Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/301

 OREGON AND CALIFORNIA RAILROAD 263 after deducting that forfeited because they did not build to Astoria and after that which overlapped the East Side grant, was not great, being considerably less than 200,000 acres; and this was not utilized by the company except as a basis for loans until after the Southern Pacific had taken over the road. The act granting aid to the Oregon Central Railroad Company by the legislature of Oregon in 1866 might well have been considered a grant to the West Side Company. But the redesignation of a company by the legislature in 1868 and the repeal of the act itself destroyed any hopes that the company might have had for State aid. In local aid the company was extremely fortunate. From the first Gaston's plan had been to appeal to the people for aid. When the company was first organized it had been his desire to open the stock books to the people and gain an interest in the construction of railroads generally, so after the company received the recognition of their application for the government grant from the Department of the Interior "a canvas for subscriptions to the capital stock of the company, and donations of land and other property in aid of the enterprise wag commenced in Washington and Yamhill counties, which subsequently extended to the city of Portland. 39 In point of time the aid received from the city of Port- land came first. The ordinance granting aid was passed Feb. 6, 1868. The purpose of the aid as stated by the act was to secure "gravel, stone, brick, clay, lumber and tim- ber for the construction and repair of the City Buildings of the City of Portland and the streets adjacent to the public grounds, and for other purposes." 40 The city of Portland was to pay the interest on two hundred and fifty bonds of thousand dollar denomination bearing in- terest at 7%. To pay the interest a two and one-half mill 39 First Annual Report of the Oregon Central Railroad Company of Portland. 40 See Ordinance 468—-In Minutes of O. C . R . R . Co. —West Side. IrI im
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