. The completion of the road would draw to it, necessarily, all these supplies.

This road is central in every point of view; and is more especially so if we take into consideration the entire Union, both North and South. Although it passes, its entire length, through loyal territory, it yet occupies a district of country easily accessible by branch roads to either section, and will really become the means, upon the suppression of the rebellion, of uniting us in a more compact union; for it will bring the people of the two sections together in their search after the large trade which will be controlled by the road.

The preference of this route over that up the Platte may be seen at a glance, from the fact that while it will accommodate Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Kansas, that up the Platte would accommodate only a portion of Colorado and Utah and Nebraska, leaving out entirely all Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

But, Mr. Chairman, I do not stand here as the

advocate of any particular route for a railroad to the Pacific. I have indicated a preference for reasons briefly and imperfectly stated, but I am for any route that is practicable and will pay. Any line connecting the two oceans must pass through Indiana, and the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, which passes through three counties of my congressional district, will most likely be our part of this great line of internal commerce. I am willing to leave the selection of the line to the judgment of those who are willing to prove their faith by their works. Whatever route the capitalists of the country may select, they will thereby give the best evidence they can adduce of their belief that it is practicable and compensatory. If we should undertake here to lay down the line, there is great danger that local interests would influence our selection. Fixing the terminal points, we may safely and properly leave the selection of the connecting line to the good sense of the practical men of the nation, who will be called upon to locate and construct the road. I fear the nation does not appreciate the vast resources of the country the construction of this road would open to settlement. It is the best grazing country in the world. Its natural pastures, without the use of the plow or the scythe, would fatten beef and mutton enough for our whole population. For centuries, we know not how long, it has been the home of vast herds of buffaloes."

Mr. WATTS. There are eighteen millions of buffaloes on these plains, more than all the cattle 'n Russia.

Mr.DUNN. My friend, the Delegate from New Mexico, [Mr. WATTS,] states that there are eighteen millions of buffaloes on those plains. I do not see their number stated in our census tables; but we know that for days and days the traveler sees them darkening the plains far as his eyes can range. As the pigeons in the autumn darken our western skies, and seem to be innumerable, so these buffaloes on those great central plains seem to be beyond computation.

Could a barren soil support such animal life? There cattle would need no shelter from winter winds or summer heat. A herdsman and a butcher I will make them available for human food. But much of that country, on the line I have mentioned, is of the very best for ordinary agricultural purposes. The climate is attractive, and when the means of safe and inexpensive transportation is afforded, the advantages of soil and climate will cause that region to be rapidly populated.

But the construction of a railroad to the Pacific will not only open to profitable occupation that great grazing and agricultural country, but it will give to our enterprising and industrious population ready access to the gold and silver mines of our western Territories and Pacific States. There, awaiting the pick and the shovel, are mines of the precious metals, reserved, it would seem, to this day by a beneficent Providence as a means of enabling us, without the oppression of the people by taxation, to discharge the vastly accumulated expenses of this war. Give to our enterprising people rapid and cheap transportation to the gold and silver regions, and give them the protection of the Government when there, with cheap supplies, and how immensely they will add to the wealth of the nation. As the wealth of the nation increases, the rate of taxation will decrease.

I will not detain the committee by an argument to show the importance of this railroad to our military, naval, and postal service. The honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. CAMPBELL]