Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-08-24
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A New Pacific. Railroad.

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With Central Pacific six per cent.
bonds selling at. l02, and those of
the Union Pacific not far below par,
and q steady demand for them, Pa
cific railroads, as an investment,
stand fair before the people. The
old arguments, which took the form
of prophecy when the enterprise
was young, have proved to be false;
and the new argument, that in build
inc other lines we are simply sub
dividing traffic which is only large
enough for one; can be shown to be
no less mistaken. The two roads
will not be in any sense rivals for the
same local trade as they will be $50
miles apart at their nearest APP
pf0ach.2 Surprising as it may seem
| to those who recollect the character
of the country trayersed by the
Union Pacific line, and the series of
mountain ranges scaled by. the Gem
tral, it is nevertheless a fact that of
the fourteen millions of dollars
earned by these two roads during
1910, a portion amounting to sixty
five per cent. was earned from local
traffic. And this proportion viii in
crease with every year, for popula-
ton, settlements, industry, have
never yet failed to follow close up
on the locomotives trail, and it is
these which make up commerce.
Such is the principle which is foun-
ded upon. the general experience of
nations ever since railways were de-
vised, and such is the basis upon
which the Baltimore d Ohio, the
Pennsylvania Central, the Illinois
Central, and all the great railroads
which have played so large a part
in the development of the country,
were originally planned and con-
strueted. az -.,
1t is well to invite the peoples at
tention to this principle, and the
facts upon which it is founded; and
it is q fitting preliminary to men
ton of the Northern Pacific Rail
road now building across the conti-
nent along our northern belt of Ter
ritories. 1t is the temporary mis-
fortune of this enterprise that it
opens up portion of the country
which to 4 greater degree probably
than in the case of any other is un-
known to the American public,
whose climate, soil, and geographic
al features have not been fully known
and appreciated, and about which
there is a lingering suspicion, in the
minds of many that it is on familiar
terms with the Arctic Zone. Yet in
this New Northwest, through. the
heart of which the Northern Pacific
Railroad will run, it is proved be-
.yond question that the climate is as
mild and equable, and the soil as
productive as in most of our West
ern States; thar the general eleva-
ton across the continent averages
lower than any other point north of
Mexico; and that no equally extern
sive portion of our territory can ex-
eel it in the production of the pre-
cious metals, the minerals, cereals,
fruits, vegetables, ,and all the agencies
of commercial prosperity.
Such a county will soon be filled
with population when great'rail-
way system brings it into connec-
ton with the rest of the world;
opening its productive acres to a
convenient market; but already it
has population more numerous by
one hundred thousand than that
reached by the Union Pacific at the
start. The immense wheat crops of
Western, Minnesota and the Red
River valley, the mining business of
Montana and Idaho, the stock rails
ers Of the Plains, the lumber trade
of Puget Sound, the transportation
of supplies for the twenty-seven
northwestern military posts, the
Hudson Bay Company, and the
whole adjacent sFertile Belt of. the
British possessions, will all contrib
ute to the business of the road.
The future Of the Northern Pacific
among the great highways across
the continent, may be inferred from
the fact that it is 600 miles shorter
than any other route to the Pacific,
that it has an advantage of ], 400
miles between New York and ia
panese ports, that it lies directly in
the line of the vast commerce across
the Pacific Neither of the other
lines can surpass it in competing
for the through traffic; though in
that future to which we are looking,
there will be enough, and more than
enough, for all. The growth on the
Pacific slope, since the completion
of the Central road is an Indication
of what will be the progress of the
whole 1sFar West,Sr when all the
roads are built. Population, indus
try, commerce and civilization will
follow in their track across the con-
tinent.-Clerelond Herald.