Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

homes are dwelling heroes and patriots whose names shall never die.

But greatest among all these great developments were the character and fame of Abraham Lincoln, whose loss the nation still deplores. His character is aptly described in the words of England's great laureate-written thirty years ago-in which he traces the upward steps

of some

"Divinely gifted man,
Whose life in low estate began,,,
And on a simple village green;"

"Who breaks his birth's invidious bar,
And grasps the skirts of happy chance,
And breasts the blows of circumstance,
And grapples with his evil star;

"Who makes by force his merit known,
And lives to clutch the golden keys
To mold a mighty State's decrees,
And shape the whisper of the throne;

"And moring up from high to higher,
Becomes on Fortune's crowning slope,
The pillar of a people's hope,

The center of a world's desire."

Such a life and character will be treasured forever as the sacred possession of the American people and of mankind. In the great drama of the rebellion there were two acts. The first was the war with its battles and sieges, victories and defeats, its sufferings and tears. That act was closing one year ago to-night, and just as the curtain was lifting on the second and final act, the restoration of peace and liberty; just as the curtain was rising upon new characters and new events, the evil spirit of the rebellion, in the fury of despair, nerved and directed the hand of the assassin to strike down the chief character in both.

It was no one man who killed Abraham Lincoln; it was the embodied spirit of treason and slavery, inspired with fearful and despairing hate, that struck him down in the moment of the nation's supremest joy.

Ah! sir, there are times in the history of men and nations when they stand so near the veil that separates mortals from the immortals, time from eternity, and men from their God, that they can almost hear the beatings and feel the pulsations of the heart of the Infinite. Through such a time has this nation passed. When two hundred and fifty thousand brave spirits passed from the field of honor through that thin veil to the presence of God, and when at last its parting folds admitted the martyr President to the company of the dead heroes of the Republic, the nation stood so-near the veil that the whispers of God were heard by the children of

men.

Awe-stricken by His voice, the American people knelt in tearful reverence and made a solemn covenant with Him and with each other that this nation should be saved from its enemies, that all its glories should be restored, and on the ruins of slavery and treason the temples of freedom and justice should be built and should survive forever. It remains for us, consecrated by that great event, and under a Covenant with God, to keep that faith, to go forward in the great work until it shall be completed.

Following the lead of that great man and obeying the high behests of God, let us remem

ber that

[blocks in formation]

PETITIONS, ETC.

The following petitions, &c., were presented under the rule and referred to the appropriate committees: By Mr. BEAMAN: The petition of John S. Strong, and others, of Lenawee county, Michigan; also, the petition of James C. Watson, and 31 others, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; also, the petition of Professor E. Durand, and 32 others, of Chelsea, Washtenaw county, Michigan; also, the petition of John H. Burleson, Ad 12 others, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; also, the petition of B. C. Benson, and 35 others, of Jonesville, 39TH CONG. 1ST SESS.-No. 123.

Michigan; also, the petition of William Burt, and 45 others, of Detroit, Michigan; also, the petition of Hiram Walker, and 32 others, of Detroit; also, the petition of L. Black & Co., and 61 others, of Detroit; also, the petition of A. Shelley, and 112 others, of Detroit: also, the petition of R. Vernor, and 21 others, of Detroit; also, the petition of John L. Whiting, and 33 others, of Detroit, Michigan; all praying Congress to enact such just and equal laws for the regulation of inter-State insurances of all kinds as may be effectual in establishing the greatest security for the interests protected by policies and promotive of the greatest good and convenience to all concerned in such transactions.

Also, the petition of Ethel Judd, and 51 others, inhabitants of Hilisdale county, Michigan, praying for increase of duty on all unwashed foreign wool,

By Mr. DELANO: The petition of D. G. Weyth, county, Ohio, praying an increased duty on foreign wools for the benefit of wool-growers of this country.

and 100 others, citizens and wool-growers, of Licking

IN SENATE.

MONDAY, April 16, 1866.

Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. E. H. GRAY. The Secretary proceeded to read the Journal of Friday last.

Mr. ANTHONY. I think it is hardly necessary to read this record of pension bills; it is very long indeed; and I move that the further reading of the Journal be dispensed with.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. It requires unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the Journal. If there be no objection, it will be considered the sense of the Senate that the further reading be dispensed with.

PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

Mr. WILLIAMS. I present the memorial of the Oregon City Manufacturing Company, in which it is represented that that company is now engaged in the manufacture of woolen cloths, and is also engaged in the manufacture of ready-made clothing in its own mills out of the cloths of its own production, and it further represents that, by a decision of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the company is made liable to pay a tax, first, on the value of the cloth manufactured, and then upon the entire value of the ready-made clothing; and the memorial prays that the revenue law may be so modified that after the payment of the tax upon the value of the cloth, the company may be relieved from the payment of any tax except upon the increased value made by converting the cloth into clothing, as is the case in reference to fabrics made out of cotton cloths. I move that this memorial be referred to the Committee on Finance.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. HOWARD presented the memorial of Henry Miller and others, citizens of Detroit, Michigan, engaged in the manufacture of malt liquors, praying for a reduction of duties on foreign barley imported into the United States; which was referred to the Committee on Fi

nance.

Mr. HENDRICKS presented the memorial of Lieutenant Commander R. L. Law, praying to be restored to active duty in the Navy; which was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

He also presented a communication addressed to him, from James F. Miller, of Peru, Indiana, representing that frands have been perpetrated upon the Miami Indians of Indiana, growing out of a misapplication of the funds granted them by the treaty of June 5, 1854, and praying for an investigation of the matter; which was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Mr. COWAN presented a memorial of members of the bar of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and also a memorial of members of the bar of Venango county, Pennsylvania, praying that the salaries of the judges of the United States district courts may be increased; which were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

He also presented the petition of Alexander Young, John Gibson, and others, distillers and dealers in domestic spirits in the city of Philadelphia, in which they represent that the exaction of personal security for the payment of duties on spirits deposited in general bonded

warehouses is in effect a heavy tax on trade without any advantage to the revenue, and praying for a modification of the law so that they may be relieved from its payment; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

He also presented a petition of wool-growers, residing in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, praying for an increase of the duty on the importations of foreign wool into the United States; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. MORGAN. I present concurrent resolutions of the Legislature of New York, asking for the passage of an act of Congress appropriating the sum of $877,628 to pay the claims of the seventeen thousand two hundred and twenty-eight persons which have been audited and found due for clothing and other contingent expenses of the militia of the State of New York who served in the war of 1812, which clothing and other expenses were necessary and unavoidable in consequence of the inadequate compensation of eight dollars a month, without bounty or an allowance for clothing, provided by the act of Congress authorizing the President to call out the militia, by draft or otherwise, for a period not exceeding six months. They have also instructed their Senators and requested their Representatives to vote for the passage of such an act. I move that the resolutions be printed, and referred to the Committee on Claims.

The motion was agreed to.

Mr. DOOLITTLE presented a communication addressed to him, from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting estimates of appropriations required for fulfilling treaty stipulations with certain bands of Dakota or Sioux Indians, under treaties ratified by the Senate since the 1st of December last; which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

Mr. LANE, of Indiana, from the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, to whom was referred a joint resolution (H. R. No. 107) for the relief of Rev. Harrison Heermance, late regiment New York volunteers, reported it chaplain of the one hundred and twenty-eighth

without amendment.

[blocks in formation]

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred a joint resolution (H. R. No. 88) expressive of the thanks of Congress to Major General Winfield S. Hancock, reported it without amendment.

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred a bill (S. No. 262) to provide for the national defense by establishing a uniform militia and organizing an active volunteer militia force throughout the United States, reported it without amendment.

Mr. SPRAGUE, from the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. No. 472) for the relief of George R. Frank, late captain thirty-third regiment Wisconsin volunteerinfantry, reported it without amendment.

Mr. VAN WINKLE, from the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, to whom was referred the petition of Duncan G. MacRae, praying for compensation for services rendered in carrying the mail in North Carolina, asked to be discharged from its further consideration; which was agreed to.

AMERICAN REGISTERS TO VESSELS. On motion of Mr. CHANDLER, it was Ordered, That the amendments of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. No. 89) to issue American registers to the steam vessels Michigan and Dispatch and W. K. Muir, be referred to the Committee on Commerce.

BILLS INTRODUCED.

Mr. RAMSEY asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 266) to establish additional offices for the assay of gold and silver, and for other purposes; which was read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Finance, and ordered to be printed.

He also asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 64) for the appointment of a commission to consist of engineers of the Army upon the subject of the construction of railroad bridges across the Mississippi river; which was read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Commerce, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. STEWART asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a joint resolution (S. R. No. 65) for the discontinuance of New Orleans branch mint, and for the appropriation of the machinery thereof to the construction of the branch mint in Nevada; which was read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Finance, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. JOHNSON asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to introduce a bill (S. No. 267) authorizing the establishment of a navy-yard and a coal and naval depot at the harbor of Annapolis; which was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

APPROVAL OF BILLS.

A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. COOPER, his Secretary, announced that the President had approved and signed, on the 13th instant, the following act and joint resolutions:

An act (S. No. 199) to establish the collection district of Port Huron, the collection district of Michigan, the collection district of Montana and Idaho, and to change the name of the collection district of Penobscot;

A joint resolution (II. R. No. 44) authorizing Commodore William Radford to accept a decoration from the King of Italy;

A joint resolution (S. R. No. 53) authorizing Rear Admiral H. Paulding to accept a decoration from the King of Italy; and

A joint resolution (S. R. No. 58) respecting the burial of soldiers who died in the military service of the United States during the rebellion.

BILL RECOMMITTED.

Mr. KIRKWOOD. On Friday last, under the instruction of the Committee on Public Lands, I reported to the Senate the bill (H. R. No. 85) for the disposal of the public lands for homestead actual settlement in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, with amendments. Upon examining it since it has been printed I find that it will become necessary to refer it back to the Committee on Public Lands, and I make that motion.

The motion was agreed to.

ARMY REGISTER.

and may be sold to officers, soldiers, or citizens, at a price which shall not more than cover the actual cost of paper, printing, and binding; and shall not, in any case, exceed one dollar per volume.

I suppose it was the idea of the Senate when this resolution was passed that the roster could be printed in about one volume, but I find that it will take eight volumes, and to print an edition of twenty-five thousand copies of eight volumes will cost $200,000. I should think the probability of the Government being reimbursed by the sale of those copies of any considerable portion of the expense of publication is very doubtful indeed.

But that is not all. This resolution requires that the roster shall include "all informal organizations which have been recognized or accepted and paid by the United States." Now, I find in looking over this Register, that the first New Hampshire regiment, under Colonel Tapregiment, which marched through Baltimore pan, is not named; the sixth Massachusetts and drew the first blood of the rebellion, is not mentioned; and the eighth Massachusetts regiis not mentioned, Both those regiments rement, which opened the road from Annapolis, ceived the thanks of Congress; and yet in this roster, which was to include not only all the regiments in the service, but all the informal organizations, those regiments are not even named. I find also that the first Rhode Island regiment, which came by the way of Annapolis to the relief of Washington, with my colleague, then Governor of Rhode Island, at the head of it, under the command of Colonel Burnside, afterward a major general, and now Governorelect of Rhode Island, is not mentioned. I find also that the first, second, and third Connecticut regiments are not named. I do not think Congress would be willing to expend $200,000 to print that sort of a roster. I do not know that this can be prevented; but with regard to many regiments, instead of giving the official list of the battles in which the regiments bore an honorable part, I find this record:

"The official list of battles in which this regiment bore an honorable part is not yet published in or

ders."

I find that this paragraph applies to a third of the regiments. I think it is time that those were made known, if they are ever to be made known. I do not know but that the delay is unavoidable, but until those battles can be ascertained and placed at the head of each regiment, I think this publication had better be postponed.

This is a subject that belongs properly to the Committee on Military Affairs, and I hope they will give it their attention.

I wish to say further, that I think the publication of this document is needlessly expensive. The Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. WILSON] will find upon reading it over that there are a great number of blank pages in it.

The Superintendent of Public Printing submitted to me what I considered a much better form, and which would be much cheaper and much more convenient, but it did not seem Mr. ANTHONY. I offer the following res- to meet the approbation of those who are olution, and ask for its present consideration:engaged upon the work. I would not underResolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia be instructed to inquire whether the full Army Register now in course of publication has been compiled in accordance with the requirement of the joint resolution approved March 2, 1865, and what will be the cost of such publication.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.

Mr. ANTHONY. I wish to call the attention of the Committee on Military Affairs to this resolution. This roster was printed in pursuance of the joint resolution approved March 2, 1865, which directed the publication of "a full roster or roll of all general, field, line, and staff officers of volunteers who have been in the Army of the United States at any time since the beginning of the present rebellion, including all informal organizations which have been recognized or accepted and paid by the United States;" and the resolution also goes on to say:

And, to defray in whole or in part the expenses of this publication, an edition of twenty-five thousand copies of such enlarged Register shall be published,

take to decide between the two. I think the Committee on Military Affairs had better examine into the subject. The resolution was adopted.

CLAIM OF GEORGE M'DOugall. Mr. CONNESS. I offer the following resolution, and ask for its present consideration:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be requested to report on the claim of George MeDougall, heretofore referred to the Secretary of the Interior by a resolution of the Senate.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.

Mr. CONNESS. I will state, in explanation of the resolution, that it refers to a claim connected with Indian affairs in California. It was formerly referred by a resolution of the Senate, for report, to the Interior Department when that Department was presided over by Secretary Smith. No report was ever made; and the present Secretary desires that a new

call may be made upon him, if he is to be called upon to report upon it. The object is to get a report in order that it may be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs for examination. The claimant is now deceased, and the proceedings to be taken are in behalf of his widow.

The resolution was adopted.

SIOUX CITY BRANCH PACIFIC RAILROAD. Mr. HOWARD. I move to take up Senate bill No. 109.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill (S. No. 109) to rescind the order of the President designating the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company to construct the branch of the Union Pacific railroad from Sioux City.

As the President of the United States, on the 24th of December, 1864, designated the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company, a corporation of the State of Iowa, for the purpose of constructing and operating the branch of the Union Pacific railroad, authorized to be constructed by the seventeenth section of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, entitled "An act to amend an act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean," &c.; and as that company has filed a map in the Department of the Interior of the route over which it proposes to construct the branch road; and as the construction of the branch road upon the route proposed will be in violation of the true intent and meaning of the act of Congress, the bill proposes to amend the order of the President designating the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company to be the company authorized to build the branch railroad, under and in pursuance of the seven: teenth section of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, entitled "An act to amend an act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean."

Mr. HOWARD. This bill was reported to the Senate by the Committee on the Pacific Railroad several weeks since. The object of it is to set aside an order made by President Lincoln, dated the 24th of December, 1864, giving to the Sioux City Railroad Company the right to construct what is known as the Sioux City branch of the Pacific railroad. The order to which I refer is found in Document No. 14 of the Executive Documents of the present session. It is as follows:

Whereas the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company, a company organized under the laws of Iowa. has requested the President of the United States to designate said company "for the purpose of constructing and operating a line of railroad and telegraph from Sioux City to such point on, and so as to connect with, the Iowa branch of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, or the Union Pacific railroad, as such company may select:"

Therefore be it known, That by the authority conferred upon the President of the United States by the seventeenth section of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, entitled "An act to amend an act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean,'

&c.,

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby designate the said Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company for the purpose above mentoned. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

December 24, 1864.

That order, it will be observed. was dated the 24th of December, 1864. By the fourteenth section of the Pacific railroad act of 1862, the Union Pacific Railroad Company was bound to construct a branch from Sioux City, upon the most direct and practicable route, to a point on the Iowa branch or on the Pacific railroad, not further west than the one hundredth degree of longitude. It will be seen that this clause of the act of 1862 made it obligatory upon the Pacific Railroad Company to construct this Sioux City branch; but by the act of 1864, amendatory of the Pacific railroad act of 1862, the Union Pacific Railroad Comand the amendatory act provided as follows: pany was relieved of the obligation to build it;

"That whenever a line of railroad shall be completed through the State of Iowa or Minnesota to Sioux City, such company, now organized or as may

hereafter be organized under the laws of Iowa, Min-
nesota, Dakota, or Nebraska, as the President of the
United States, by its request, may designate or ap-
purpose, shall construct and operate
prove for that
aline of railroad telegraph from Sioux City, upon
the most direct and practicable route, to such a point
on, and so as to connect with, the Iowa branch of
the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, or the Union
Pacific railroad, as such company may select, and on
the same terms and conditions as are provided in
this act and the act to which this is.an amendment,
for the construction of the said Union and Pacific
railroad and telegraph line and branches; and said
ecmpany shall complete the same at the rate of fifty
miles per year."

Such was the amendatory act of 1864, but the amendatory act also adopted the principle of not allowing the Government bonds to issue on account of the road beyond the one hundredth degree of longitude. The company might extend its road further west, but it would not be entitled to the aid of bonds, but only of alternate sections of land on each side of it. That was the effect of the amendatory act of 1864 compared with the original act. The language of the amendatory act-I refer to the seventeenth section of that act, which I might, perhaps, as well read-is as follows:

"SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That so much of section fourteen of said act as relates to a branch from Sioux City be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows: that whenever a line of railroad shall be completed through the State of Iowa or Minnesota to Sioux City, such company, now organized, or as may hereafter be organized under the laws of Iowa, Minnesota, Dakota, or Nebraska, as the President of the United States, by its request, may designate or approve for that purpose, shall construct and operate a line of railroad and telegraph from Sioux City, upon the most direct and practicable route, to such a point on, and so as to connect with, the Iowa branch of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, or the Union Pacific railroad, as such company may select, and on the same terms and conditions as are provided in this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, for the construction of the said Union and Pacific railroad and telegraph line and branches, and said company shall complete the same at the rate of fifty miles per year: Provided, That said Union Pacific Railroad Company shall be, and is hereby, released from the construction of said branch. And said company constructing said branch shall not be entitled to receive in bonds an amount larger than the said Union Pacific Railroad Company would be entitled to receive if it had constructed the branch under this act and the act to which this is an amendment; but said company shall be entitled to reccive alternate sections of land for ten miles in width on each side of the same along the whole length of said branch: And provided further, That if a railroad should not be completed to Sioux City, across Iowa or Minnesota, within eighteen months from the date of this act, then said company designated by the President, as aforesaid, may commence, continue,and complete the construction of said branch as contemplated by the provisions of this act."

It was under that section that President Lincoln made the order designating the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company as the corporation to construct the Sioux City branch. According to the construction which I put upon the seventeenth section of the act of 1864, it was incompetent for the President to make an order designating any company for the construction of the Sioux City branch within the eighteen months which were allowed by this seventeenth section. Nor was it competent for him, as I understand the act, to designate any company for the construction of that branch until there should be a railroad running through either the State of Iowa or the State of Minnesota to Sioux City. The object of the Government was plain, to secure the construction of some railroad through Minnesota or Iowa to Sioux City, 80 as to form a connection at that point with the railroad system extending through Iowa, Manesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan, the purpose being, according to my view of the Statute and the policy of Congress at that time, westablish Sioux City as a kind of central point at which the railroad system of the northwestern States should form a connection with the Pacific railroad proper. Nevertheless, upon the application of certain gentlemen connected with the Sioux City Railroad Company, the President was induced to make what I regard as a premature order in the premises, giving this privilege to the Sioux City railroad at a period 80 early after the passage of the act as to cut off all fair and just competition between that Company and other companies for the construction of this road.

It will be observed also that the very lan

guage of the seventeenth section, from which
I have read, requires this route, whatever com-
pany may attempt to construct the road upon
it, to be on the most direct and practicable line.
The words are, 66 on the most direct and prac-
ticable route from Sioux City," to form a con-
nection either with the Iowa branch, the Omalia
branch, so called, of the Pacific railroad, or
with the Pacific railroad proper itself, in which
latter case the junction would have been at, or
west of, the one hundredth degree of west lon-nies
gitude.

The Sioux City company seem to have been
on the alert, and as early as June, 1865, about
six months after President Lincoln's order was
issued, they filed a map of the route which they
propose to follow through Sioux City westward
to form the junction upon the Iowa or Omaha
branch, with the line of the Union Pacific
Railroad Company. I hold in my hand the
map which was furnished the committee by
the Secretary of the Interior. The company
in laying down the route of their road com-
mence at Sioux City on the Missouri river.
Instead of proceeding to the west, however,
they proceed to the southeast. They run a
distance of about twenty miles nearly south-
east in the State of Iowa. After reaching the
most eastern point of their route, they proceed
to the south, and then to the southwest, cross-
ing the Missouri river, run thence almost in a
southwesterly direction, and terminate at the
little village of Frémont, in Nebraska Terri-
tory, between the Platte river and the head
waters of the Elkhorn river, a distance in the
whole of at least ninety-five miles, forming a sort
of ox-bow; proceeding first to the southeast,
then to the south, and then to the southwest;
and at Frémont they form a connection with the
Omaha branch of the Pacific railroad. When
they have reached Frémont, they have made a
westing from the point at which they started,
that is Sioux City, of not quite five miles; and
the traveler and his freight, in proceeding from
Sioux City to the Omaha branch, has been
obliged to go at least ninety-five miles in order
to proceed westward five miles. This circuit-
ous route makes twenty miles of easting into
Iowa, seventy-two miles of southing, and has
a length from Sioux City to Frémont of at
least ninety-five miles, as I have already re-
marked, and in running this distance they get
west of Sioux City only five miles; that is,
they run ninety-five miles in order to get for-
ward five miles!

There is another view of this subject, Mr.
President, which ought not to be omitted. The
Government, by the terms of the amended Pa-
cific railroad act of 1864, lends its credit to the
company, to the amount of $16,000 for each
mile, amounting for the whole of this distance,
calling the distance ninety-five miles-and
it is certainly, I think, greater than that—to
$1,520,000. Besides this, the company is to
get the land subsidy along the whole of this
ox-bow line of ninety-five miles at the rate of
twenty sections per mile, amounting in all to
nine hundred and fifty sections of land, or six
hundred and eight thousand acres, worth at
the mininum price $760,000.

The committee, after looking this whole sub-
ject over and discussing it at several meetings,
and after hearing men of experience acquainted ||
with that part of the country, who made their
statements on the subject, came to the con-
clusion that the better way was to set aside the
President's order of the 24th of December,
1864, and open this subject for competition
between any companies that may see fit to
compete for it. Of course, it does not belong
to me to pass any censure upon the Sioux City
and Pacific Railroad Company for adopting
this course, but I cannot omit to say that I
regard their conduct in selecting this circuit-
ous route through Iowa, thus increasing the
distance for persons connected with the north-
western railroads and northwestern transpor-
tation very considerably, as a plain departure
from the manifest intent and meaning of the
law of 1864, What the northwestern States
want particularly is as direct intercommunica-

[ocr errors]

tion with the Pacific railroad as is practicable; and they do not wish to be compelled, in traveling, or in the transportation of their freight and merchandise, to pass over a hundred miles distance upon a railroad which is entirely unnecessary so far as they are concerned; thus greatly increasing the expense of travel and transportation. The object of the bill is to set aside that order and open the whole subject for competition hereafter between the compathat may see fit to compete for the construction of this branch.

Mr. McDOUGALL. It is my impression that I was chairman of the Pacific Railroad Committee when Sioux City was made to have a connection with the Pacific railroad. I can say, as all who were then members of the Senate know, that Kansas and Iowa quarreled much. I was industrious (at least I thought I was industrious) to secure a communication from the valley of the Mississippi to my own coast, and not very particular about how it was done so that it was well done. The line from Sioux City was made a line of communication, but not as a main line. A branch was fought for by the extreme Northwest from St. Paul downward. I am not unconversant with the topography and geography of that part of the world; perhaps I am quite as familiar with it as the Senator from Michigan; perhaps a little more so; for I do not think he ever rode horses in that part of our land. It is only a line of communication to bring Minnesota and the extreme Northwest down into communication with the main line, so as to bring the main trunk at the one hundredth meridian in communication with the point stated in the bill. It never was intended as a direct line, but, upon a topographical investigation, a route from Sioux City to the one hundredth meridian was regarded as the best means to unite the main route with the northwestern railroad system. I think I have pursued the study of the possibilities of railroad lines between the Mississippi valley and my own coast with as much carefulness, I dare say with more carefulness, than any man I know.

Mr. HOWARD. I do not know that I understand the Senator from California very clearly; but if I do, I understand him to say that there has been some topographical report on the subject of this branch line. I have never seen any such report.

Mr. McDOUGALL. I will say to the Senator from Michigan that I had, when I first came into the House of Representatives, fifty manuscript maps of that part of the country, besides the surveys of the engineers of the Government-fifty that I had employed men to make and then I understood the country myself by my own personal cognition. I say that this branch was provided for simply to connect the Northwest, from Lake Superior down through Minnesota, and join it to the main line communicating with California. That proposition, when presented from the Northwest, met with my full approbation, I having carefully studied the subject. I think the Senator from Michigan, who is always careful, and to whose opinions I always listen with great respect, is a little mistaken, because he has not gone quite far enough west.

Mr. GRIMES. The Senator from Michigan is much more familiar with the statutes of the United States on the subject of the Pacific railroad than I am, but I must claim that I am a little more familiar with the topography of the country through which it is proposed to build this branch road than he is. The Senator from California has very correctly stated what was the purpose of Congress at the time this branch was provided for, and the Senator from Michigan has correctly stated what is the purpose of this bill, namely, to set aside the President's order, to violate, as I apprehend, the contract now existing between the Federal Government and the company that was designated by the President of the United States to build this road, and then to allow a competing line to construct a road up the valley of the Niobrara, a valley which every gentleman who ever passed through it, so far as I know, beginning with

M

Lieutenant Warren, will admit that it is impossible that a railroad can be built through. Mr. SUMNER. Why?

Mr. GRIMES. It cannot be built for the reason that there is no timber; it goes through what are called the bad lands. One half of the country or a large part of the country through it is what is known as the alkali land, sand-hills, as the Senator from Missouri [Mr. BROWN] correctly suggests, who has been through that country himself, I think-sand-hills on both sides that never will admit of any population; and to-day you have not got twenty-five hundred people in the whole Territory of Dakota through which it is proposed to build it; and if it were built, let me say it would require as a subsidy-and I think the gentlemen who are upon the Committee on the Pacific Railroad will confirm what I say $50,000,000 more than it would to build this road.

Mr. CONNESS. Allow me to make an inquiry as to the last expression of the Senator in comparing these two routes, so called. I desire to know what he means by "this road." Does he mean the designated route, the map of which is in the Interior Department?

Mr. GRIMES. The nearest practical route. Mr. CONNESS. I hope the Senator will address himself to that question.

Mr. GRIMES. I will. The seventeenth section of the act which was read by the Senator from Michigan does not in his estimation authorize the President of the United States to designate this company now before us to build this road. Let us look at that section. It reads as follows:

"That so much of section fourteen of said act as relates to a branch from Sioux City be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows: that whenever a line of railroad shall be completed through the State of Iowa or Minnesota to Sioux City, such company, now organized or as may hereafter be organized under the laws of Iowa, Minnesota, Dakota, or Nebraska, as the President of the United States, by its request, may designate or approve for that purpose, shall construct and operate a line of railroad and telegraph from Sioux City, upon the most direct and practicable route to such a point on, and so as to connect with, the Iowa branch of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, or the Union Pacific railroad, as such company may select, and on the same terms and conditions as are provided in this act and the act to which this is an amendment, for the construction of the said Union Pacific railroad and telegraph line and branches; and said company shall complete the same at the rate of fifty miles per year: Provided, That said Union Pacific Railroad Company shall be, and is hereby, released from the construction of said branch. And said company constructing said branch shall not be entitled to receive in bonds an amount larger than the said Union Pacific Railroad Company would be entitled to receive if it had constructed the branch under this act and the act to which this is an amendment; but said company shall be entitled to receive alternate sections of land for ten miles in width on each side of the same along the whole length of said branch: And provided further, That if a railroad should not be completed to Sioux City, across Iowa or Minnesota, within eighteen months from the date of this act, then said company designated by the President, as aforesaid "

The Senator infers that the President had not .any right until the expiration of those eighteen months to designate a company; but that is not the language of the act; that is not the tense in which this section is drawn.

"And provided further, That if a railroad should not be completed to Sioux City, across Iowa or Minnesota, within eighteen months from the date of this act, then said company designated by the President, as aforesaid, may commence, continue, and complete the construction of said branch as contemplated by the provisions of this act."

In accordance with the construction which the President of the United States put upon that law, and which I apprehend cannot be other than the correct construction, he made the following order:

Whereas the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company, a company organized under the laws of Iowa, has requested the President of the United States to designate said company "for the purpose of constructing and operating a line of railroad and telegraph from Sioux City to such point on, and so as to connect with, the Iowa branch of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, or the Union Pacific railroad, as such company may select:"

Therefore be it known, That by the authority conferred upon the President of the United States by the seventeenth section of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, entitled "An act to amend an act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean," &c., I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,

[blocks in formation]

Now, Mr. President, it seems to me that there is no power in Congress to go beyond that act of the President; that when he had performed his duty in designating the company under the law which should be authorized to build the road there was the end of the matter.

Mr. HENDRICKS. Will the Senator allow me to ask him one question, whether this company which has been designated by the President has made surveys and located the road. Has it made any investments?

Mr. GRIMES. Yes, sir. I say it seems to me, and I think the Senate must concur with me, that there was the end of the matter, and that there is no power in Congress to overthrow that contract, and that it is a manifest breach of public faith to attempt to do it. I undertake to say that gentlemen who are advocating this measure would not do it for themselves as private individuals in private transactions.

com

When that order was made by the President, designating the Pacific and Sioux City co pany as the proper corporation to construct this road, individuals were induced in different sections of the country to invest their money in the stock; surveys were made. I do not pretend to say that they have made the best survey and selected the best line that could have been selected. They thought it was the best one; but they have a corps of engineers this moment in the field attempting a better one.

Mr. HOWARD. Allow me to ask a question. On what route is this corps of engineers now engaged?

Mr. GRIMES. They are attempting to find a route by which they can build their road upon the nearest and most practicable way from Sioux City to strike the Union Pacific railroad. That is what they are trying to do. The Senator has alluded to the fact that this road from Sioux City runs in an easterly direction. It runs in an easterly direction from the simple fact-I think my colleague has been to Sioux City and knows the topography of that country that it is impossible to cross the Missouri river at Sioux City. There is a rise of the bluff on the opposite side of several hundred feet, so that it is necessary for them to cut through the bluff below Sioux City, and run in a southeasterly direction for a few miles until they strike the bottom of the Missouri river. Perhaps it is not known to the Senator from Michigan that the only place where the bluff comes to the Missouri river in the whole State of Iowa is at Sioux City.

On the oppo

site side are what are known as the black hills, extending down several miles, through which it would be just as impossible to ever construct a railroad that would be a paying road as it would be to construct one through the White mountains. But, Mr. President, it is not the purpose of the company that was incorporated under the laws of the State of Iowa to take

any advantage of the Government. They desire to build the road upon the nearest and most practicable route; and in order to show that such is their sentiment, and to test the sense of the gentlemen who are so anxious to set aside the order designating this company, I propose to amend the bill of the Senator from Michigan by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting the following as a substitute:

That the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company, designated by the President of the United States to construct the Sioux City branch of the Union Pacific railroad, shall construct said branch upon the best, most direct, and practicable route, subject to the approval of the President of the United States, and to be determined by him on actual survey without regard to the line designated upon the map placed on file by said company in the Department of the Interior.

It will be observed that the proposition I offer as a substitute for the bill advocated by the Senator from Michigan is that, without any regard to the survey to which he has alluded and the map which he has presented to the Senate, this road shall be built upon the nearest

and most practicable route, subject to the future approval of the President of the United States, instead of leaving it as it now is, according to the position of the Senator from Michigan, on the map which he has presented to us. We have, I believe, within a short time organized an engineer board, a kind of Pacific railroad department, at the head of which I think we have an engineer. These surveys will hereafter be referred to that officer, and I am content that the company shall be required to build the road according to the plans that shall be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and by his engineers and the President of the United States.

Mr. HOWARD. I differ from the Senator from Iowa as to the true construction of the seventeenth section of the act of 1884. According to his view, it was competent for the Pres ident at any time after the passage of that act to designate any company he might see fit for the construction of the Sioux City branch. It does seem to me that the simple reading of the statute is a full and complete answer to that position. It says that so much of section fourteen of the original act "as relates to the branch from Sioux City be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read," that "whenever a line of railroad shall be completed through lowa or Minnesota to Sioux City," the President shall have this power of designation; and afterward in a subsequent proviso the section declares that this State road shall be completed within eighteen months, and if it is not completed within eighteen months then the company that may be designated by the President of the United States may proceed to build this branch. If the language, "whenever a line of railroad shall be completed through the State of Iowa or Minnesota to Sioux City" does not imply until that act is done, until that condition is complied with by some company, I am unable to understand language. It is tantamount to declaring that after or upon the completion of a road to Sioux City through Minnesota or Iowa, the President may have power to desig nate a company to construct this branch; and that was manifestly the policy and intention of Congress at the time of passing the act; the object being to secure absolutely and beyond peradventure the construction of a road through Iowa or through Minnesota to Sioux City, so as to form a connection with the system of railroads that concentrate at Chicago, and for the benefit of the Northwest.

Mr. SUMNER. Do I understand my friend to say that President Lincoln transcended his power when he designated this company?

Mr. HOWARD. I think he did. I think it was an inadvertence on his part. He could do this only after the completion of a road through Iowa or Minnesota, and not before. He assumed to exercise the power of designation before the completion of any such road, and there is no such road in existence.

The Senator from Iowa seems to insist that rights have become vested in the Sioux City Railroad Company, and that we cannot now interfere with this order without a violation of vested rights. I do not so understand it. I know of no right which has accrued to that company. The company have never applied a single dollar in the way of constructing this railroad. They have not broken ground; they have not chopped down a tree; they have not laid a tie; they have not advanced a single dollar for the construction of the road.

Mr. McDOUGALL. The Senator will permit me to ask him a question. I believe I was earlier on that committee than the Senator from Michigan. I ask him whether he is not aware that the line designed to connect with Lake Superior by St. Paul and down to Sioux City, and thence to the one hundredth meridian, was not given a longer time for its construction than any other line because the country was new? Was it not understood that they would need more time to survey and find out appropriate routes? Then let me ask him further whether they have not been triangulating the whole thing from Cedar Falls down to the

junction with the main line at the one hundredth meridian. If they have not been doing so, I have been misinformed.

Mr. HOWARD. I have not the means of assuring the honorable Senator from California whether private companies have been engaged in that enterprise, but I think it is highly probable they have been.

Mr. McDOUGALL. I would ask him, then, whether the location of a road by excellent engineers is not the first term in the building of a road in a new country, and whether it is not one of the most expensive things.

Mr. HOWARD. I do not understand that the location of a road, by merely making surveys, constitutes any part of the building of the road.

Mr. McDOUGALL. I ask whether the location of a road in a new country is not of as much importance to the construction of the road as its grade or the putting on the track, when completed, of engines; whether it is not more important that the engineers should first locate a route.

the valley of the Niobrara it will be found that a railroad is entirely practicable upon that route. There has been, however, no very thorough exploration of the route from the head waters of the Niobrara river over to Fort Laramie. Still the committee were informed by a very intelligent gentleman who had repeatedly traveled over that part of the route between Laramie and the head waters of the Niobrara, that in his opinion a railroad was entirely prac ticable between these two points.

I beg to add, for the information of the Senate, that the Territorial Legislature of Dakota, in January, 1865, in a memorial which they addressed to Congress upon the subject, remonstrated very strongly against the construction of the road upon the ox-bow line which has been adopted in the map of the Sioux City Railroad Company. They use this language:

"We are also informed that there is some talk of a route down the valley of the Missouri river, to unite with the Central or Iowa branch of the Pacific railroad at or near the mouth of the Elkhorn, a tributary of the Platte river."

That is the route now under discussion.

Mr. HOWARD. I hardly think the Senator from California will insist on an elaborate answer to that question. The honorable Senator from Iowa states to the Senate that a route up the valley of the Niobrara river is impracticable and impossible on account of the want of timber and the general difficulty of the route. It is very true, as I have been informed, that a company has been formed in Dakota Territory that has in view a competition for the construction of this branch. Whether that company will proceed, in case it becomes designated under the act of 1864, to construct a road up the valley of the Niobrara, is more than I am able to say. I am not here as the advocate of the Niobrara route, but I must say that in my judgment the Senator from Iowa has been greatly misinformed as to the character of that route. If that route were adopted, the branch would commence at Sioux City, running up the valley of the Niobrara for a distance of about two hundred and sixty miles, and would then pass off toward the southwest and terminate probably at Fort Laramie, there forming a junction with the Union Pacific railroad proper. As to the character of this route I beg leave en passant to say that so far as I have been able two and a half degrees ad thing westwardly from

"Such a route would run about south from Sioux City for nearly one hundred and fifty miles. This would necessitate all the above roads [referring to the roads coming from Minnesota and Wisconsin and Illinois] to run at least two hundred miles out of the most direct route by the way of the Niobrara valley. That is to say, when the roads are completed it would necessitate the business on these four roads to travel at least two hundred miles further to reach the passes in the Rocky mountains than would be necessary should that Sioux City branch run up the Niobrara valley or by the way direct from Chicago. It needs no argument to prove that such a route would not be of any practical value or importance whatever to those roads. The only one that would in the slightest degree be benefited by such a diversion of that branch would be the aforesaid road via Dubuque, known as the Dubuque and Sioux City railroad. But we do most earnestly protest against a policy which would favor that or any other of these roads at the expense of all the others, as that supposed south route assuredly would."

The Legislature of Minnesota during the same winter also remonstrated against the adoption of this ox-bow route. They observe, in their preamble and resolutions:

"Whereas by several acts of Congress liberal grants of public lands have been made for the construction of a railroad from the head of Lake Superior southwesterly via St. Paul to a point on the western boundary of Iowa, at or near the parallel of fortyof latitude, intersecting

to acquire information on the subject, I am compelled to differ very widely from the opinion formed of it by the Senator from Iowa. I have read with a good deal of care a report made by a Mr. Sawyer in 1865 of his explora- all the others; and whereas the best interests of all

Winona, and another running up the valley of the Root river, in Minnesota, and one from McGregor, in Iowa, and connecting with the North or Sioux City branch of the Pacific railroad at the above point; that southwestern road operating as a main trunk to

tions for a wagon road up that valley, and from the head waters of the Niobrara to Virginia City, in Montana Territory. This exploration was made in the summer of 1865. Of course it will not be possible for me to read more than very short extracts from it. He started to make his explorations from Sioux City; he proceeded up the valley of the Niobrara a distance of two hundred and sixty-five miles, and then passed intention of the law creating that branch: Therefore,

of those roads, as well as of the country through which they run, and the whole region of country westwardly thereof, require and demand that that branch should run westwardly on the nearest, most direct, and most practicable route to unite with the main trunk in the neighborhood of Fort Lara.ie; and whereas a diversion of that branch from that route to the Platte valley route, thereby increasing very materially the distance, will be destructive of the best interests of those roads and the country through which they run, as also a palpable violation of the spirit and evident

а

off further to the northwest on his way to Virginia City, which was the terminus of his exploration, for the purpose of establishing the route of that wagon road. He says in his report:

[ocr errors]

"Accompanying the expedition were five emigrant teams and a private freight train of thirty-six wagons, coupled together so as to be drawn by eighteen teams of six yoke of oxen each, and heavily loaded, some teatns being loaded with sixty-four hundred pounds; and here permit me to say that the entire practicability of the route traveled over may be seen when I gate that not one of these wagons were uncoupled during the journey for the passage of any obstacle in ⚫ the road."

On reading the report you will be struck, sir, with this fact, that the valley of the Niobrara river, so far as he explored and examined it, is found to be well provided with timber, with water, and with grass. In a letter which Mr. Sawyer wrote only a short time since, remarking upon the character of that valley, he says:

"I should think from my observations and from those of my surveyors that a railroad might be constructed up the Niobrara to Laramie at a reasonable cost per mile; there is no range of mountains to cross, and the excavation and embankment would be about the same as upon roads in Iowa and Illinois."

I have no doubt that upon a more complete and thorough exploration of the country through

Resolved, That our Senators and Representatives in Congress be requested to use their best efforts and influence to secure the location of said branch west

wardly, as near as may be, along the parallel of forty

two and a half degrees of north latitude to a point of junction with the main trunk, and so as in the most effectual manner to promote the best interests of all those roads and of the country through which they pass.

[ocr errors]

Resolved, That they protest against and use their influence to prevent that branch from being diverted down the valley of the Missouri river to unite with the Platte valley route."

I have, I believe, presented to the Senate all the material facts connected with this bill. The committee had it under consideration at several meetings; they listened to the statements of many very intelligent gentlemen connected with these various routes; they examined the law as carefully as they were able, and they came to the conclusion that the best course to be adopted was to set aside the order of the President of December 24, 1864, and thus to leave the whole subject open to fair and honorable competition between the railroad companies that might see fit to compete for the privilege of constructing this branch.

The Senator from Iowa proposes to amend the bill; and if I understand the drift and pur

[ocr errors]

pose of his amendment, it simply proposes to set aside the map which has already been filed by the Sioux City company, to treat it as a nullity, and to authorize this company hereafter to construct this branch wherever they may see fit to construct it, by the approbation of the Presi dent, thus leaving in their hands the exclusive privilege of constructing the branch, and excluding all other companies from competition with it for that privilege.

Sir, I object to this. It is no remedy for the evils which at present exist. The statute of 1864, in and of itself at the present time, con; tains full authority to the President of the United States to designate this company or any other company that he may select for the purpose of building this branch. The Senator from Iowa tenaciously clings to the privilege which he seems to think has already been acquired by this company. I wish to disengage its grasp upon this privilege. Without intending to cast any reflection whatever on the character of the gentlemen connected with the company, I must repeat that I cannot but regard the route adopted by them, running, as it does, a circuitous route to the southeast, then to the south, then to the southwest, through a large portion of the State of Iowa, and terminating upon the Omaha branch at Frémont, thus advancing to the west only five miles at the utmost from the point of beginning, as a very plain departure, as an evasion of the plain intent and meaning of the statute of 1864; and for one I cannot consent that a company who has resorted to such a course shall continue to grasp the privilege it seeks to enjoy. I think we ought to unclasp that grip if it be possible.

Mr. CONNESS. I will not detain the Senate long in what I shall have to say on this subject, and will endeavor to make myself as well understood as possible. The subject-matter of this bill and the question to which it relates received more continuous consideration from the Pacific Railroad Committee of this body than perhaps any other single question that has ever been referred to that committee. Parties interested on both sides of the question were heard at many successive meetings. They were heard chiefly on the question of routes-the relative advantage of one route as against the others. This company that the President of the United States has designated, as has been stated by the Senator from Iowa, has been organized and issued stock and taken steps of that kind, a disturbance to which would lead to a great deal of injury to private parties. I wish to disabuse the mind of the Senate upon that point. This company is an organization of other railroad companies running through the State of Iowa, and perhaps Wisconsin and contiguous States. They organized together to construct this branch for the purpose of giving a western connection to all their roads with the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The act of 1864 has been read from. The seventeenth section of that act gives authority to the President to make the designation of a company for building this branch, and such authority is to be found nowhere else. I will read from it a very few lines; it provides that—

"Whenever a line of railroad shall be completed through the State of Iowa or Minnesota to Sioux City, such company, now organized or as may hereafter be organized under the laws of Iowa, Minnesota, Dakota, or Nebraska, as the President of the United States, by its request, may designate or approve for that purpose, shall construct and operato" this branch of the Pacific railroad. This act was passed in 1864, nearly two years since, but the connection predicated in this section has never yet been made. No line of railroad has yet reached Sioux City. I ask the Senator from Iowa whether I am correct in stating that no line of railroad has yet reached Sioux City from the east.

Mr. GRIMES. None, sir.

Mr. CONNESS. Very well. The Senator calls my attention to another provision in this section which I desire to read, for I wish it distinctly understood that I have no interest in this case; I sat in the committee as a juror and heard all that was said. The second proviso

« AnteriorContinuar »