The whole line is a very favorable one, when its immense length is considered. More than one-half of it is practically level, while the mountain ranges are surmounted by grades not in any case exceeding those now worked upon some of our most successful roads." The description of the line of the Central Pacific, or western six hundred and sixty-seven miles, from Ogden to Sacramento, will not vary much from that given of the Union Pacific. It is not quite so favorable. Taking the character of the route as given, with the facilities for building the road, and it is not probable that the actual cost of construction averaged more than $30,000 per mile, or $57,000,000 for the whole line. Taking the highest rate, as given, viz: $50,000, and apply it to the whole road, the entire cost would be $94,000,000. To aid in the construction of this road, the government issued subsidy bonds at the rate of $48,000 per mile for three hundred miles, $32,000 per mile for nine hundred and four miles, and $16,000 per mile for the balance of the main road and branches. The funded debt of the companies owning and operating the road (not including the debts of the branches), after deducting the amount of bonds they received from the government, to-wit: $65,000,000, is, as shown by their own report, $93,000,000. How much their floating debt amounts to we cannot tell. The stock on their road cannot cover one-tenth of the amount of their debts. The companies report a paid up capital stock of $91,028,190. The statement of account would be about as follows:-- CREDIT ACCOUNT. Paid up capital $91,028,190 Bonds from government 65,000,000 Funded debt 93,000,000 ------------ Total invested $249,028,190 CONTRA. Actual cost of construction $94,000,000 ------------ Balance $155,028,190 Deduct, for 37,500,000 acres of land at $1.25 per acre 46,875,000 ------------ Balance against road $108,153,190 Thus, after placing the land received from the government to the credit of the road, still a small balance of more than $108,000,000 has disappeared, and the companies are not able to pay the interest on the government bonds. The reports of these companies show, for the year 1871, that the net earnings of their roads (over and above all expenses, including taxes, repairs, damages to property and persons, cost of snow sheds, and all other items of expense) amounted to about $9,000,000, and yet, because these companies asked it, congress released them from the payment of the interest on the subsidy bonds.