The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-10
NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

|
| Pacific Railroad. running nearly parallel with
the Union and Central Pacific through
region some three or four hundred miles
further north than the iron link which now
connects the shores of our ocean-bound repub-
! lie. The proposed route isnow being carefully
examined by the members of an exploring
party. whose report, if satisfactory to Eastern
capitalists, will at once place this gigantic en-
terprise on a good financial basis, and
lead to it's speedy success. In the States east
of the Mississippi, several great trunk lines,
scarcely more than a hundred miles apart,
are now absolutely necessary to facilitate in
ternal travel and commerce., and in the Far
West at least three are required for the proper
development of its varied resources. The
Union or Central road is now substantially
completed. Many projects for Southern
Pacific Railway over various routes are under
consideration, and the claims of the Northern
Pacific to support will soon be forcibly pre-
sented. Congress has authorized the extern
sion of aid in the shape of large donations of
valuable land, but as its mineral resources
were not well known at the time the existing
Pacific Railway system was devised, no bonds
or money were granted, and from present in
dications the requisite capital must be OBJ
tanned from private capitalists.
The new route will traverse the most pro-
ductive and desirable portion of our western
domain It is substantially the region ira
versed by the Lewis and Clark expedition,
organized by jefferson more than sixty years
ago, which first gave authentic information to
the American people and the world in regard
to the character of the vast regions lying to
the northwest. Subsequently, when the va
rious Pacific Railroad projects were subjected
to accurate governmental investigation, some
eighteen or twenty years ago, the engineers
and officers selected to examine the northern
route reported that it was entirely practicable,
and that it traversed many districts which
could easily be rendered extremely productive
by careful culture. The climate is compare
lively mild on account of the depression of
the mountain system near our northern boun-
dary The reduced elevation more than COM
pensates for the high latitude. and no serious
distractions need be feared from snow storms.
Nature seems to have marked out the north
ern route as the proper one for a great
national highway, because the navigable
streams of the Atlantic and Pacific here make
the nearest approach to each other; and
by the construction of a railway only few
hundred miles in length, it would be entirely
practicable to convey bulky merchand Use, by
combined land and water transportation,
across the entire continent. 1t has another
| advantage in the fact that communication be-
| tween the western coast of Oregon with Japan
and China is more direct than the route west
ward from San Francisco. Besides, agricul-
| ture over many portions of this line will need
none of the assistance from irrigation
which American farmers are slow
| to give, and abundant crops can
be ensured by the culture with which they are
already familiar. AS Minnesota is now in
many respects the best and greatest of our
wheat-growing States, so other districts of
equal fertility and of immense extent will be
opened up. Nor are mineral treasures want
ing. The mines of Idaho and Montana are
of unexampled richness. For several years
past they have contributed the principal por-
tion of native gold received by our mints and
some of their quartz mines may hereafter be
proftably and productivity worked for ages
to come.
1t is a settled law of emigration that men
follow sothermal lines with wonderful exacti-
tude in their migratory movements. AS a
consequence, in the natural course of things,
the route of the Northern Pacific Railroad will
become the home of millions of the descend
ants of the present population of New Eng
land, New York, the northern portions of
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as
well as of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota
and the northern nations of Europe
This thrifty race works wonders wher
ever it goes. Possessing indomi
table industry, dauntless courage, and
great inventive powers, it utilizes every
available resource with amazing rapidity, anG
builds up every region it occupies with uner
ring certainty 1t will be by no means sur
prising if thirty years hence the region under
consideration bears the same relation to the
trans Missouri region that the northern por
tions of the Union east of the Missouri beal
to the States that occupy more southern
latitude And railway that penetrates the
Yankee-land of the Far West need have ne
fear of procuring plenty of freight and pas
sengers.
We have already published several articles
descriptive of portions of the route of tht
) great new enterprise. A letter appears il
, our columns to-day, which gives a vivid pic
7 ture of the forests and sea-coast of Oregon
and conveys a realizing sense of the future
greatness Of that distant portion of tn,
5 Union.
pEnTTTTOM NJ an r1PT ~ D AMMO