The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1867-04-19
The Great Railroad to the Far
Hest.
From The Independent, April {.

! Few of us have sufficiently considereC
the effect upon the country of the compile
. tion of the railroad TO the Pacific. W,
may imagine the rich streams of commerce.
flowing back and forth across our CONT
nent, interchanging the products of Chin;
and the East Indies with Western Europe
which now have to find their way round
the southern capes by route four time:
the distance The opening of railroad
line between the Atlantic and the Pacific
Oceans will give us the shortest road round
the world, one which has the advantage
of lying within the same temperate zone
We have the shortest road and the best
road to the East This, however, is the
least important benefit to follow the es-
tablishment of the great highway. An
immense population must spring up along
the line OF the road itself. Experience
shows that steam-roads create their own
business; they are, in fact, among the
principal agencies for opening up, civiliz-
ing, and improving the wilderness. OF
the |, $50 miles between the Missouri river
and the Western coast, which, up to the
beginning of the war, were traversed only
by the stage-coach and mule-team, 400
had been spanned by the iron road ON the
lst of January last, the greater portion OF
it during the past year, Now that the
energies and capital of the nation are some
what unfettered by the close of the strug-
Gle for the national life, we may expect
this great national work to make rapid
strides A full third of our territory will
thereby be brought within easy access, and
rendered astonishingly productive, Ma
ture, as if in her economy she had determ-
ined that nothing should be altogether
useless, has placed in the rugged Western
mountain ranges, and among the arid des-
ertS of the interior Western plains, rich
seams and veins of the metals which by
common consent have become the worlds
standards of value. The United States
have more of this mineral wealth. as well
rs more coal and iron than the rest of the
world together; and it needs only the IA
cilities OF access, labor. machinery. and
home comforts 10 render us four times as
productive of gold and silver as we have
been.
The road. As most readers know. Is be-
inc built from both ends by two distinct
companies, each striving 10 build As fast
and as far rs it can: the Government
granting IT. credit aid to both, according
to the progress and difficulties OF the road.
The national subsidy, which is practically
Il donation, III return for the military and
commercial advantages the road is TO con
fer on the nation at large, Is reckoned to
be about halt the cost of building the Ell
cost tii Of equipment, will be abundantly pro-
videI for by private capital. which will
seek such IN investment. The road must
be built !: the intermediate territories art
languislling for it the trans-continental
trade is waiting for it and the halt mil
lion OF our kin>lolk, and their families on
this side. are impatient for it, The nee
cssary means will no doubt he forthcoming
us fast rs it is needed, because no other
enterprise of the same magnitude offers
half the prospect OF immediate prosperity.
The Calitornians. on their end of the
line. have shown great Sa@acitv and de-
termination. Already they have reached
in the first one hundred miles. the top OF
the formidable mountain range. and il
July next will be near the great Nevada
silver mining regions. The lccal traffic
already existing upon this lncompleteu
fragment is astonishingly lucrative. Dur
inc the three Autumn months of 1866
when the freight could be forwarded acroS:
the mountins, the earnings Were ut the
rate of 5 100000 a yeu' in gold; and il
is reasonable to assume that when the
whole mountain district is crossed Q5t
mileS) the gross earnings will be over So
600, 900 a year, of which, according Il
past experience. tuo-thids uW be net edr2
ngs, applicable to the payment of interes
upon its bonded debt and for further con
struction. The former, by reason of til,
muniticent Government and state aid, i
extremely light in proportion to its resour
ces. The interest dues incurred by TN
company i'll building and equipping tn
156 miles to the California state line vii
he but S545, 100; or about . per cen
upon its cost, and on the remaining 81!
hundred miles across the plains the rati
will not be larger. OF course, with sucI
present and prospective returns, added Il
the fact that most of Its obstacles hay
been overcome, no doubt remains of ii
speedy completion, and of the stability q
the company's securities now in the mark
ct. The present year will probably Sc
five hundred miles of the gap closed.