The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-06-15

Anew Pacific Railroad.
| With Central Pacific six per cent.
bonds selling at 102, and those of I'm
ion Pacific not far below par, and q
steady demand for them, Pacific rail-
/ roads, as an investment, stand fair be-
fore the people. The old arguments,
which took the form of prophecy
when the enterprise was young, have
proved to be false; and the new arga-
meitt, that in building 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
viii be $50 miles apart at their nearest
approach. Surprising as it may seem
to those who recollect the character
of the country trayersed by the Union
| Pacific line, and the series of noun
tain ranges scaled by the Central, it is
nevertheless fact that of the fourteen
millions of dollars earned by these
two roads during 1870, a proportion
amounting to sixty-five per cent, was
earned from local traffic. And this
proportion will increase with every
! year, for population, settlements, in
dustry, have never yet failed to follow
close upon the locomotives trail, and
it is these which make up commerce.
Such is the principle which is founded
upon thegeneral experience of nations
ever since railroads were devised, and
such is the basis upon which the Bal
timore e. Ohio, the Pennsylvania Cen
tral, the Illinois Central, and all the
great railroads whicE have played SO
large part in the development of the
country, were originally planned and
1 constructed. ets-4
| 1t is well to invite the peoples at
| tention to this principle, and the facts
upon which tits founded and it is
| fitting preliminary to mention of the
Northern Pacific Railroad now build
ing across the continent along our
northern belt of Territories. 1t is the
temporary misfortune ef this enter
prise that it opens up a portion of the
country which to a greater degree
probably than in the case OF any other
is unknown to the American public,
whose climate, soil, and geographical
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 beyond
question that the climate is as mild
and equable, and the soil as productive
as in most Of our Western States; that
the general elevation across the conti-
nent averages lower than at any other
point north of Mexico; and that no
equally extensive portion of our terri
tory can excel it in the production of
the precious metals, the minerals, cer-
eals, fruits, vegetables, and all the
agencies of commercial prosperity.
Such q country will soon be filled
| with population when a great railroad
system brings it into connection with
the rest of the world opening its pro-
ductive acres to convenient market !;
but already 1t has population more
numerous by one hundred thousand
than that reached by the Union Pacific
at the start. The immense wheat crop
of Western Minnesota and the Red
River valley, the mining business of
| Montana and Idaho, the stock raisers
of the Plains, the lumber trade of Pu-
get Sound, the transportation OF sup
plies for the twenty-seven northwest
ern military posts, the Hudson Bay
| Company, and the whole adjacent
!" Fertile Belt" of the British possess
ions, will all contribute 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 be-
tween New York and Japanese ports,
that it lies directly in the line of the
vast commerce across the Pacific.
Neither of the other lines can sur
pass 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 Far West" when all
the roads are built Population, COM
merce and civilization will follow in
their track across the continent
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