California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



ANOTHEE RAILROAD SCHEME ON 

 FOOT. 



The Goverument, i. e. the people is to be 

 asked to eudorse another little beneticial en- 

 terprise. The enormous monopoly established 

 by Government grants of money and lauds — 

 (on the second mortgage plan, which an in- 

 side ring adroitly worked up,) the great 

 overland route no^ in existence has, become 

 burdensome and oppressive, and the people 

 are asked to apply an allopathic dose of 

 counter irrUalion, by building a rival load. 

 Another blister in the form of Government 

 obligations is asked for, not to enrich anybody 

 this time. Oh, no, of course not. It is all 

 on the square for the advantage of the poor, 

 honest people. And don't the people need a 

 little help? to be sure after all they have suf- 

 fered and are suffering. We do not care to 

 argue this question. AVe are too much dis- 

 gusted with the big steal business to ever 

 consent to see the Government made a re- 

 sponsible party to any more schemes to enrich 

 corporations or individuals in any such way. 

 When the Government condemns all private 

 and incorporate railroad titles and itself be- 

 comes owner of them all, and runs them in 

 the economical interests of the people, it will 

 be soon enough to talk about building 

 another road. Until such time let cor- 

 porations calculate such business ou its own 

 merits and if it cannot rest on that, let it go 

 till such time as it can. The New York daily 

 Balklin contains an article on this subject 

 from which we extract the following facts : 



What is styled a "National Bailroad Con- 

 vention" is announced to meet in St. Louis 

 this month, to which members of Boards of 

 Trade and political bodies, as well as rail- 

 road officers, are invited. Though no pro- 

 gramme is given out, it requires only ordinary 

 discernment to see that the principal, if not 

 the only subject of deliberation, wiU be an 

 effort to commit that body to supporting Tom 

 Scott's Texas and Pacific Railroad subsidy 

 scheme, with Atlantic and Pacific connection 

 by way of St. Louis engrafted on it, which, it 

 is understood, is to be pressed upon Congres- 

 sional attention again this winter. Its pro- 

 moters affect to believe that this measure has 

 better chance of Congressional favor now 

 than then, owing partly to the presence of a 

 Democratic majority in the lower house, 

 many of them new men, and to an increased 

 pressvire lapon them from outside bodies, and 

 to certain amendments in the bill itself, de- 

 signed to reconcile the conflicting interests 

 and claims of the Southwestern cities. The 

 proposition, as we understand it, does not ask 

 for a direct issue of Govenment bonds — as 

 that would run counter to the public sense of 

 propriety and to an act of Congress expressly 

 prohibiting an increase of the public debt — 

 but calls for the Government guaranty or en- 

 dorsement of the Company bonds to an 

 amount averaging $40,000 per mile for the 

 1,450 miles between Fort Worth and San 

 Diego, and for 500 to 1,500 miles more for 

 branches leading to St. Louis, Cairo, Mem- 

 phis, Vicksburg, New Orleans, Galveston and 

 Indianola. In other words, it seeks to com- 

 mit the pubilc to an annual interest liabilty, 

 as endorser, for railroad construction pur- 



poses on something like $70,000,000 of paper 

 obligation for a series of years — probably viutil 

 the roads are able to earn the amount, viz: 

 $3,500,000 per annum, in gold. It is true, 

 that, as drawn, the biU does not call for an 

 abstraction of this amount semi-annually out 

 of the Treasury, but the amount of bonds per 

 mile is made enough at the outset to permit a 

 portion of them being withheld, and from the 

 sales of the same, as the interest on the re- 

 mainder accrues, it is to be paid, In plain 

 language, it is designed to borrow under this 

 public guarantee, in addition to its cost, to 

 pay the interest on its cost for a series years, 

 longer or shorter, as the case may be. This 

 bill is ingeniously drawn to avoid the numer- 

 ous objections which will rise up idl over the 

 country to any jDolicy of using public money 

 for the furtherance of private ends. That it 

 does, nevertheless, take from the Government 

 something of great value must be the fact, or 

 otherwise such tremendous exertions would 

 not be made to secure its adoption. 



IRRIGATION. 



This most vital of all subjects to the mate- 

 rial prosperity of California, is just now, as it 

 should be, occupying the earnest consideration 

 of some of the first minds in the State. 

 They could not be better employed. Without 

 water, many sections of our State, are, to all 

 intents and purposes, deserts. Not that they 

 are barren, sandy wastes, like the Saharas of 

 Africa. By no means; for when supplied 

 with water, either from the clouds or through 

 irrigating ditches, they are found to be the 

 most productive soils in the world. Water, 

 then, is the great desideratum, and water must 

 be had. 



It is our humble opinion, that the State, 

 through her Legislature, should inaugurate a 

 general system of irrigation. One of the 

 very first steps in this direction should be an 

 Act to condemn any and all waters in the 

 State suitable to the purpose. The next, the 

 appointment of a Board, whose duties should 

 be to take possession of all such streams, and 

 utilize them, through proper ditches, for the 

 irrigation of all lauds to which they could be 

 applied. Of course these ditches could not 

 be constructed all at once. The system would 

 be one which, commenced now, would reach 

 on down to future generations. It would 

 cost millions of dollars, and could be carried 

 out only in accordance with the financial abil- 

 ity of the State treasury. A reasonable tax 

 should be levied on those farmers who should 

 use the water, to cover interest ou the capital 

 expended, make repairs, and in course of 

 time reimburse the treaury for the original 

 outlay. In all other countries, Italy, Lom- 

 bardy, Spain and Mexico, where irrigation 

 has been used to a large extent, the system 

 has been a governmental measure. The 

 ditches have been constructed by the govern- 

 ment, and laws passed to regulate the distri- 

 bution of the water. These systems have 

 been successes, and we therefore advocate 

 them here. If left to private incorporations, 

 we believe it ^"ill be the fruitful source of liti- 

 gation, confusion and the usual amount of 

 extortion and dissatisfaction that attend all 

 such undertakings. 



Certainly some measure can be adopted 

 that wiU not embarrass the finances of the 

 State, backed up by the increased productive- 

 ness and wealth of the soil irrigated. The 

 results would be equally beneficial to all in- 

 dustrial interests, if correctly planned and 

 executed. As it now is, the people's hands 

 are tied in this matter. Farmers cannot and 

 dai'e uot take out water on their own account 

 in many instances, and co-operation among 

 individuals where interests are conflicting or 

 litigation is possible, is unsatisfactory, and 

 distrust very often forbids communities at- 

 tempting much in this matter. The State 

 could and should control all waters and ini- 

 gation for the general good. 



♦©♦ 



RETRACTION. 



Mr. J. P. lloss, ui Lomi}oc, writes to us 

 that he seriously regrets the iiublioation of 

 his private letter, wherein he spoke of Mrs. 

 Swantons death and of her husband's abuse, 

 etc. He says now that his informant exag- 

 gerated a mere rumor without foundation in 

 fact, and that be did not write "from his own 

 knowledge at all. He says he has investigated 

 the matter for himself and -'desires to justify 

 Mr. Swautun from the charges totally. This 

 is uot the first time that rumors have taken 

 wings as real facts. We blame our old friinl 

 Ross for stating as facts what he had no proof 

 of. Our only object in publishing the letter 

 (see ijage 109, September No.) was to show 

 the terrible demoralizing efl'ect of intoxicating 

 liquors when used immoderately, also to show 

 the fearful results arising from such abuses. 

 We also sympathized with the sufferers, and 

 with the temperance movement against those 

 who were instrumental in working such ruin. 

 We had the confidence in our correspondent 

 to believe his word without question. We 

 hope this will be a lesson for all of us to be 

 careful how we give attention to rumors, and, 

 above all, how we spread as trxiths what we 

 are not positive about. There is too much of 

 this thing done. Something maliciously, often 

 thoughtlessly and occasionally honestly. 

 Whatever the object an injustice is oftener. 

 than otherwise done somebody. On general 

 principles we are inclined to the opinion that 

 there is much less evil in the world among 

 people in respectable society than many appre- 

 hend. We know the Swantou family person- 

 ally to be respectable and well-meaning peo- 

 ple, and regret that any falsehood should 

 h.ave found its way into our journal, although 

 it reflected uot so much upon any one's honor, 

 as upon the liquor traffic itself; for every ov 

 knows that it is often the pettied promis 

 and ambitious ones who lose their self-controi 

 and become lost to highest feelings and duties 

 through iudulgence in alcoholic stimulants. 

 It has been truly said that no poison other 

 than alcohol will cause a man to abuse his 

 best friends. While we regi-et that we pub- 

 lished Boss' personal letter, we are rejoiced to 

 learn authoritively that Mr. Swanton is in- i 

 nooeut of the imputation the letter contained; 

 as to his treatment of his wife — their separa- 

 tion, etc., and iu justice to him and his laini- 

 ly, we gladly retract all that the letter nbovp 

 referred to contained about Mr. Swanton. 



