Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-04-21
AMERICAN RAILWAYS.
lFrom the London Times.l
AT THE STAR BUILDINGS,

An impression is produced rather akin to VIVA.
We receive when friend whom we nave not
east eyes on for Is or 20 years comes acICoo
u.s. and reminds Us fOrcibly of the fact No" Tow
old we are getting" Here is part OF tne
world which we have scarcely left on Pieturin8
To ourselves as aboriginal and fresh from tne
great act of Creation completely intersected Dy
RAILWAYS Omitting oil the intermediate stsSes
between Chaos and Bradshaw, 1t mas taken
a violent leap into time, and from the very
first seized hold of the latest results OF ciyllzs-
ton A network of 25,0O0 miles OF railway
now covers the United States. This has been
accomplished principally by Irish labor, and it
Is unnecessary to'say that the cost Of construc-
ton has been very small compared with that
in this country. The single article of the diff
ference in the value of land, would, Of course,
make sn enormous difference. The cost Of
construction per mile on the New-York and
Massachusetts, Railways has been 100000 to
fI2OO0, as compared with f35.000 on British
Railways. We quote the very interesting Re
port on the Railways Of the Uuitcd States, by
Capt. Douglas GaltOn.
The cheapness Of land has been one great
cause as we have just said, of this sudden and
wonderful creation, more particularly as grants
of land are often made, especially in the Wes-
tern States. Let Us take the Illinois Central
Railway as an example Of this method of rail-
way-unaking. Congress granted to the State
Of Illinois 2, ,595, 900 acres. The vacant lands,
in alternate sections. within six miles Of the
road were conveyed by direct terms in the
grant, and, in lieu of such portions as had been
previously sold, selections were authorized to
be made between and Is miles on each side OF
the road. The Company raised 20, 000, 900 dol
lars by mortgage upon the security of this land.
rcservin9 however, 100000 acres towards the
annual payment of the interest. AT the same
time they call in % per cent of a capital stock
Of IL .0O0.0O0 dollars. This pays for the Illinois
Central Railway, which is, therefore, in fact,
given TO the Company, with the exception OF
the quarter which they take from their own
stock. The State only charges per cent on
the profits of the railway as n compensation for
its gift of land, and thus railway Of $50 miles,
which forms the backbone Of Illinois, and con-
meets Cairo with Dubuque, is built at cost TO
the Company of 4, 500, 900 dollars.
But the most remarkable feature which this
report brings out is the energy and impetus
with which the Americans have rushed 5R
5gsdiGs res at once in the construction OF their
railways. This explains the rapidity and the
small cost Of this vast work more than the
cheapness of land or the grants Of land. There
are some persons who cannot begin to work till
they have perfect tool They are fdgety and
uncomfortable without il; they wait and wait
and delay operations indefinitely till their tool
is nicely ground, polished and shaped, and a
convenient handle put to il. There are others
who won't wait, but take the first tool they
than q good one, but in the meantime they are
doing so much work while the others are doing
nothing. but only waiting. 1t depends, of
course, on what the department Of work is
which Of these two methods is the best. An
epic poem requires the very best tools and wait
ing speech at the hustings or in Parliament
must be made with whatever tool comes to hand
i. e., with the best kind of expression we can
summon at the moment Some persons, how
ever. cannot bring themselves to speak till they
have hit on the very best word. The late Arch
bishop OF Canterbury was 80 fastidiOus in his
choice Of words, that he used to keep his audi
eEee painfully waiting till he had tried one
word after another to see how it would fit and,
a. this process took place once or twice in every
sentence, the constant search for perfection was
hardly repaid by the tardy discovery. In mat
ters Of - time and tide, - and over which that
great power to which one of the seven wise men
cOnsecrated the result of a life's wisdom, Sop
Portunity'' presides, it seldom answers to wait
very long for your machinery. In war, for in
stance, you cannot.
The object for which railways are wanted in
America is, in one very important respect, diff
ierent from that in this country; they are want
cd not simply as railways, but as roads, not
only 10 quicken communication between differ
ent towns, but To open a way into the heart of
large spaces Of territory, and 10 carry off their
produce. The railway is the carrier there
cheaper than roads there would not be funds
iorthcOming for making even tOlerable roads
over the vast prairieS of the West; but the rail-
way comes before the road in this extraordinary
World of diversions il is the aboriginal road Of
the West, perf1rming the very first function
which the new country wants-that of opening
II u human labor, and afOrding a channel by
which the results Of that labor can make their
way to a purchaser. When first opened three
years ago, says Captain GaltOn, of the Illinois
central Railway, - the station houses were al
most the only habitatiOns on the line: now
tnere Is large village at each station, sur
FUNDED by vast tracts of cultivated ground.
hneh passed along the line last Autumn
SACKS ot corn covered every available spot round
the stations and the means ofthe comnany were
scarcely adequate to removing them With
Joundless tracts Of land, then living idle and
waiting TO be used-land which will give an
enormous return TO cultivatiOn-iti is obviously
no; the interest Of the American TO deIay
lis railway till he can make one with the best
curves anu the most even rails. He cannot
1A'rd % walt Tor a chef Il 9HUre of engineering:
10 every minute Is lost that this land lies idIe
and therefore he lays down a railway good
enough 10 take him into the heart of this
PIohtable region, and set him down there with
lio" and spade, and a channel Of Conveyance
l't the produce Of his farm. He bends The
!" Ms temporary object, and makest IL
wants. C., Hor. lie dashes at his end and
re T:s not mind sharp curves and inclined planes.
! hi' Is making the most Of the INSTRUMENT in
hls own ease, and welding it most VIGOROUSLY
anu ehe;tiyely- The Baltimore and Ohio Rail
way as first made, avoided an ennens;,,o 80
isl i.I by - series Of zigzlgs, ascenIina over a
L'H 'y gradient Of in Is at its steepest mart
e'.G LlgIag terminating in a short level spaee
T5 .at InrsI she train was run up one zgzag on to
lag and 80 on This eccentric rxneiient 20 20
..uper:eded by tunnel afterwards. but the
American would not wait for perfect;or bosire .ne
- -;.L al ms railway in the frat instance. We
f,,ra OSn I. Inilan authorities would take hint
i,D.1 I'm american expedition. They 20 on wait
,Hf .Gr perfect engineering. and doino notb;n,
c,nr.Iy nSy can do everything as it is done in this
I'm my; y; The Americans would have covered
Iai.ing ~iin I'm railways before now. The mode Of
- mean: q grants Of land Is, ncrba,i l'ai~ays
+, "Iht INTO 70 our Australian autbdr;.;aS P'' use