Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1857-05-13
. From the London Times of March 81
English Ideas of American Progress


The FIRST sight of an American railway
map, to use q vuigarisnl, quite takes one
aback. An impression is produced rather
akin to what we receive when afriend whom
we have not cast our eyes on for fifteen or
twenty years comes across US and reminds
us forcibly Of the fact 'how old we are get
ting. Here is part OF the world which we
have scarcely left Of pictu-;ng to ourselves
az aboriginal and fresh from the great act of
Creation completely intcrsects.d by railway
0mittine all the Intermediate stages between.
Cbaos and Bradshaw, it has taken q violent
leap into time, and from the very frs. seized
holi of the latest results Of civilization. A
net work of 10000 miles. of railway now
covers the United States. This has been ac-
complished principally. by Irish labor and
it is unnecessary to say that the cost OF con-
struction has been very small compared with
that IN this couuery The single article Of
difference in the value ofland would OF course
make an enormous difference :, he cost OF
constructions per mile on the New York and
Massachu sets railways has been 100000 to
tl3,o0o, us compared with fTa35, 600 on Brit
ISL railways. Wequote the very interesting
Report of the Railways OF the United States
by Capt. Douglas Cation.
The cheapness of land has been one great
, cause. we have Just said, of this sudden and
wonderful creation, more particularly as
grants Of land are often made, especially in
the Western. states Let us take the Illinois
Central railway as an example of this meth
cd OF railway making Congress granted to
| the State o. illnnis ,59o,tOo 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 por-
tons as had been previously sold, selections
were authorized TO be made between six and
fifteen miles on each side of the road. The
company raised $2O,OG0.0o0 By mortgages
| upon the security ofthis land, reserying, how
ever, 100000 acres towards the annual pay
ment of the Interest. At the same time they
call in twenty-f five per cent of a capital stock
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 seven per
| cent. on the profits of the railway as com
pensation for its gift ofland; and thus rail-
way of $50 miles, forming the backbone Of
| Illinois, and connecting Cairo with Dubuque,
4 is built at a cost to the company of 81 ,50O,-
o00. e
! But the most remarkable feature which
| this report brings out Is the energy and i'm
i petus with which the Americans have rush
/ ed ia medals res at once into the construc-
ton of their railways This explains the
rapidly and the small cost Of this vast work
more than the eheapness ofland or the grants
of land There are some persons who can
not begin to work till they have perfect
tool. They are tidsety and uncomfortable
without it, they wait and wait, and delay
operations indefinitely till their tool is nice
| ly ground, polished, and shaped, and con
venient handle put to it There are others
who won't wait but take the first tool they
can get and work with it A bad tool is
worse than good one, but in the meantime
| they are doing so much work while the 9TH