Untitled Page 3

MARCH 24, 1888. THE ARGONAUT. 3

[Rail]way, the possibilities of that were demonstrated. It opened up the development of a country greater in extent than that conquered by Cæsar in Europe, and all at a very small expense, so small that, from the time of the completion of the road in 1869 up to 1876, at which time the contract required that the road should be completed, the government saved during that time more money than it had loaned the company, the road being completed seven years ahead of the contract time.

I do not take into consideration, at all, what the government saved by the building of the road as regards the stopping of Indian wars. I do not say anything about that. I am speaking simply of the transportation of the government and the amount saved, according to the government's own reports.

All this is in the testimony, proven clearly and indisputably. The Pacific Railroad Commission has published all that testimony, and have submitted it to you; not only has the government made this important saving, but practically, the whole country was developed by the building of the road, and the advantages in that way to the government can not be fully estimated. The construction of this road also demonstrated the possibility of constructing other railroads across the continent. Before this road was built it was generally supposed there was no coal along its line. Geologists had stated that the country was one where coal could not be expected to be found, and that was supposed to be one of the difficulties in operating the road. I don't know that, today, except for the discovery of coal along the line, the road could be maintained for commercial purposes; but the discovery of these coal-beds helped the road at once. Large beds of coal were developed upon the line of the Union Pacific, which made the operation of the road practicable, and permitted great profits, and the road was a success. It was earning money largely, and could have paid off the government loan without difficulty had not its business been diverted; but, as soon as there was a competing line of railroad, it not only divided the business, but rates were reduced. The value of the road through this barren country, without competition, was such that the company could fix substantially its own rates, according to its own judgment of what it should charge to transact business.

Senator Davis - What competing line do you refer to?

Mr. Stanford - The first competing line was the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé, which connected with the Southern Pacific Road at Deming. As soon as that was done, there was a competing line which divided the business and cut down the rates. Then the Northern Pacific Road was built, and the Short Line of the Union Pacific Company up into Idaho and Montana toward Oregon, that took from the Central Pacific Railway a very large portion of its business, because that road ran from the East. Most of the supplies of that country came from the East originally, but before that time they were bought at San Francisco, and then had to be carried back on our line into Idaho, Montana, Washington Territory, and Oregon. There are now, perhaps, seven thousand people, all of whom, when we commenced building, we expected to supply, and did supply for a time, but the construction by the Union Pacific Railroad of that line, brought supplies for all that section of the country from the East, and the Central Pacific Road was cut off from that source of revenue.