Chapter CCXVI. to amend an Act entitled “An Act to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the Use of the same for Postal, Military, and other Purposes,” approved July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two
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Chap. CCXVI.— An Act to amend an Act entitled “An Act to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the Use of the same for Postal, Military, and other Purposes,” approved July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two.July 2, 1864. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That1862, ch. 120.Vol. xii. p. 489.1865, ch. 88.*Post*, p. 504.Shares in capital stock of Pacific Railroad to be $100 each.Number of shares.Directors to hold fifty shares. the capital stock of the company entitled the Union Pacific Railroad Company, authorized by the act of which this act is amendatory, shall be in shares of one hundred dollars, instead of one thousand dollars, each; that the number of shares shall be one million, instead of one hundred thousand; and that the number of shares which any person shall hold to entitle him to serve as a director in said company (except the five directors to be appointed by government) shall be fifty shares, instead of five shares; and that every subscriber to said capital stock for each share of one thousand dollars, heretofore subscribed, shall be entitled to a certificate for ten shares of one hundredPart of act of 1862, ch. 120, § 1, repealed.Vol. xii. p. 490. dollars each; and that the following words in section first ol said act:
“which shall be subscribed for and held in not more than two hundred shares by any one person,” be, and the same are hereby, repealed Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* ThatBooks of subscription to be kept open in certain cities. the Union Pacific Railroad Company shall cause books to be kept open to receive subscriptions to the capital stock of said company, (until the entire capital of one hundred millions of dollars shall be subscribed,) at the general office of said company in the city of New York, and in each of the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Saint Louis, at such places as may he designated by the President of the United States, and in such other localities as may be directed by him.
No subscription for said stockTHIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 216. 1864.357 shall beSubscription not to be valid unless, &c.Assessments. deemed valid unless the subscriber therefor shall, at the time of subscribing, pay or remit to the treasurer of the company an amount per share subscribed by him equal to the amount per share previously paid by the then existing stockholders. The said company shall make assessments upon its stockholders of not less than five dollars per share, and at intervals of not exceeding six months from and after the passage of this act, until the par value of all shares subscribed shall be fully paid; and money only shall be receivable for any such assessment, or as equivalents for any portion of the capital stock hereinbefore authorized.
The capital stock of said company shall not be increased beyond the actual cost of said road.Stock not to be increased, &c.;to be personal property. And the stock of the company shall be deemed personal property, and shall be transferable on the books of the company, at the general office of said company in the city of New York, or at such other transfer office as the company may establish. Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* ThatRailroads maytake and hold lands necessary for road, &c. the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and all other companies provided for in this act and the act to which this is an amendment, be, and hereby are, empowered to enter upon, purchase, take, and hold any lands or premises that may be necessary and proper for the construction and working of said road, not exceeding in width one hundred feet on each side of its centre line, unless a greater width be required for the purpose of excavation or embankment; and also any lands or premises that may be necessary and proper for turnouts, standing places for cars, depots, station house[s], or any other structures required in the construction and operating of said road.
And each of said companies shall have the right to Cut and remove trees or other materials that might by falling encumber its road-bed, though standing or being more than one hundred feet therefrom. And in case the owner or claimant of such lands or premises and such company cannot agree as to the damages, the amount shall be determined by the appraisal of three disinterestedDamages. commissioners, who may be appointed upon application by any party to any judge of a court of record in any of the territories in which the lands or premises to be taken lie; and said commissioners; in their assessments of damages, shall appraise such premises at what would haveAppraisement. been the value thereof if the road had not been built; and upon return into court of such appraisement, and upon the payment to the clerk thereof of the amount so awarded by the commissioners for the use and benefit of the owner thereof, said premises shall be deemed to be taken by said company, which shall thereby acquire full title to the same for the purposes aforesaid.
And either party feeling aggrieved by said assessment may, within thirty days, file an appeal therefrom, and demand a juryAppeal from assessment. 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 in the construction of its road. And said party appealing shall give bonds with sufficient surety or sureties, for the payment of any costs that may arise upon such appeal.
And in case the party appealing does not obtain a more favorable verdict, such party shall pay the whole cost incurred by the appellee, as well as its own. And the payment into court for the use of the owner or claimant, of a sum equal to that finally awarded shall be held to vest in said company the title of said land, and the right to use and occupy the same for the construction, maintaining, and operating of the road of said company.Damages to land of absent owners. And in case any of the lands to be taken as aforesaid shall be held by any person residing without the territory, or subject to any legal disability, the court may appoint a proper person who shall give bonds with sufficient surety or sureties, for the faithful execution of his trust, and who may represent in court the person disqualified or absent as aforesaid, when the same proceeding shall be had in reference to the appraisement of the premises to be taken, and with the same effect as have been already described.
And the title of the company to the land taken by virtue of this358THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 216. 1864. act shall not be affected nor impaired by reason of any failure by any guardian to discharge faithfully his trust.Damages to unoccupied lands. And in case it shall be necessary for either of the said companies to enter upon 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 purpose of its said railroad, and may institute proceedings in manner described for the purpose of ascertaining the value of, and acquiring a title to, the same; and the court may determine the kind of notice to be served on such owner or owners, and may in its 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 claim to damages against said company shall be barred.Agreements as to damages of persons under disability. It shall be competent for the legal guardian of any infant, or any other person under guardianship, to agree with the proper company as to damages sustained by reason of the taking of any lands of any such person under disability, as aforesaid, for the use as aforesaid; and upon such agreement being made, and approved by the court having supervision of the official acts of said guardian, the said guardian shall have full power to make and execute a conveyance thereof to the said company which shall vest the title thereto in the said company.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* ThatAmendments of §§ 3, 7, of act of 1862, ch. 120.Vol. xii. p. 492. section three of said act be hereby amended by striking out the word “five,” where the same occurs in said section, and by inserting in lieu thereof the word “ten;” and by striking out the word “ten,” where the same occurs in said section, and by inserting in lieu thereof the word “twenty.”“Mineral land” not to include coal and iron. And section seven of said act is hereby amended by striking out the word “fifteen,” where the same occurs in said section, and inserting in lieu thereof the word “twenty-five.
” And the term “mineral land,” wherever the same occurs in this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, shall not be construed to include coal and iron land. And any lands granted by this act, or the act to which this is an amendment, shall not defeat or impair any preëmption,Preëmption, homestead, &c., rights not affected hereby. homestead, swamp land, or other lawful claim, nor include any government reservation or mineral lands, or the improvements of any bona fide settler, or any lands returned and denominated as mineral lands, and the timber necessary to support his said improvements as a miner, or agriculturalist, to be ascertained under such rules as have been or may be established by the commissioner of the general land-office, in conformity with the provisions of the preëmption laws:Limit to exemption. *Provided,* That the quantity thus exempted by the operation of this act, and the act to which this act is an amendment, shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres for each settler who claims as an agriculturalist, and such quantity for each settler who claims as a miner, as the said commissioner may establish by general regulation:Timber. *Provided, also,* That the phrase “but where the same shall contain timber, the timber thereon is hereby granted to said company,” in the proviso to said section three, shall not apply to the timber growing or being on any hind further than ten miles from the centre line of any one of said roads or branches mentioned in said act, or in this act.
And all landsLands granted to colleges not included herein. shall be excluded from the operation of this act, and of the act to which this act is an amendment, which were located, or selected to be located, under the provisions of an act entitled “an act donating lands to the several states and territories which may provide colleges for the benefit1862. ch. 130.Vol. xii. p. 503. of agriculture and the mechanic arts,” approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and notice thereof given at the proper land-office.
Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted,* ThatTime for designating route, filing map, &c., extended, &c. the time for designating the general route of said railroad, and of filing the map of the same, and the time for the completion of that part of the railroads required by the terms of said act of each company, be, and the same is hereby, extended one year from the time in said act designated; and that the Central Pacific359 RailroadPart of compensation to pay for bonds. Company of California shall be required to complete twenty-five miles of their said road in each year thereafter, and the whole to the state line within four years, and that only one half of the compensation for services rendered for the government by said companies shall be required to be applied to the payment of the bonds issued by the government in aid of the construction of said roads.
Sec. 6. *And be it further enacted,* ThatCommissioners for the roads.1862, ch. 120, § 4.Vol. xii. p. 492. the proviso to section four of said act is hereby modified as follows, viz: And the President of the United States is hereby authorized, at any time after the passage of this act, to appoint for each and every of said roads three commissioners, as provided for in the act to which this is amendatory; and the verified statement of the president of the California company, required by said section four, shall be filed in the office of the United States surveyor-General for the State of California, instead of being presented to the President of the United States; and the said surveyor-general shall thereupon notify the said commissioners of the filing of such statement, and the said commissioners shall thereupon proceed to examine the portion of said railroad and telegraph line so completed, and make their report thereon to the President of the United States, as provided by the act of which this is amendatory.Statement may be filed, bonds, issued, &c., when, &c.
And such statement may be filed, and such railroad and telegraph line be examined and reported on, by the said commissioners, and the requisite amount of bonds may be issued and the lands appertaining thereto may be set apart, located, entered, and patented, as provided in this act and the act to which this is amendatory, upon the construction by said railroad company of California of any portion of not less than twenty consecutive miles of their said railroad and telegraph line, upon the certificate of said commissioners that such portion is completed as required by the act to which this is amendatory.Amendment to § 10.
And section ten of the act of which this is amendatory is hereby amended by inserting, after the words “United States,” in the last clause, the words “and states intervening.” Sec. 7. *And be it further enacted,* ThatRepeal of requirement that portion of bonds should be reserved.Failure of one company not to affect others. so much of section seventeen of said act as provides for a reservation by the government of a portion of the bonds to be issued to aid in the construction of the said railroads is hereby repealed.
And the failure of any one company to comply fully with the conditions and requirements of this aet, and the act to which this is amendatory, shall not work a forfeiture of the rights, privileges, or franchise of any other company or companies that shall have complied with the same. Sec. 8. *And be it further enacted,* ThatPortion of bonds may be issued when engineer, &c., certify that a part of the work, &c., is done. for the purpose of facilitating the work on said railroad, and of enabling the said company as early as practicable to commence the grading of said railroad in the region of the mountains, between the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains and the western base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so that the same may be finally completed within the time required by law, it is hereby provided that whenever the chief engineer of the said company, and said commissioners, shall certify that a certain proportion of the work required *required* to prepare the road for the superstructure on any such section of twenty miles is done, (which said certificate shall be duly verified,) the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and required, upon the delivery of such certificate, to issue to said company a proportion of said bonds, not exceeding two thirds of the amount of bonds authorized to be issued under the provisions of the aet, to aid in the construction of such section of twenty miles, nor in any case exceeding two thirds of the value of the work done, the remaining one third to remain until the said section is fully completed and certified by the commissioners appointed by the President, according to the terms and provisions of the said act; and no such bonds shall issue to the Union Pacific Railroad Company for work done west of Salt Lake City under this section, more than three hundred360 miles in advance of the completed continuous line of said railroad from the point of beginning on the one hundredth meridian of longitude.
Sec. 9. *And be it further enacted,* ThatCorporations may establish, &c., ferries, and construct bridges. to enable any one of said corporations to make convenient and necessary connections with other roads, it is hereby authorized to establish and maintain all necessary ferries upon and across the Missouri River and other rivers which its road may pass in its course; and authority is hereby given said corporation to construct bridges over said Missouri River, and all other rivers for the convenience of said road:Draws. *Provided,* That any bridge or bridges it may construct over the Missouri River, or any other navigable river on the line of said road, shall be constructed with suitable and proper draws for the passage of steamboats, and shall be built, kept, and maintained, at the expense of said company in such manner as not to impair the usefulness of said rivers for navigation to any greater extent than such structures of the most approved character necessarily do: *And provided, further,* ThatConnection with Union Pacific Railroad. any company authorized by this act to construct its road and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the initial point aforesaid, may construct its road and telegraph line so as to connect with the Union Pacific Railroad at any point westwardly of such initial point, in case such company shall deem such westward connection more practicable or desirable; and in aid of the construction of so much of its road and telegraph line as shall be a departure from the route hereinbefore provided for its road, such company shall be entitled to all the benefits, and be subject to all the conditions and restrictions, of this act:Proviso. *Provided, further, however,* That the bonds of the United States shall not be issued to such company for a greater amount than is hereinbefore provided, if the same had united with the Union Pacific Railroad on the 100th degree of longitude; nor shall such company be entitled to receive any greater amount of alternate sections of public lands than are also herein provided.
Sec. 10. *And be it further enacted,* ThatFirst mortgage bonds.1862, ch. 120, § 5.Vol. xii. p. 492. section five of said act be 3o modified and amended that the Union Pacific Railroad Company, the Central Pacific Railroad Company, and any other company authorized to participate in the construction of said road, may, on the completion of each section of said road, as provided in this act and the act to which this act is an amendment, issue their first mortgage bonds on their respective railroad and telegraph lines to an amount not exceeding the amount of the bonds of the United States, and of even tenor and date, time of maturity, rate and character of interest with the bonds authorized to be issued to said railroad companies respectively.Lien of the United States.
And the lien of the United States bonds shall be subordinate to that of the bonds of any or either of said companies hereby authorized to be issued on their respective roads, property, and equipments, except as to the provisions of the sixth section of the act to which this act is an amendment, relating to the transmission of despatches and the transportation of mails, troops, munitions of war, supplies and public stores for the government of the United States. And said section is further amended by striking out the word “forty,” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “on each and every section of not less than twenty.
” Sec. 11. *And be it further enacted,* ThatProvision for bonds already issued by any company. if any of the railroad companies entitled to bonds of the United States, or to issue their first mortgage bonds herein provided for, has, at the time of the approval of this act, issued, or shall thereafter issue, any of its own bonds or securities in such form or manner as in law or equity to entitle the same to priority or preference of payment to the said guaranteed bonds, or said first mortgage bonds, the amount of such corporate bonds outstanding and unsatisfied, or uncancelled, shall be deducted from the amount of such government and first mortgage bonds which the company may be entitled to receive and issue; and such an amount only of such government bonds and such first mortgage bonds shall be granted or permitted, as added to such out-361standing,Outstanding bonds.Provisos. unsatisfied, or uncancelled bonds of the company shall make up the whole amount per mile lo which the company would otherwise have been entitled: *And provided, further,* That before any bonds shall be so given by the United States, the company claiming them shall present to the Secretary of the Treasury an affidavit of the president and secretary of the company, to be sworn io before the judge of a court of record, setting forth whether said company has issued any such bonds or securities, and, if so, particularly describing the same, and such other evidence as the secretary may require, so as to enable him to make the deduction herein required; and such affidavit shall then be filed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of the Interior.
And any person swearing falsely to any such affidavit, shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished as aforesaid: *Provided, also,* That no land granted by this pct shall be conveyed to any party or parties, and no bonds shall be issued to any company or companies, party or parties, on account of any road or part thereof, made prior to the passage of the act to which this act is an amendment, or made subsequent thereto under the provisions of any act or acts other than this act, and the act amended by this act.
Sec. 12. *And be it further enacted,* ThatUnion Pacific Railroad, eastern division, &c., to build railroad, &c. the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company, now known as the Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division, shall build the railroad from the mouth of Kansas River, by the way of Leavenworth, or, if that be not deemed the best route, then the said company shall, within two years, build a railroad from the city of Leavenworth to unite with the main stem at or near the city of Lawrence; but to aid in the construction of said branch the said company shall not be entitled to any bonds.Not entitled to bonds therefor.
And if the Union Pacific Railroad Company shall not be proceeding in good faith to build the said railroad through the territories when the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company, now known as the Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division, shall have completed their road to the hundredth degree of longitude, then the last-named company may proceed to make said road westward until it meets and connects with the Central Pacific Railroad Company on the same line.
And the said railroad from the mouth of Kansas River to the one hundredth meridian of longitude shall be made by the way of Lawrence and Topeka, or on the bank of the Kansas River opposite said towns: *Provided,* ThatProviso. no bonds shall be issued or land certified by the United States to any person or company, for the construction of any part of the main trunk-line of said railroad west of the one hundredth meridian of longitude and east of the Rocky Mountains, until said road shall be completed from or near Omaha, on the Missouri River, to the said one hundredth meridian of longitude.
Sec. 13. *And be it further enacted,* ThatNumber of directors. at and after the next election of directors, the number of directors to be elected by the stockholders shall be fifteen; and the number of directors to be appointed by the President shall be five; and the President shall appoint three additional directors to serve until the next regular election, and thereafter five directors. At least one of said government directors shall be placedGovernment directors. on each of the standing committees of said company, and at least one on every special committee that may be appointed.
The government directors shall, from time to time, report to the Secretary of the Interior,Report to Secretary of the Interior. in answer to any inquiries he may make of them, touching the condition, management, and progress of the work, and shall communicate to the Secretary of the Interior, at any time, such information as should be in the possession of the department. They shall, as often as may be necessary to a full knowledge of the condition and management of the line, visit all portions of the line of road, whether built or surveyed; and while absent from home, attending to their duties as directors, shall be paid their actual travelling expenses, and be allowed and paid such rea-362sonable compensation for their time actually employed as the board of directors may decide.
Sec. 14. *And be it further enacted,* ThatNext election of directors. the next election for directors of said railroad shall be held on the first Wednesday of October next, at the office of said company in the city of New York, between the hours of tenRegular elections. o’clock a. m. and four o’clock p. m. of said day; and all subsequent regular elections shall be held annually thereafter at the same place; and the directors shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are qualified.
Sec. 15. *And be it further enacted,* ThatRoads and telegraph to be used as one continuous line. the several companies authorized to construct the aforesaid roads are hereby required to operate and use said roads and telegraph for all purposes of communication, travel, and transportation, so far as the public and the government are concerned, as one continuous line; and, in such operation and use, to afford and secure to each equal advantages and facilities as to rates, time, and transportation, without any discrimination of any kind in favor of the road or business of any or either of said companies, or adverse to the road or business of any or either of the others, and it shall not be lawful for the proprietors of any line of telegraph, authorized by this act, or the act amended by this act to refuse, or fail to convey for all persons requiring the transmission of news and messages of like character, on pain of forfeiting to the person injured for each offence, the sum of one hundred dollar’s, and such other damage as he may have suffered on account of said refusal or failure, to be sued for and recovered in any court of the United States, or of any state or territory of competent jurisdiction.
Sec. 16. *And be it further enacted,* ThatCompanies may be consolidated.Mode of procedure. any two or more of the companies authorized to participate in the benefits of this act, are hereby authorized at any time to unite and consolidate their organizations, as the same may or shall be, upon such terms and conditions, and in such manner as they may agree upon, and as shall not be incompatible with this act, or the laws of the state or states in which the roads of such companies may be, and to assume and adopt such corporate name and style as they may agree upon, with a capital stock not to exceed the actual cost of the roads so to be consolidated, and shall file a copy of such consolidation in the Department of the Interior; and thereupon such organization, so formed and consolidated, shall succeed to, possess, and be entitled to receive from the government of the United States, all and singular the grants, benefits, immunities, guarantees, acts, and things to be done and performed, and be subject to the same terms, conditions, restrictions, and requirements which said companies respectively, at the time of such consolidation, are or may be entitled or subject to under this act, in place and substitution of said companies so consolidated respectively.
And all other provisions of this act, so far as applicable, relating or in any manner appertaining to the companies so consolidated, or either thereof, shall apply and be of force as to such consolidated organization. And in case upon the completion by such consolidated organization of the roads, or either of them, of the companies so consolidated, any other of the road or roads of either of the other companies authorized as aforesaid, (and forming, or intended or necessary to form, a portion of a continuous line from each of the several points on the Missouri River, hereinbefore designated, to the Pacific coast,) shall not have constructed the number of miles of its said road within the time herein required, such consolidated organization is hereby authorized to continue the construction of its road and telegraph in the general direction and route upon which such incomplete or unconstructed road is hereinbefore authorized to be built, until such continuation of the road of such consolidated organization shall reach the constructed road and telegraph of said other company, and at such point to connect and unite therewith; and for and in aid thereof the said consolidated organization may do and perform, in reference to such portion of road and363 telegraphPowers and duties of consolidated organization. as shall so be in continuation of its constructed road and telegraph, and to the construction and equipment thereof, all and singular, the several acts and things hereinbefore provided, authorized, or granted to be done by the company hereinbefore authorized to construct and equip the same, and shall be entitled to similar and like grants, benefits, immunities, guarantees, acts, and things to be done and performed by the gov ernment of the United States, by the President of the United States, by the Secretaries of the Treasury and Interior, and by commissioners in reference to such company, and to such portion of the road hereinbefore authorized to be constructed by it, and upon the like and similar terms and conditions, so far as the same are applicable thereto.
And said consolidated company shall pay to said defaulting company the value to be estimated by competent engineers of all the work done and material furnished by said defaulting company, which may be adopted- and used by said consolidated company in the progress of the work under the provisions of this section : *Provided, nevertheless,*Proviso. That said defaulting company may at any time, before receiving pay for its said work and material, as hereinbefore provided, on its own election, pay said consolidated company the value of the work done and material furnished by said consolidated company, to be estimated by competent engineers, necessary for, and used in, the construction of the road of said defaulting company, and resume the control of its said road; and all the rights, benefits, and privileges which shall be acquired, possessed, or exercised, pursuant to this section, shall be to that extent an abatement of the rights, benefits, and privileges hereinbefore granted to such other company.
And in case any company authorized thereto, shall not enter into such consolidated organization, such company, upon the completion of its road as hereinbefore provided, shall be entitled to, and is hereby authorized to, continue and extend the same under the circumstances, and in accordance with the provisions of. this section, and to have all the benefits thereof, as fully and completely as are herein provided, touching such consolidated organization. And in case more than one such consolidated organization shall be made, pursuant to this act, the terms and conditions of this act, hereinbefore recited as to one, shall apply in like manner, force, and effect to the other. *Provided, however,*Proviso.
That rights and interests at any time acquired by one such consolidated organization, shall not be impaired by another thereof. It is further provided that, should the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California complete their line to the eastern line of the State of California, before the line of the Union Pacific Railroad Company shall have been extended westward so as to meet the line of said first-named company, said first-named company may extend their line of road eastward one hundred and fifty miles on the established route, so as to meet and connect with the line of the Union Pacific road, complying in all respects with the provisions and restrictions of this act as to said Union Pacific road, and upon doing so, shall enjoy all the rights, privileges, and benefits conferred by this act on said Union Pacific Railroad Company.
Sec. 17. *And be it further enacted,* ThatBranch from Sioux City.1862, ch. 120, § 14.Vol. xii. p. 496. 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 States of Iowa, or Minnesota, to Sioux City, such company, now organized or 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, lo 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 the364 said UnionUnion Pacific Railroad need not construct the branch.Bonds. 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 receive alternate sections of land for ten miles in width on each side of the same along the whole length of said branch:Lands.Time of completion. *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: *Provided, however,* That if the said company so designated by the President as aforesaid shall not complete the said branch from Sioux City to the Pacific Railroad within ten years from the passageForfeiture, if, &c. of this act, then, and in that case, all of the railroad which shall have been constructed by said company shall be forfeited to, and become the property of, the United States.
Sec. 18. *And be it further enacted,* ThatBurlington and Missouri River road may extend its road. the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, a corporation organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Iowa, be, and hereby is, authorized to extend i[t]s road through the Territory of Nebraska from the point where it strikes the Missouri River, south of the mouth of the Platte River, to some point not further west than the one hundredth meridian of west longitude, so as to connect, by the most practicable route, with the main trunk of the Union Pacific Railroad, or that part, of it which runs from Omaha to the said one hundredth meridian of west longitude.
And, for the purpose of enabling said Burlington and Missouri River Railroad CompanyRight of way. to construct that portion of their road herein authorized, the right of way through the public lands is hereby granted to said company for the construction of said road. And the right, power, and authority’ is hereby given to said company to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of said road, earth, stone, timber, and other materials lor the construction there of. Said right of way is granted to said company to the extent of two hundred feet where it may pass over the public lands, including all necessary grounds for stations, buildings, workshops, depots, machine shops, switches, sidetracks, turntables, and water-stations.Indian titles to be extinguished.
And the United States shall extinguish, as rapidly as may be, consistent with public policy and the welfare of the said Indians, the Indian titles to all lands falling under the operation of this section and required for the said right of way and grant of land herein made. Sec. 19. *And be it further enacted,* ThatLands granted. for the purpose of aiding in the construction of said road, there be, and hereby is, granted to the said Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, every alternate section of public land (excepting mineral lands as provided in this act) designated by odd numbers, to the amount of ten alternate sections per mile on each side of said road, on the line thereof, and not sold, reserved, or otherwise disposed of by the United States, and to which a preëmption or homestead claim may not have attached at the time the line of said road is definitely fixed:Proviso. *Provided,* That said company shall accept this grant within one year from the passage of this act, by filing such acceptance with the Secretary of the Interior, and shall also establish the line of said road, and file a map thereof with the Secretary of the Interior within one year of the dale of said acceptance, when the said Secretary shall withdraw the lands embraced in this grant from market.
Sec. 20. *And be it further enacted,* ThatCommission to be appointed. whenever said Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company shall have completed twenty con-THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 216, 217. 1864.365secutive miles of the road mentioned in the foregoing section, in the manner provided for other roads mentioned in this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, the President of the United States shall appoint three commissionersPatents to issue. to examine and report to him in relation thereto; and if it shall appear to him that twenty miles of said road have been completed as required by this act, then, upon certificate of said commissioner[s] to that effect, patents shall issue conveying the right and title to said lands to said company on each side of said road, as far as the same is completed, to the amount aforesaid; and such examination, report, and conveyance, by patents, shall continue from time to time, in like manner, until said road shall have been completed.
And the President shall appoint said commissioners, till vacancies in said commission, as provided in relation to other roads mentioned in the act to which this is an amendment. And the said company shall be entitled to all the privileges and immuni-ties granted to the Hannibal and Saint Joseph’s Railroad Company by the said last-mentioned act, so far as the same may be applicable: *Provided,*Provisos. That no government bonds shall be issued to the said Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company to aid in the construction of said extension of its road: *And provided, further,* That said extension shall be completed within the period of ten years from the passage of this act.
Sec. 21. *And be it further enacted,* ThatCost of surveying, &c., to be paid before conveyances are made. before any land granted by this act shall be conveyed to any company or party entitled thereto under this act, there shall first be paid into the treasury of the United States, the cost of surveying, selecting, and conveying the same, by the said Company or party in interest, as the titles shall be required by said company, which amount shall, without any further appropriation, stand to the credit of the proper account, to be used by the commissioner of the general land-office for the prosecution of the survey of the public lands along the line f of said road, and so from year to year until the whole shall be completed, as provided under the provisions of this act.
Sec. 22. *And be it further enacted,* ThatThis act may be altered, &c. congress may, at any time, alter, amend, or repeal this act. Approved, July 2, 1864.