The Daily Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Or.) 1876-1883, 1883-09-11
HENRY WIZARDS ADDRESS.
On the Occasion of the Completion
of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

VI 1IclSiih, oIOHJdlas Oh DcSI -OOSS
river. Over four thousand people
witnessed, the ceremony. After
driving he spike, Mr.. Willard said:
Gent, hnea:-It is my agreeable duty
and very great pleasure to offer a
hearty welcome to this distinguished
assemblage on this memorable occa-
sion and in these remarkable sur
roundings. To you, the representa-
tives Of foreign nations, the members
of the executive committee, legisla-
tive and judicial branches OF the Uni
ted States government, the governors
of states and territories, the represen-
tatives of the European and American
press, and our guests from abroad and
at home generally, to you, one and
all, beg to offer, in the name of the
Northern Pacific Railroad company
profound thanks for your kind pres
ence and participation in this, the
most important event of our corporate
existence. Our work means the con-
quest OF new fields for general com
merce and industry. Ii creates q
new highway between Europe, Amer
lea and Asia. The population of the
states and territories traversed BY our
road is largely made up from the Eu-
ropean nationalities represented here.
We deemed it 6t and proper, there,
fore, to bid, SO to speak, both the old
and the new world to this celebration,
or, in other words, to arrange a sort
of international festival. Many oi
you have crossed the ocean, and al
have travelled great distance in order
to be with US to-dag. BE pleased tc
accept my assurance that we gratefully
appreciate your sacrifice of time and
comfort. In return We earnestly wish
to do our guests all possible honor and
to give them all possible plsasure,
and we trust that this transcontinen.
tai Journey has been and will be an
unallOyed enjoyment TO them. We
hope. moreover, that as in this hour a
new and indissoluble bond will be
formed between the countries to the
east and to the west Of these Rocky
mountains, this gathering may also
strengthen the ties of good viii and
friendship between the repablic ci
North America and the parent coun.
tries Of Europe.
Thanks to the foresight of President
Thomas Jefferson, well nigh fouI
score years ago, Lewis and CLARK
toiled through these mountains IS the
first explorers of Anglo7American orr
gin, and lifted the veil that hid from
civilized mankind the regions watered
By the upper Missouri. the Yellow
stone, the Columbia and their tribu.
taries. The exploits of these fear.
less and gifted men were the rich
germ, the full fruition of which W,
celebrate this day.
More eloquent lips than mine will
describe to you the long and singular
but interesting process of evolution
by which our enterprise slowly grew
out Of the discoveries then made BY
so much courage and intelligence
They viii tell you how the record o
these discoveries first gave rise, a
long as nearly half century ago, I,
prophetic visions of a transcontinenta
railroad along Lewis and Clark's route
and how, within ten years after thes
visions were first embodied in print
they filled the mind Of one man will
such fire of enthusiasm as to move hin
to go forth, like another apostle, ant
to spend the best years of his life an,
all he possessed in the propagation 0
his faith. You will learn how in tn
end he became a very martyr to hi
belief, but how the project of a rail
road to the Pacific, despite the failur
of its first prophet, made converts
spread widely and grew into POPULAR
ty, until it finally attained the import
ance of leading public question an,
object of national legislation.
! You will be shown how the north
ern route, which at first was the onl
one thought of, gradually lost prestig
and other routes took prominence
You viii see the quaint figure Of a
. honest visionary appear upon tn
, scene, first as the promoter of an cd,
illusion, and next as the movin
spirit in the formal birth and christer
ing OF our enterprise through the cor
gressional charter of 1864. You wi
hear that the charter failed to Civ
real life to the corporation, owing I
certain abnormal features engrafte
upon it, and that it passed eventual
: to the control of wise, experienced an
!. influential men; but who, however ais
failed at first to attract the neede
capital until those features were Grad
Gated by congressional amendment.
!, Then the brilliant episode in OF
history will pass before you, in whic
an able, bold and resOlute man W;
o the central figure, to whom. most
! ! all, the company owes its practica
4 existence. You viii be reminded no
the hopeful brightness of that perio
was eclipsed by the black darkness
the cataclysm of 1873. Our fabr
seemed then to be lost in a bottom
less pit. Yet an entire resurrectiC
G folloual nwipu 20 4ba ;nbara,,t :,