New-York tribune., 1867-08-17
RAILROAD COMMUNICATION
WITH
THE PACIFIC O.
CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD.

s.rh' W." -, =. ,to ITnited States Government, be-
sween the Mississippi Valley andsthe acme
bns with its existing eastern connexions s 49,
go tho continent is destined 10 become one oi''ne
koost In,oortant channels OF trade and conmuhlcaC
I, w,th ts western terminus at San Francisco
H.. n,ost oommodous harbor the North Pac'ho Cos
end its branches reaching the railroad ysteils "
Santio States by way Of Chicago and 81 LOUIS, o,s
tutes as IL were the Grand Trunk Line VI ,ord
Sbere II lies directly in the path OF the great
P, =, ,,o,ulot,on and trade, along the temperate
Nit scros, Tits county and becomes an esSen'i"i ~ -
khe mighty Inter-contnental tratno Do'"o W ~, 80
roma and Eastern Asia. 1t presents INC siioi0' w ,
p,,lo ropto IN the Pacific and must serve fourhIths
nIot,on west OF the Missouri River. 1t has
A and productive group OF States at one eno Oh tne
line and an energetic coast population at the oVe W.
n rich mining country intermediate Already oen'ei'
formulation dot its length from Omaha to san FIanoSo'
and Il seems certain that chain OF great ci'es ~
row up In its path, swelling the volume OF tr"uo AHU
hrave 10 dimensions which battle all present eStnlae'
NEED OF A RAILROAD TO THE PACIFIC
Tho for railroad communication win te fao
tiao has been felt since the gold discoveries c"
Ahther large numbers Of active people Ihe yleu Vi otu
Sop has steadily increased and gives signs OF still greater
xpansion when increased facility OF communication wiz
have rendered mining industry more stable and poh'a
hle Thus far only the richest veins could be WORKED
Ia profit by reason Of the very costly freighs upon All tue
lnachnery and subsistence used In extracting the ORES
thereafter many mines will be put WITHIN tie lDis y,
Srohtabie working, while the Asiatc market I0i P''
metals ia iRappeasable. - ,-,,..
The United States Commissioner Of Mining st"'s'os
gives tho following estimate OF the ylefa Vi P
metals from the Pacific States and Territories
1851 s5i........$4sS91,Ooo 1854 OSSS
Issl .... 49S7OO0O 1865. iO'UOOo'OOOOCC
6j........... o. 100000 1S66.......'lVVVVV'v"
For tho past year the product is estimated 10 Do "'
Gributed thus: .. 49,.
Iahfornia 100000 Idaho; 81 10000 Geo Ooo
Oregon and Wash 90 ooo Scoraao Utah
Montana. ls,OOOOO0 &c.--..-...-. lfvVo'VVV
In eighteen years the Pacific States have contributed
NO less than thousand millions of gold ana sver 10 he
ore OF the worlds treasure and the annual ye 10 o"
Seekoned at upward Of hundred millions THIS Is con-
Stant and immense addition to our material wealth-one
If osr greatest national Already Oregon ana
california are sending also the produce Of their fields
Vineyards and fisheries and give indications OF support
bng All immense population.
MATERIAL AND SOCIAL BENEFITS.
Rea1e an unprecedented export of bullion during the
ame perod there we're shipped from San Francisco to
kew-York and Great Britain from the surplus OF last
wears harvest between July and April ~ as follows
kYheat in sacks. .4SSeySs7 u. Flour in bbls.AOoUo
be crop Of 1867 promises to be larger and large por
tons OF the great basin have drawn their supes
Srom States California and Oregon aside from the
above quantity exported.
I West of tho Missouri boundary lies vast expanse
Sf country rich in soil and minerals as yet hardly ex'
ored with one half Of the territory 1t has less than
swenteth Of the population Of the country. Cauorha
kloue with population Of ten millions, would be no
more wded than NewYork State is with four millions,
and the capacity the half million square miles beyond
ahe Missouri to support population OF two hundred
millions can hardly be doubted The half million OF
Aeope In California would speedily jump to five millions
Spon the establishment Of railroad communication and
khe value Of all property interests both there and in the
intermediate territories would be largely enhanced
railroad is the thing wanting to shower general
blessing on the Far West.
These gratifying results together with the prospect Of
a vast trade between San Francisco China, Japan the
hast India Islands, British Columbia, the Sandwich ISL
huds the Central and South American ports the newly
acQuired Russian America have added 10 te Oghai ue
nand for safe speedy and short transit TO the Paenc
1he best route between London and Hong Kong VIII
Sereafter le across the American Continent thereby
avoiding pers Of the Red Sea, or the long Journey
khrough the Southern Ocean. There is manifest disa
hty in American people sending their passengers
nas freiChts land soldiers event. tropical for
gn ishmus IS 900 miles round the Capes, when they
Knight have good and easy road through their own ter
kiOry Independently, therefore, OF the great material
development which must follow the construction Of
railroad to the Pacific the people demanded because
sgoud be an additional bond Of union to its distant parts
make It's people homogeneous, and enable the Gov
preserve order and concord throughout its
Western domain.
The people on the Pacific coast drawn from the
EAST and are s lbound by the strongest ties to the At
bantc States IL not alone the key which is 20 unlock
ae mountain Of treasure but also to open wide the
gates Of trade oomior-the way to home and rela
IL to bring them within from four to SIX days OF
khe places they knew in their youth 1t is to Danish
twenty-five days voyage, with its Isthus fevers
nd Its shpDoard diseOmiOs and to mark period OF de-
tverance to the people Of the Pacific coast who prac
hIoay further away from than the people Of
interior Europe
The aid Of the Government was therefore properly
oked TO put the scheme within the compass OF corporate
enterprise
LEGISLATIVE ACTION on THE SCHEME.
The of a railrood to the Pacific has been favorte
Ahee for speculation for and had been urged upon
the attention of the Government by commercial and pO
atcal conventions at intervals since 1876
The first practical step toward building O railroad
across the Continent the introductiOof bill into
United States Senate by Colonel Benton in February,
1Ss providing for the location and construction Of
Ceutra National Road from the Mississippi River to the
hac6c Ocean-to beam iron railway where practicable
md providing for the application of the larger portion Of
the proceeds Of sales OF public lands to defray the
pense. The terms OF the proposal show that very
adequate idea Of the future greatness OF the Far West
then entertained; this project received
nctye support At that time there railroads
west OF tho Mssissppnone IN fact had reached it from
ahe East-and the Erie Railroad completed In
bs5e under the patronage Of the State OF Missouri
pany organized, aud railroad projected from ST.
pOu along the south bank of the Missouri the western
Boundary Of the State Ia the outbreak Of the war
found it halted at Sedala about slxtyhye miles from the
Kansas line. -r..r
About the tue three several roads projected
across connect the Mississippi with the Missouri
One Of these has reached Omaha land another
Dearb completely which establishes continuous line of
railroad fromthe Atlantic nearly to the base Of the Rocky
Mountains about lT00 miles
Upon the discovery Of rich gold and silver mines in the
celebrated Washo Region the eastern side Of the Sierra
Nevada range. in 1859 and lsGO by which population and
capital were rapidly drawn from California, certain enter