THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. A DEFENSE AGAINST ITS ENEMIES, WITH REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORS OF PLACER COUNTY, AND REPORT OF MR. MONTANYA, TO THE SUPERVISORS OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. December, 1864. N.p. [Sacramento], 1864. 21.5x13.5 cm (octavo), pp. [1-3] 4-35 [36: blank], publisher's yellow wrappers printed in black, sewn. First edition. A rare pamphlet published in response to a pamphlet entitled "The Dutch Flat Swindle." The dream of a transcontinental railroad that would connect the United States from east to west was rumored to be an elaborate scam of the Central Pacific Railroad. Even Theodore Judah, who had championed the idea and surveyed the route over the Sierra Nevada, worried the Central Pacific never intended to build the railroad past Dutch Flat. This fear was driven by multiple factors, and the Central Pacific was dubbed the “Dutch Flat Swindle” by the DAILY ALTA newspaper, a name that stuck until the project finally crossed Donner Summit in 1868. "The Dutch Flat Swindle" was a contemptuous term used in the 1860s to describe allegations that the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) never intended to build a transcontinental railroad over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Critics believed the "Big Four" railroad leaders (Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins, and Crocker) only intended to build tracks as far as Dutch Flat, California, to dominate freight traffic to the Nevada silver mines. San Francisco newspapers, investors, and residents feared the CPRR was a scam designed to secure public funds and land without finishing the line. Concurrently, the CPRR officers built the Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road, completed in 1864. Opponents feared the railroad would stop at Dutch Flat, forcing goods onto this private toll road for the remaining journey to Nevada. Even Theodore Judah, the original engineer for the project, feared the Big Four would prioritize profits from the toll road over the high cost of building through the rugged Sierra Nevada. The accusations proved false; the Central Pacific continued construction, successfully crossing Donner Summit in 1868 and completing the transcontinental railroad in 1869. Railway Economics, a Collective Catalogue, p. 290. Some soiling to wrappers, a few separations along spine, covers reattached, old vertical mailing crease, a very good copy. Provenance: Bancroft Library (engraved label); the collection of Bruce Maclin. Enclosed in a custom quarter black morocco slipcase. (#179153).
Price: $7,500.00
No statement of printing.