It thus appears that a gift of territory greater by about one-fifth than the entire area either of the German Empire or France, almost equal in size to the state of Texas or four times the New England states, has, at one time or another, been made in aid of railroad construction. The Federal grants equal about two-thirds of the area of the New England states, or, in other words, are about five times the size of the state of Massachusetts. A large proportion of the area of the newer commonwealths was offered as a bonus to railroads. Seven western states--including, for example, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin--gave away from a fifth to a quarter of their birthrights. Nebraska donated one-seventh, and California one-eighth. The Lone Star state discovered in 1882 that in her youthful ardor she had given away some 8,000,000 acres more than she possessed.[21] Shall it ever be said, in the face of such evidence, that these common carriers are private concerns, to be administered solely in the interest of holders of their securities? As concerns aid in the form of funds or credit, that is to say, through subscription to railroad stocks or bonds, it is hazardous to venture statistics, particularly for the separate states and municipalities. But the statement[22] of direct appropriations and subscriptions to securities on the next page is as reliable as any. The amount of municipal and local aid can only be a matter of guess work, even nominally, to say nothing of its real cash value. Including everything from the heavy investments of such cities as Baltimore ($3,500,000) or Cincinnati ($10,000,000) down to those of little places like Watertown, Wisconsin,[23] with its railroad debt of $750,000 on a population of 7,553 souls ($100 _per capita_), the total for local aid as above stated seems conservative enough. For Massachusetts alone no fewer than 171 town and city bond issues for railroad construction were authorized in the forty years to 1871. The municipalities in Wisconsin by 1874, despite its later settlement, issued about seven million dollars in bonds for similar purposes. As long as the state legislatures were free to appropriate moneys, they did so with a lavish hand; but when, as in Illinois in 1848, they were constitutionally prohibited from doing so, the enthusiasm shifted to the lesser governmental units. Forty-three counties in Nebraska, between 1869 and 1892, voted subsidy bonds to railroads to the amount of $4,918,000. In the case of towns and cities, also, it was possible to play off one against another. No ambitious community could stand idly by and see a new railroad go to a rival place. There was no option but to vote bonds. And farmers, as in Illinois, who had no cash, simply mortgaged their farms. It is clear that in the aggregate these local contributions greatly exceeded in amount those of the state and National governments. _Amounts granted to railroads_