ROUTE NEAR THE THIRTY-SECOND PARALLEL. 
101 
The cost to the road for freight will be about $60 per ton. The cost of transporting ordnance 
and ordnance stores by Cape Horn has been about $40 per ton. 
The cost of transporting military stores to the posts of New Mexico from Fort Leavenworth varies 
from $8 to $14 per 100 pounds, or from $160 to $180 per ton. By the railroad it would cost from 
Fulton from $24 to $30 per ton. The cost of transporting baggage and subsistence of troops march¬ 
ing from Fort Leavenworth to New Mexico is about $15 per man; the time consumed about three 
months—the expense of the soldier during that time being from $17 to $20 per month, or $60; the 
cost of transportation by railroad in three days would be $50, or cost to the road from $24 to $30. 
The question as to what portion of the trade between the United States and Europe, on the 
one side, and the empires of Japan, China, and India, on the other, together with the islands of 
the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the South American Pacific States, of the trade between our 
Atlantic and Pacific territories, and of our whale fisheries, amounting probably to $300,000,000 
yearly, would be carried by the railroad from the Pacific to the Mississippi, has been so often 
discussed, that it is not necessary here to enter upon it. The cost of carriage of some articles 
has been merely touched upon to give an idea of the value of the road for military purposes. 
The information respecting the former and present cost of transportation of troops and military 
stores has been obtained from the letter of Major General Jesup, Quartermaster General of the 
army, to the War Department. 
Whether the saving of interest on outlay of capital in trade by shortening the time of passage 
would be sufficient to divert a large freight business to the Pacific railroad in the most valuable 
articles of the trade with Asia, those more familiar with commerce than I am can determine. 
The length of the road from Fulton to San Francisco may be put down at 2,000 miles; its cost 
at $90,000,000; its yearly earnings at $17,000,000, independent of any considerations connected 
with the trade of Asia, the islands of the Pacific, South America, or the whale trade. 
The railroads of Massachusetts are 1,280 miles in length; have cost $60,000,000, and earn 
yearly $7,713,20S. The yearly expense of working them is $4,541,468; their net earnings 
$3,211,198. 
If the earnings of the Pacific railroad should be in proportion to the Massachusetts roads for 
oullay ©f capital, we should have $13,000,000 instead of $17,000,000. 
But, as the equipment of the Pacific road for this business, yielding $17,000,000 yearly, is 
merely one-fifth that of the Massachusetts roads, the expense of working the road would be 
nearly in that proportion; but, as we have supposed it to be worked at double the proportionate 
cost of eastern railroads, (east of the Mississippi,) we have now the proportion of two-fifths, or 
about one-half the actual cost per mile of working the Massachusetts roads, for the probable cost 
per mile of working the Pacific railroad; the equipment in the latter case being one-fifth of what 
it is in the former. And, by this proportion, the yearly expense of working the Pacific railroad 
would be about $4,000,000, leaving $13,000,000 for the net earnings. This supposes 100,000 
passengers yearly to and from California. Should the present number, 50,000, not increase, 
the yearly earnings of the road, supposing it to carry all, would be, under the suppositions 
expressed in the preceding page, about $10,t 00,000, leaving $6,000,000 for net earnings. 
1. On the New York railroads, in 1853, the average cost for maintenance of way was— 
For passengers... $455 per mile of road. 
For freight... 323 “ “ 
Total, about 
778 “ “ 
2. The average cost of repair of machinery for each passenger carried one mile 
was... 
The average cost of repairs of machinery for each ton of freight carried one 
mile was.......,. 
2.11 mills. 
U 
2.60 
