RAILWAYS. 



509 



Railroads of the United States, January, 1870, com- 

 pared with January, 1864. 



Railroad Company was organized in October, 

 1863, under a charter granted by Congress, 

 called "An Act to aid in the construction of a 

 Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri 

 River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to 

 the Government the use of the same for postal, 

 military, and other purposes." The capital 

 stock of the company was fixed at $100,000,- 

 000, in shares of $1,000 each, which were sub- 

 sequently fixed at $100 each, and it was also 

 provided that no one person could subscribe 

 for or hold more than 200 shares of the stock. 

 The Government granted the company every 

 alternate section of land for ten miles on each 

 side of the road, which was subsequently ex- 

 tended to every alternate section for twenty 

 miles on each side of the road; and also the 

 right of way over the public lands to the ex- 

 tent of 200 feet in width on each side of the 

 road, together with the right to use timber and 

 other material necessary for the construction 

 of the road wherever found upon the public 

 lands. The Government also granted aid in 



bonds, maturing in 30 years, and bearing six 

 per cent, interest, payable in gold, amounting 

 as follows : 



517 miles west from Omaha, at 10,000 

 per mile ............................. $8,272,000 



150 miles, at $48,000 ........ 7 fiOO ACO 



433 32,000 ............. :;:::; 



Total ........................... $29,328,000 



These bonds were issued only upon the com- 

 pletion of each section of 20 miles of the road, 

 and were transferred upon the certificate of 

 three commissioners, appointed by the United 

 States Government, that the road was thorough- 

 ly built and adequately supplied with all the 

 machinery, equipments, and fixtures necessary 

 to a first-class railroad. By subsequent legis- 

 lation, the company obtained the right to issue 

 its first-mortgage bonds to an amount equal to 

 the bonds of the United States, which were 

 made a second lien upon the road. 



The whole bonded debt of the road became, 

 therefore, $58,656,000. The contract for the 

 construction of the Union Pacific road was 

 made in August, 1864, but owing to certain de- 

 lays the first 40 miles of the road were not com- 

 pleted until January, 1866 ; in January, 1867, 

 305 miles; in January, 1868, 540 miles; and in 

 January 1869, 1,032 miles were completed. 

 The obstacles to be overcome in constructing 

 the road were found to be less formidable than 

 had been anticipated. In crossing the moun- 

 tains there are no grades exceeding 90 feet to 

 the mile, and these but for short distances, 

 while an altitude of more than 6,000 feet is at- 

 tained by a gradual ascent. Omaha is 397" feet 

 above the level of the sea, and the elevation 

 of Cheyenne, at the base of the Black Hills, 

 517 miles west from Omaha, is 6,062 feet, 

 making an average grade between these two 

 points of ten feet to the mile; while, the 

 average ascent from Cheyenne to Sherman, at 

 the summit of the Black Hills, the elevation 

 of which is 8,262 feet, is 69 feet to the mile. 

 The average cost of constructing the road, 

 including car-shops, depots, stations, locomo- 

 tives, cars, and all necessary expenses, except 

 those of surveying, is stated at $68,058 per 

 mile for 914 miles west from Omaha, and 

 $90,000 per mile for 186 miles; while the 

 total cost of the road for this distance, includ- 

 ing surveys, is stated at $82,445,012. 



According to a provision of the charter, the 

 management of the road is controlled by a 

 Board of twenty Directors, five of whom are 

 appointed by the General Government, and 

 are prohibited from holding stock in the road. 

 The Government also exercises the right of 

 appointing three commissioners to examine 

 the road, and report whether it has been con- 

 structed and operated according to law. There 

 have been conflicting reports as to the condi- 

 tion of the road and the manner of its con- 

 struction. In September, 1868, a Special 

 Commission, composed of Brevet Major-Gen- 

 eral G. K. Warren, U. S. A., Jacob Blinkens- 



