ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC RAILROAD
COMPANY.
AN" ACT
Granting Lands to aid in the construction of a Railroad
and Telegraph line from the States of Missouri and
Arkansas to the Pacific Ocean.
Passed at the Pirst Session of the Thirty-ninth Congress.
Ibfo-götk :
STOCKHOLDER JOB PRINTING OFFICE,
72 Williarri Street.
1866.
[Passed at the Pirst Session of the Thirty-ninth Congress.]
AN ACT
Granting Lands to. aid in the construction of a Railroad and
Telegraph line from the States of Missouri and
Arkansas to the Pacific Ocean.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That John.
B. Brown, Anson P. Morrill, Samuel F. Hersey, William G.
Crosby, Samuel E. Spring, Samuel P. Dinsmore, of Maine; N.
S. Upham, Frederick Smyth, Onslow Stearns, S. G. Griffin, Wil¬
liam E. Chandler, of New Hampshire; T. W. Parke, H. H. Bax¬
ter, John Gregory Smith, A. P. Lyman, of Vermont ; Walter S.
Burges, William S. Slater, Stephen Harris, Thomas P. Shepard,
of Rhode Island; Willaim Merritt, Alexander H. Bullock,
George I. Stearns, Genery Twitchell, Charles H. Warren, Ches¬
ter W. Chapin, of Massachusetts; John Bóyd, Robert C. Wet-
more, John T. Wait, Cyrus North op, of Connecticut; Solon
Humphreys, J. Bigler, Homer Ramsdell, lsàac II. Knox, John
A. C. Gray, Daniel L. Ross, A. V. Stout, M. K. Jessup, R. E.
Fenton, E. L. Fancher, J. C. Fremont, James Hoy, Jesse M.
Bolles, Edward Gilbert, James P. Robinson, Oliver Ç. Billings,
of New York ; Charles Bachelor, John Edgar Thompson, Morton
McMichael, T. Haskins Du Puy, Thomas A. Scott, Charles Rick-
ettson, William Lyon, George W. Cass, Levi Parsons, of Penn¬
sylvania; Charles Knap, J. L. N. Stratton, James B. Dayton,
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Robert P. Stockton, Alexander G. Cattell, A. W. Markley, of New
Jersey; John W, Garrett, Charles J. hi. Gwirin, Robert Fowler,
Jacob Tome, Thomas M'Lanahan, of Maryland; Charles J. Du¬
pont, Henry Ridgley, Andrew C. Gray, Nat. Smythers, of Dela¬
ware ; Bellamy Storer, George B. Scnter, William Baker, Samuel
Galloway, David Tod, Charles Anderson, Bird B. Chapman,
Edward Sturgis, Israel Dille, of Ohio ; Edwin Peck, William D.
Griswold, James P. Luse, Samuel E. Perkins, Conrad Baker, of
Indiana; Richard J. Oglesby, N. B. Judd, Samuel A. Buckmas-
ter, D. L. Phillips, L. P. Sanger, of Illinois; Eber B. Ward,
Omar D. Cougar, Nathaniel W. Brooks, Alexander H. Morrison,
of Michigan; Z. G. Simmons, Alexander Mitchel, J. J. Williams,
G. A. Thompson, J. J. R. Pease, John II. Hersey, of Wisconsin;
Henry A. Smith, Sherman Finch, William Mitchell, R. F. Crowell,
L. F. Hubbard, E. F. Drake, of Minnesota; Lyman Cook, Piatt
Smith, Jacob Butler, Henry I. Reid, Hoyt Sherman, of Iowa;
William G. Brownlow, of Tennessee; Thomas C. Fletcher, B. R.
. Bonner, John M. Richardson, Emil Pretorious, E. W. Fox, R. J.
McElheny, Charles H. Rowland,. Madison Miller, George W.
Fishback, T. J. Hubbard, George Knapp, Charles K. Dickson,
A. G. Braun, G. L. Hewitt, P. A. Thompson, James W. Thomas,
Charles E. Moss, Edward Walsh, A. R. Easton, Truman J.
Horner, J. B. Eads, D. R. Garrison, W. A. Ivayser, George P.
Robinson, of Missouri ; Thomas E. Bramlette, Benjamin Grats,
C. E. Warren, Lazarus W. Powell, John Mason Brown, Joshua
Speed, of Kentucky ; Solon O. Thatcher, Jacob Stotler, William
B. Edwards, James G. Blunt, Robert McBratney, of Kansas;
Harrison Hagaus, James Cook, Robert Crangle, Benjamin II.
Smith, of West Virginia ; Lorenzo Sherwood, A. J. Hamilton,
of Texas ; William. Gilpin, Henry C. Leach, of Colorado ; Phin-
eas Banning, Timothy G. Phelps, William B. Carr, Edward F.
Beale, Fred. F. Lowe, Benj. B. Redding, B. W. Hathaway,
Frederick Billings, Leonidas Haskell, of California ; W. S. Ladd,
J. R. Moores, Walter Monteith, John Kelly, B. F. Do well, of
Oregon; James L. Johnson, Henry Connelly, Franciscas Perea,
of New Mexico; J. II. Mills, A. P. K. Saffprd, E. S. Davis, of
Nevada; King S. Woolsey, William II. Hardy, Coles Bashford,
of Arizona; Henry D. Cooke, of the District of Columbia; and
all such other persons who shall or may be associated with them,
and their successors, are hereby created and erected into a body ,
• corporate and politic, in deed and in Lw, by the name, style, and
title of the " Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company," and by
that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall be able to
5 :
sue and bè sued, plead and be impleaded," defend "and be defend'''"
ed, in all courts of law and equity within the United States, and :
may make and have a common seal. And said corporation.is *
hereby, authorized and empowered to lay out, locate, and com
struct, furnish, maintain, and enjoy a continuous railroad and :
telegraph line, with the appurtenances, namely : Beginning 1
at or near the town of Springfield, in the State of Missouri,
thence to the western boundary line of said State, and thence'by'-
the most eligible railroad route as shall be determined by
said company to a point on the Canadian river, thence to the
town of Albuquerque, on the River Del Norte, and thence by
way of the Agua Frio, or other suitable pass, to the headwaters .
of the Colorado Chiquito, and thence, along the thirty-fifth par-'
allel of latitude, as near as may be found most suitable for a rail¬
way route to the Colorado river, at such point as may be selected
by said company for crossing ; thence by the most practicable
and eligible route to the Pacific. The said company shall havet
the right to construct a branch from the point at which their road
strikes the Canadian river eastwardly, along the most suitable
route as selected, to a point in the western boundary line of Ar¬
kansas, at or near the town of V an Buren. And the said compa¬
ny is hereby vested with all the powers, privileges, and immuni¬
ties necessary to car-ry into eifect the purposes of this act, as
herein set forth. The capital stock of said company shall con¬
sist of one million shares of one hundred dollars each, which
shall in all respects be deemed personal property, and shall be
transferable in such manner as the laws of said corporation shall
provide. The persons hereinbefore named are hereby appointed
commissioners, and shall be called the board of commissioners of
the " Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company," and fifteen shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The first
meeting of said board of commissioners shall be held at the
c f
Turner Hall, in the city of Saint Louis, on the first day of Octo¬
ber, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-six, or at such time
within three months thereafter as any ten commissioners herein
named from Missouri shall appoint, notice of which shall be
given by them to the other commissioners by publishing said no¬
tice in at least one daily newspaper in the cities of Boston, New-
Yoi-k, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, Memphis, and Nashville, once a
week, for at least four weeks previous to the day of meeting.
Said board shall organize by the choice from its number of a
president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, and they shall
require from said treasurer such bonds as may be deemed proper,
6 *"
and may from time to time increase the amount thereof, as they
may deem proper. The secretary shall he sworn to the faithful
performance of his duties, and such oath shall be entered upon
the records of the company, signed by him, and the oath verified
thereon. The president and secretary of said boards shall, in
like manner, call all other meetings, naming the time and place
thereof. It shall be the duty of said board of commissioners to
open books, or cause books to be opened, at such times and in
such principal cities or other places in the United States as they
or a quorum of them shall determine, within twelve months after
the passage of this act, to receive subscriptions to the capital
stock of said corporation, and a cash payment of ten per centum
on all subscriptions, and to receipt therefor. So soon as .ten
thousand shares shall in good faith be subscribed for, and ten
dollars per share actually paid into the treasury of the company,
the said president and secretary of said board of commissioners
shall appoint a time and place for the first meeting of the sub¬
scribers to the stock of said company, and shall give notice
thereof in at least one newspaper in each State in which subscrip¬
tion books have been opened, at least fifteen days previous to
the day of meeting, and such subscribers as shall attend the
meeting so called, either in person or by lawful proxy, then and
there shall elect, by ballot, thirteen directors for said corpora¬
tion ; and in such election each share of said capital stock shall
entitle the owner thereof to one vote. The president and secre-
•tary of the board of commissioners, and in case of their absence
or inability any two of the ofiicers of said board shall act as in¬
spectors of said election, and shall certify, under their hands, the
names of the directors elected at said meeting. And the said
commissioners, treasurer, and secretary shall then deliver over to
said directors all the moneys, properties, subscription books, and
other books in their possession, and thereupon the duties of said
commissioners and the ofiicers previously appointed by them
shall cease and determine forever, and thereafter the stockholders
shall constitute said body politic and corporate. Annual meet¬
ings of the stockholders of the said corporation for the choice of
officers, (when they are to be chosen,) and for the transaction of
business, shall be holden at such time and place and upon such
notice as may be prescribed in the by-laws.
Sec. 2. And be it farther enacted, That the right of way
through the public lands be, and the same is hereby, granted to
the said Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company, its successors
and assigns, for the construction of a railroad and telegraph as
T
proposed ; and thé right, power, and authority is hereby given
to said corporation to take from the public lands adjacent to the
line of said road material of earth, stone, timber, and so forth,
for the construction thereof. Said way is granted to said rail¬
road to the extent of one hundred feet in width on each side of
said railroad where it may pass through the public domain, in¬
cluding all necessary grounds for station buildings, workshops,
depots, machine shops, switches, side-tracks, turn-tables, and
water stations ; and the right of way shall be exempt from tax-
.ation within the territories of the United States. The United
States shall extinguish, as rapidly as may be consistent with
public policy and the welfare of the Indians, and only by their
voluntary cession, the Indian title to all lands falling under the
operation of this act and acquired in the donation to the road
named in the act. -
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That there be, and hereby is
granted to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company, its suc¬
cessors and assigns, for the purpose of aiding in the construction
of said railroad and telegraph line to the Pacific coast, and to se¬
cure the safe and speedy transportation of the mails, troops, mu¬
nitions of war, and public stores, over the route of said line of
railway and its branches, every alternate section of public land,
not mineral, designated by odd numbers, to the amount of twen¬
ty alternate sections per mile, 011 each side of said railroad line,
as said company may adopt, through the Territories of the
United States, and ten alternate sections of land per mile on each
side of said railroad whenever it "passes through any State, and
whenever, 011 the line thereof, the United States have full title,
,not reseived, sold, granted, or otherwise appropriated, and free
from pre-emption or other claims or rights, at the time the. liné
of said road is designated by a plat thereof, filed in the office of
the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and whenever,
prior to said time, any of said sections or parts of sections shall
have been granted, sold, reserved, occupied by homestead set¬
tlers, or pre-empted, or otherwise disposed of, other lands shall
be selected by said company in lieu thereof, under the direction
of the Secretary of the Interior, in alternate sections, and desig¬
nated by odd numbers, not more than ten miles beyond the lim¬
its of said alternate sections, and not including the reserved
numbers : Provided, That if said route shall be found upon the
line of any other railroad route, to aid in the construction of
which lands have been heretofore granted by the United States,
as far as the routes are upon the same general line, the amount
8
of land- heretofore granted shall he deducted from the amount
granted by this act : Provided further, That the railroad com?
pany receiving the previous grant of land may assign their in¬
terest to said " Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company," 01* may
consolidate, confederate, and associate with said compnay upon
the terms named in the first and seventeenth sections of this act,
Provided further, That all mineral lands be, and the same are
hereby, excluded from the operations of this act, and in lieu
thereof a like quantity of unoccupied and unappropriated agri¬
cultural lands in odd-numbered sections nearest to the line of said,
road, and within twenty miles thereof, may be selected as above
provided : And provided f urther, That the word " mineral,"
when it occurs in this act, shall not be held to include iron or
coal: And provided further, That no money shall be drawn
from the treasury of the United States to aid in the construction
of the said "Atlantic and Pacific Railroad."
Sec. 4. And he it further enacted, That whenever said Atlan¬
tic and Pacific Railroad .Company shall have twenty-five consecu¬
tive miles of any portion of said railroad and telegraph line ready
for the service contemplated, the President of the United States
shall appoint three commissioners to examine the same, who shall
be paid a reasonable compensation for their services by the com¬
pany, to be determined by the Secretary of the Interior ; and if
it shall appear that twenty-fi ve consecutive miles of said road and
telegraph line have been completed in a good, substantial and
workmanlike manner, as in all other respects required by this act,
the commissioners shall so report under oath, to the President of
the United States, and patents of lands, as aforesaid, shall be
issued to said company, confirming to said company the right
and title to said lands situated opposite to and coterminous with
said completed section of said road. And from time to time,
"whenever twenty-five additional consecutive miles shall have
been constructed, completed, and in readiness as aforesaid, and'
verified by said commissioners to the President of the United
States, then patents shall be issued to said company conveying
the additional sections of land as aforesaid, and so 011 as fast as
every twenty-five miles of said road is completed as aforesaid.
Seo. 5. And he it further enacted, That said Atlantic and Pa¬
cific railroad shall be constructed in a substantial and workman¬
like manner, with all the necessary draws, culverts, bridges, via-.
ducts, crossings, turnouts, stations, and watering places, and all
other appurtenances, including furniture and rolling stock, equal
in all respects to railroads of the first elasâ when prepared for
9
business, with rails of the best quality, manufactured from Ameri¬
can iron. And a uniform gauge shall be established throughout
the entire length of the road. And there shall be constructed a
telegraph line, of the most substantial and approved déscription,
to be operated along the entire line : Provided', That the said
company shall not charge the government higher rates than they
do individuals for like transportation and telegraphic service.
And it shall be the duty of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
Company to permit any other railroad which shall be authorized
to be built by the United States, or by the legislature of any Ter¬
ritory or State in which the same may be situated, to form running
connections with it, on fair and equitable terms.
Sec. 6. And be it farther enacted, That the President of the
United States shall cause the lands to be surveyed for forty miles
in width on both sides of the entire line of said road after the
general route shall be fixed, and as fast as may be required by
the construction of said railroad ; and the odd sections of land
hereby granted shall not be liable to sale or entry, or pre-emption,
before or after they are surveyed, except by said company, as pro¬
vided in this act ; but the provisions of the act of September,
eighteen hundred and forty-one, granting pre-emption rights, and
the act amendatory thereof, and of the act entitled " An act to
secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," ap¬
proved May twenty, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, shall be,
and the same are hereby, extended to all other lands on the line
of said road when surveyed, excepting those hereby granted to
said company.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said Atlantic and
Pacific Railroad Company be, and is hereby, authorized and em¬
powered to enter upon, purchase, take, and hold any land or pre¬
mises that may be necessary and proper for the construction and
working of said road, not exceeding in width one hundred feet on
O 7 O
each side of the line of its railroad, unless a greater width be re¬
quired for the purpose of excavation or embankment ; and also
any lands or premises that may be necessary and proper for turn¬
outs, standing places for cars, depots, station-houses, or any other
structures required in the construction and working of said road.
And the said company shall have the right to cut and remove
trees and other material that might, by falling, encumber its
road-bed, though standing or being more than twro hundred feet
from the line of said road. And in case the owner of such lands
or premises and the said company cannot agree as to the value of
the premises taken, or to be taken, for the use of said road, the
1p
value thereof shall he determined by the appraisal of three dis¬
interested commissioners, who may be appointed upon applica¬
tion by either party to any court of record in any of the Terri¬
tories which the lands or premises to be taken lie ; and äaid
commissioners, in their assessment of damages, shall appraise such
premises at what would have been the value thereof if the road
had not been built. And upon return into court of such ap¬
praisement, and upon the payment into the same of the estimated
value of the premises taken for the use and benefit of the owner
thereof, said premises shall be deemed to be taken by said com¬
pany, which shall thereby acquire full title to the same for the
purposes aforesaid. And either party feeling aggrieved at said
appraisement may, within thirty clays after the same has been re¬
turned into court, file an appeal therefrom, and demand a jury of
twelve men to estimate the damage sustained ; but such appeal
shall not interfere with the rights of said company to enter upon
the premises taken, or to do any act necessary and proper in the
construction of its road. And said party appealing shall give
bonds, with sufficient surety or sureties, for the payment of any
cost that may arise upon such appeal ; and in case the party ap¬
pealing does not obtain a verdict more favorable, such party
shall pay the whole cost incurred by the appellee, as well as his
own, and the payment into court, for the use of the owner of said
premises taken, at a sum equal to that finally awarded, shall be
held to vest in said company the title of said land, and of the
' right to use and occupy the same for the construction, mainten¬
ance, and operation of said road. And in case any of the lands
to be taken as aforesaid shall be held by an infant, feme covert,
non compos, insane person, or persons residing without the Terri¬
tory within which the lands to be taken lie, or persons subjected
to any legal disability, the court may appoint a guardian, for any
party under any disqualification, to appear in proper person, who
shall give bonds, with sufficient surety or sureties, for the proper
and faithful execution of his trust, and who may represent in
court the person disqualified, as aforesaid, from appearing, when
the same proceedings shall be bad in reference to the appraise¬
ment of the premises to be taken for the-use of said company,
and with the same effect as lias been already described ; and the
title of the company to the lands taken by virtue of this act shall
not be affected or impaired by reason of any failure by any guarr
dian to discharge faithfully his trust. And in case any party
shall have a right or claim to any land for a term of years, or any
interest therein, in possession, reversion, or remainder, the value
11*
of any such estate, less than a fee simple, shall he estimated and
determined in the manner hereinbefore set forth. And in case it
shall he necessary for the company to enter upon any lands which
are unoccupied, and of which there is no apparent owner or
claimant, it may proceed to take and use the same for the pur¬
poses of said railroad, and may institute proceedings, in manner
described, for the purpose of ascertaining the value of, and of
acquiring a title to, the same; hut the judge of the court hearing
said suit shall determine the kinds of notice to he served on such
owner or owners, and he may in his discretion appoint an agent
or guardian to represent such owner or owners in case of his or
their incapacity or non-appearance. But in case no claimant
shall appear within six years from the time of the opening of
said road across any land, all claims to damages against said
company shall he barred.
Sec. 8. And be it further ¿enacted, That each and every grant,
right, and privilege herein are so made and given to and accpted
by said Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company, upon and sub-<
ject to the following conditions, namely: That the said company
shall commence the work 011 said road within two years from the
approval of this act by the President, and shall complete not less
than fifty miles per year after the second year, and shall construct,
equip, furnish, and complete the main line of the whole road by
the fourth-day of July, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sev¬
enty-eight.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the United States
make the several conditional grants herein, and that the said
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company accept the same, upon
the further condition that if the said company make any breach
of the conditions hereof, and allow the same to continue for up¬
wards of one year, then, in such case, at any time hereafter, the
United States may do any and all acts and things which may be
needful and necessary to insure a speedy completion of the said
road.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all people of the
United States shall have the right to subscribe to the stock of
the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company until the whole cap¬
ital named in this act of incorporation is taken up by complying
with the terms of subscription.
Sec, 11. And be it further enacted, That said Atlantic and
Pacific Railroad, or any part thereof, shall be a post route and
military road, subject to the use of the United States for postal,
military, naval, and all other government service, and also sub-
In¬
ject, to such regulations as Congress may impose: restricting .the ;
charges for such government transportation.
Sec. 12. And, be it further enacted, That the acceptance of
the. terms, conditions,, and impositions of this act by the said
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company shall be signified in
writing under the corporate seal of said company, duly executed
pursuant to the direction of its board of directors first had and
obtained, which acceptance shall be made within two years after
the passage of this act, and not afterwards, and shall be deposited
in the office of the Secretary- of the Interior.
Sec. 13. And be it f urther enacted, That the directors of said
company shall make and publish an annual report of their pro¬
ceedings and expenditures, verified by the affidatrits of the pres¬
ident and at least six of the directors, a copy of which shall be
deposited in the office of said Secretary of the Interior, and they
shall, from time to time, fix, determine, and regulate the fares,
tolls, and charges to be received and paid for transportation of
persons and property on said road, or any part thereof.
Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That the directors chosen
in pursuance of the first section of this act shall, so soon as may
be after their election, elect from their own number a president
and vice-president ; and said board of directors shall, from time
to time, and so soon as maybe after their election, choose a treas¬
urer and secretary, who shall hold their offices at the will and
pleasure of the board of directors. The treasurer and secretary
' shall give such bonds, with such security as the said board from
time, to time may require. The secretary shall, before entering
upon his duty, be sworn to the faithful discharge thereof, and said
oath shall be made a matter of record upon the books of said
corporation. Xo person shall be a director of said company un¬
less he shall be a stockholder, and qualified to vote for directors
at the election at which he shall be chosen.
Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That the president, vice-
president, and directors shall hold their offices for the period in¬
dicated in the by-laws of said company^ not exceeding three
years, respectively, and until others are chosen in their place and
qualified. In case it shall so happen that an election of directors
shall not be made on any day appointed by the by-laws of said
company, the corporation shall not for that cause be deemed to
be dissolved, but such election may.be holden on any day which
shall be appointed by the directors. The.directors, of whom
seven,.including the president, shall be a quorum for the transac¬
tion of business, shall have full power to make and prescribe such
13
by-laws, rules, and regulations as they shall deem needful and
proper touching the disposition and management of the stock,
property, estate, and effects of the company, the transfer of
shares, the duties and conduct of their officers and servants,
touching the election and meeting of the directors, and all mat¬
ters whatsoever which may appertain to the concerns of said
company ; and the said board of directors may have full power
to fill any vacancy or vacancies that may occur from any cause
or causes from time to time in their said board. And the said
board of directors shall have power 'to appoint such engineers,
agents, and subordinates as may from time to time be necessary
to carry into effect the object of the company, and to do all acts
and things touching the location and construction of said road.
Seo. 16. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for
the directors of said company to require payment of the sum of
ten per centum cash assessments upon all subscriptions received
of all subscribers, and the balance thereof at such times and in
such proportions and on such conditions as they shall deem to pe
necessary to complete the said road and telegraph lines within
the time in this act prescribed. Sixty days' previous notice shall
be given of the payments required, and of the time and place of
payment, by publishing a notice once a week in one daily news¬
paper in each of the cities of Boston, New York, Cincinnati,
Saint Louis, Memphis, and Nashville, and in case any stockholder
shall neglect or refuse to pay, in pursuance of such notice, the
stock held "by such person shall be forfeited absolutely to the use
of the company, and also any payment or payments that shall
have been made on account thereof, subject to the condition that
the board of directors may allow the redemption on such terms
as they may prescribe.
Sec. 17. And be it further enacted. That the said company is
authorized to accept to its own use any grant, donation, loan,
power, franchise, aid, or assistance which may be granted to or
conferred on said company by the Congress of the United States,
by the legislature of any State, or by any corporation, person or
persons, or by any Indian tribe or nation through whose reserva¬
tion the road herein provided for may pass ; and said corporation is
authorized to hold and enjoy any such grant, donation, loan,
power, franchise, aid, or assistance, to its own use, for the purpose
aforesaid: Provided, That any such grant or donation, power,
aid, or assistance from any Indian tribe or nation shall be subject
to the approval of the President of the United States.
Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That the Southern Pacific
14
railroad, a company incorporated under the laws of the State of
California, is hereby authorized to connect with the said Atlantic
and Pacific railroad, formed under this act, at such point, near
the boundry line of the State of California, as they shall deem
most suitable for a railroad line to San Francisco, and shall have
a uniform gauge and rate of freight or fare with said road ; and
in consideration thereof, to aid in its construction, shall have
similar grants of land, subject to all the conditions and limita¬
tions herein provided, and shall be required to construct its road
on the like regulations, as to time and manner, with the Atlantic
and Pacific railroad herein provided for.
Seo. 19. And be it further enacted, That unless the said At¬
lantic and Pacific Railroad Company shall obtain bona fide sub¬
scriptions to the stock of said company to the amount of one
million of dollars, with ten per centum paid, within two years
after the passage of and approval of this act, it shall be null and
void.
vSec. 20. And be it further enacted., That the better to accom¬
plish the object of this act, namely, to promote the public interest
and welfare by the construction of said railroad and telegraph
line, and keeping the same in working order, and to secure to the
government at all times, but particularly in time of war, the use
and benefits of the same for postal, military, and other purposes,
Congress may, at any time, having due regard for the rights of
said Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company, add to, alter, amend,
or repeal this act.
Sec. 21. And be it further enacted, That whenever in any
grant of land or other subsidies, made or hereafter to be made,
to railroad or other corporations, the United States has reserved
the right, or shall reserve it, to appoint directors, engineers, com¬
missioners or other agents to examine said roads, or act in con¬
junction with other officers of said company or companies, all the
costs, charges and pay of said directors, engineers, commission¬
ers or agents shall be paid by the respective companies. Said
directors, engineers, commissioners or agents shall be paid for
said services the sum of ten dollars per day, for each and every
day actually and necessarily employed, and ten cents per mile
for each and every mile actually and necessarily travelled, in dis¬
charging the duties required of them, which per diem and mileage
shall be in full compensation for said services. And in case any
company shall refuse or neglect to make such payments, no more
patents for lands or other subsidies shall be issued to said com¬
pany until these requirements are complied with.