Monopolies -- United States; Railroads and state -- United States
The donations we have already noticed are the "right of way;" the right
to take all building material within ten miles of the road, and the
grant of twenty sections of land per mile. But this is not all. Section
five of the act provides: "That for the purposes herein mentioned, the
secretary of the treasury shall, upon the certificate, in writing, of
said commissioners, of the completion and equipment of forty consecutive
miles of said railroad and telegraph line, in accordance with the
provisions of this act, issue to said company bonds of the United States
of one thousand dollars each, payable in thirty years after date,
bearing six per centum per annum interest (said interest payable
semi-annually) which interest may be paid in United States treasury
notes, or in any other money or currency which the United States have,
or shall, declare lawful money, and legal tender, to the amount of
sixteen of said bonds per mile; and to secure the repayment to the
United States, as hereinafter provided, of the amount of said bonds so
issued and delivered to said company, together with all interest thereon
which shall have been paid by the United States, the issue of said bonds
and delivery to the company shall _ipse facto_ constitute a first
mortgage on the whole line of the railroad and telegraph, together with
the rolling stock, fixtures, and property of every kind and description,
and in consideration of which said bonds may have been issued." As we
shall hereafter see, this section was amended by act of July 2d, 1864,
so as to allow the company to issue its own bonds to the same amount per
mile issued by the government, and to subrogate the government bonds to
those issued by the company, thus making the bonds issued by the company
the first mortgage bonds.
Section six provides for the transmission of messages by telegraph, and
the transportation of the mails, troops, munitions of war, supplies, and
public stores for the government, giving it the preference at all times,
"at fair and reasonable rates of compensation, and not to exceed the
amount paid by private parties for the same kind of service."
Section eleven reads as follows:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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