, 1868-05-08
The railroad Que.tlon.

Inc AullrOoo Quo1uOns
EDrroR SrAREsNAN Fearing that the i'm.
peachment question, now pending in Congress,
may absorb all the surplus time Of our represen-
tatives, and, per consequence my pet measure
of "Indian Delegateship" might not be reached
this session, have concluded to crawl back on
the track and take my chances for yet . little
while among the BostOa men, and by way Of in.
PRODUCTION will give you q short letter on rail.
roads; It isa we'll known fact that San Fran.
cisco has derived almost all her prosperity, up
to the present time, BY her great natural advan.
tages but thus far, in ber upward fight to
greatness, she has had no Philadelphia, Boston
or Baltimore 10 eompets with her for commercial
supremacy. But with all her great piles of
brick, morter aud stone, and her unsurpassed bar.
Dor, her large and increasing population, she
begins to see that something else is needed she
begins to see that she cannot grow rich and great
by inactivity that the whole State Of Califor-
mia, and in fact the whole Pacific coast is rap>
idly being changed in an industrial point of view,
and that railroads de faeto, and railroadsin pros.
pective, are changing the whole face Of things.
idly being superseded by railroads. The editor
of one of the largest circulating newspapers in
San Francisco, thus speaks of the situation,
abiding to the railroad interest:
at is to this great change now going on in
our State, which the city of San Francisco must
now address herself. Stages suffice for ttansN
portation of gold aud silver from the most remote
mines, bat they can do nothing towards moving
wheat, barley, oats, bay or wine to tide water.
Railroads are necessary adjunct of agricultural
greatness"
Now if the people of San Francisco talk in this
way, with all their natural advantages ofwealtb,
mercantile influence, their immense shipping
and great commercial position, then whatah should
we of this Valley say or do, in regard to inaugl
uratiug system of railroads, when we are purely
an agricultural people, living in the richest ag.
ricultural valley in the known world2 But this
is not all this San Francisco editor says, for be
continues the snbject and goes on to say:
"Take Chicago as an example for US. She has
built herself up by railroads. She pushed for>
ward the great conduits by which the wealth of
such vast portion of the Great West is poured
into her lap. As there are self. made
men, she is a elf.msde city. What Chicago has
effected, San Francisco may attempt The peo>
pie of San Francisco are too enterprising to per-
NIT her to stagnate because she was born with a
fortune; and it is high time to begin too"
lit is "high time" for San Francisco 10 be-
gin, what will the people of this Valley say that
we are born With a fortune, and the world
can't take it away from us2 1 will admit that
those who were born here, and those who live
here, are born to fortune, if properly put to
use the richest SOIL the finest climate, the
purest water, etc. But all this won't make
money. Water and the earth is turned to yari>
Gus uses; yea, even the very lightning is made
subservient to mans use but for how many
thousand years did this element, and that Of
steam lay dormant7 Until the slow speed of the
sail vessel, and the tOrdy mails required an i'm.
petus, the same as the threshing machine took
the place of the four footed beast aud thp -.
Eastern Washington Territory is capable Of rails.
ing wheat and other kinds of grain, enough for
good sized nation, which would all rot on our
hands without proper facilities for trausporta.
tion ; but the consequences is, we, grain grow.
ing people, of scarcely six years ofage, have,
during the last year, raised more grain than we
can dispose of at halfits value, AID not one
fifth of the Valley under cultivation This won't
do it is too discouraging, and consequently the
farmers of this Valley, this season, are putting
in more corn than wheat, and wby2 because
they can supply this corn with legs, il the shape
of big, fat hogs, and 10 this way ther can drive
their corn before them, or pack AMI smoke it.
railroad through this Valley would change all
this F; would chauge.the current Of th,ught, and
matters now under discussion, would be obsolete
questions. The iron horse is not only an animal
of speed, but it iS q sower of men, he planter
towns and cities, builder Of farm boases, chur-
ches and school houses makes rich, prosperous,
and happy communities develops th, resources
OF the whole country for miles around on both
sides Of the track. A railroad through the couu-
try euricheS the whole country beyond; even the
Colville valley, rich agricultural valley, would
be orough: thirty miles nearer Portland and San
Francisco. All that is proposed in the way of
opening up and bringing to light the vast riches
of that portion of Washington Territory, living
east OF the Columbia river, and north of o46, can
be easily accomplished all that is required is a
little energy. Show your section of country up
In It's true light tell the truth say to the cap.
itAli't abroad, "hsre is an immense valley, and
there are Others beyond US, millions Of acres of
good land, now valueiess give us railroad
and we will fill your Golfers, enrich ourselves,
and bring thousands Of dollars to the govern,
meut treasury, BY settling up and improving the
now vacant land in our midst" Capital of itself
is an inert body it must be moved, and the peo
pie, to be benefited, are the proper oess to set
the ball in motion. CuErux,
TIE IMPEACHMENT :-Washington dispatches to
May ., give us the close of Stanbery's speech in
defence Of the President. His address is con-
eeded to be the ablest argument on either side,
and carries with 1t the conviction that If the
President is to be convicted, it is for the reason