St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1866-05-10

NO. 42.
lation, which has given Us Lincoln and
Grant
Why. sir, We ask aid to build only eight
cen hundred miles Of railroad, while n the
State Of Illinois to-day there yale5 three
thousand milee Of railroad, all .sprinxing
from. the. impulse given 10 such works ~
that magnificent enterprise, the Illinois
Central railroad. ss11EE ..s2a59a
Look, sir, at the effect this nsasurs will
have upon the futnre Of the country through
which the rosd is to pass. In 1860, the to-
tai population Of that country, .includinG
tae States and the Territories. .iwas240,127.
In 1860. I'VE years aftsf, it had increased
to $4,000 Why, sir, in my own ststs We
have increased in population il spite Of the
| war-war with the ssvagss and war with
the rebels-in the fase Of Ill obstacles, We
have increased from about l70, 600 70 800.
COO; and We, who in 1853 bought our
between eight and ten million bushels wheat.
along this great line Of railroad? i have
made calculation in reference to one Of
its effects. There have been granted to
this company, in the Territories through
which the road will pass, forty sections Of
land per mile. being twenty: sections on
each side Of the road. Be il remembered
that the Government retains the altsrnate
sections; 80 that there are open for settle
road. Now, does any one doubt that 1.-THE
pnad - hs,S1s hat
IDLY? There are four quarter sections, or
four farms Of one hundred and sixty acres
each to each section, and taking the ssti-
mate, which holds good throughout, the
country, Of SIX persons to every head Of
family or voter, and We shall have one
! thousand persons to the mile, or for: the
whole length of eighteen hundred miles,
], 300, 900 persons, snd this irrespective of
the population Of towns and cities and riv-
ers and branch roads tributary to the main
road. But if In Eve years that. country
has doubled its population without this
road, What will ITS population be when you
infuse into it the life that viii dow from
such an enterprise as this ssa ss
Sir, it will quadrurle, it will quintuple;
it is within bounds to say that in twenty
years there will be eight million people
along the line of the road. And il they
contribute as literally, Is gallsntIy,a -
heroically t. the defense Of this great n.
ton with men and money and intellect O.
the noble State Of Illinois has done. the
country will have wisely invested the paltry
amount asked for, even though it should
lose every dollar, Of it. 49,
Why, sir. look At the immigration from
Europe. which is greater this spring than it
has ever been before. This very company
are already making contracts, in anticipa-
ton Of tho passage Of this bill, with steam
ship lines t. bring to our shores thousaads
of hardy laborcrs to help to build this
road. Few if any Of them, will return to
Europe. They will settle down along the
line. Of this road, aud become the nucleus
Of neW population, the foundation Of
new Comnonwealths. ..E
Why, sir, the London Times complained
the other day that the skilled artisans Of
England, its most valuable workers, are
leaving its shores in unparalleled numbers
in search of plenty and liberty in the
United States. The immigration which has
already arrived this spring far exceeds
that VI any previous yesr, and We learn
that tho hsrbors of England and Ireland
are crowded With hundreds of thousands
waiting for vessels 20 carry them to our
shores. Sir, war il imminent in Germany,
and thousands upon thousands of the
thrifty and intelligent people Of that coun-
try will seek our shores. We do not want
them to cluster in our cities. We want to
be able to point out to them those great
natural savannahs along tho Missouri; the
Yellow Stone, the Columbia. and the Sas-
katchewan. where they may ind Ill the
conditions for prosperity and happiness.-
From northern Europe, too, . population
hardy, industrious, and temperate, the
Norwegians and Swedes, the identical stock
which overran Europe and overwhelmed
the R'man empire and gave shape and
feature to the new civilization which Was
built upon its ruins; these races ars SEEK
ing our shores in large and steadily in
creasing numbers
Aud now, sir, ask the Clerk 10 Rad
the last speech ever made upon earth by
our martyred President, Abrahan Lincoln;
= speech made, SIR upon the very day, ~,
sir, upon the very night on which he fell
before the bulle.- of the assassin; . speech
made to you, Mr.. Speaker, ct your last
parting with him as you were shout to
start upon your journey to the Pseife.i I
want it read BY the Clerk and received BY
this House as the last utterance Of that
great AID good man. and - n indieation
Of the view his literal Intelligence would
take to-day, were he alive, Of this and al
Kindred measures.
The Clerk read rs follows:.
AMr. Col1Ax, want you to take message from
me to tho miners whom you visit. have very largo
ideas Of the mineral wealth Of nation. believe
It practically ine1h.n.ti1ls It .1oands ~ over The The
Pacific and its Development has scarcely commenced.