The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-09-06

NINETEEN THOUSAND MILES OF RAIL-
ROAD BUILT.
In 1860, the LIST of january, there were
1900 miles of railroad in operation in this
country. On the LIST of january, 1872,
there were 81 900 miles. Do you think,
then, these 5000 miles were built to meet
the demand of declining commerce? If
they were, Leland Stanford is great deal
bigger fool than / have taken him to be.
And what use has Tom Scott to 60 on
building railroads in every direction to
meet tho wants of declining commerce
No, gentlemen, there was reason why
these roads were built. Again in 1860
there was not a north or south line Of rail-
road in this country 800 miles long that
was not bankrupt or in lettering condi-
ton. The only road that connected Phil
adelphia with the capital of the country,
or the roads rather, the Philadelphia and
Wilmington and the Baltimore and Ohio,
were snglc-track roads both Of them were
profoundly i'll debt. To-day they are
double-track roads, as good as any in the
country. There is not an insolvent-north
and south or east and west--three hundred
miles of road in the country to-day.
And since | have been out in this mar
Vicious country, the Rocky Mountains /
have ridden from Denver to Puebla, 1lS
miles, on north and south three-foot
wide road, and while | was there the con-
tract was made for extending it $50 miles
further south. There, in that region
which was wilderness so little time ago
then in the heart of the great American
desert. In the Salt Lake Valley the Nor
mons are building roads both north and
south, extending north and south,
running with tho degrees of longitude
instead of the parallels of latitude.
The commerce of America has grown so
vastly as to require means of carrying
which the world cannot supply, and the
price of iron, so far has the demand outran
the means Of supply, that since 1870 it
has nearly doubled in British and Ameri-
can markets, and all because iron is in such
demand to meet the demands of the decin-
ing commerce of the United States! Let
us look at the details of some of this.
Look at your own State. In 1860, as is
shown by the census, California had one
wooden factory, which employed six sets Of
cards. In 1870 she had six factories that
worked filty-two sets. Oregon, your
neighboring State, in 1860 had one factory
with four sets of cards, and in 1870 she
had five factories with sixteen sets.
In 1860 the value of the production of
the mines, fisheries and factories of Califor-
MIA, as ascertained by the census, was $685.
253,32S. In 1870 the valve of the gross
productions OF her workshops and factories,
exclusive of mines and fisheries, were $73,-
1l6,75G; the value Of the productions of
the mines, fisheries and factories of Oregon
IN 1900 xrynrn 7TE -E1 opI IN, 1870 J,a
productions of the factories alone were
valued at G,9Ol 900. Look at this vast
increase of wealth! Look at your increase
Of agricultural productions, your mines,
your fisheries, your small workshops, not
taken into account by the census-for no
establishment lis taken into account that
docs not produce an aggregate Of $500 per
annum. Look at the increase of your rail-
roads, with the untold wealth you have
added in buildings and in the development
of gold and silver mines, the increase to
the value of all added by scientific discove-
ries and mechanical inventions, and see how
wealth has extended, and how commerce
and the demands of commerce have grown
steadily year by year.
THE SALMON COOKED.
And let us look at the effect Of these
upon the whole country. The total pro-
duction Of mines, fisheries and factories in
the United States, in 1870, as ascertained
by the census, was 81 ,SS5, SCI GIG, being
an increase of So per cent. over the pro-
duction of 1850. The production of the
factories and workshops, exclusive of mines
and fisheries, for 1870 was $4,302 ,452, GIG,
being an increase of 12S per cent. over the
production oil mines fisheries and factories
in 1860. Mind you, 12S per cent, though
five years of that decade had been passed
in war, during which your skilled work
men, your inventors, your farmers, had
gone TO the field, and stayed there for years
or laid their bones as sacrifice upon the
field for the life Of the country. Mean
while, workshops and foundries, and FORCES
and rolling mills were busy in making in
stumcnts of destruction and not of produc-
ton. The South was desert; her fields
were without culture her mansions were
despoiled her youth slain or demoralized
in an unsuccessful war. This was the con-
dtion of our country for nearly onc-half Of
that decade, and yet so maryclously is the
commerce ofthe American people increasing
that the increase over the preceding de-
cade was 12S per cent, making a total
Vi oNci pf,ooV,ooo,ooO. Ia pPiauac.I
Now, my friends, what has this to dc
with General Grant? Why, if he was
to be held accountable for a defining
commerce, will you not give him some
credit for the fact that his administration
has been so even, so steady. so wise in its
repeal of taxes, in its collection Of them
in the faithful application of the revenues
Of the country to the reduction of tho
debt, III holding steady balance in the
treasury to prevent gambling in gold or
currency, and thus aid in developing The
resources of the country? Will you moi
give him credit for it? You WON'T if you
are genuine Greeley man. You will
then say our foreign trade has declined
that is to say the imports and exports
figure up more but we don't carry il
ourselves and Grant ought TO be turned
out on that account. That is the argu
ment of genuine Greeley man. Now, m,
good friend doubtless felt that he had OF
fcred me hopeless task when he ex
pressed the hope that | would satisfacto
rily account to you for the decline 0
American commerce. think he was mis-
taken, and that if, in pursuance of Mrs
Glass prescription, | have caught thC
salmon, have cooked it.
TIE PROTECTIVE POLICY.
snow my friends, let me ask whethe
Grants administration has had ANYTHING {