Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-09-27

rur yO8TuG1S PACIFIC.
n. I. Railroad Gazeste
The Northern Pacific Rsilrosd vas
formally oonplstsd Issf Friday vne1
Prc9,denf Wizard drove the iaa sFEke
before q rress assembsA9e o. o.szan-
cuished personAees- whom he lao as
ssmbged from En912nd. Germany ana
Iustris. a. well as this co1ntry. Ihs
srruf e certainly one Of great import
snce 20 certain parts Of the country,
md of corrss 20 fhe railroad oonprs,
but 10 the country and the World u -
insiruifcaus compared with the opening
Of the Uuion and Central PaSinc Trs1se
In Issa. That frsf opzoed fns way
srross the continent. and, vnzi vas PEI
harm Gill more important 20 the interior
~ fbe continent west Of the MlssourI-
7Ss vork vas done IN the fsoe Of oosta-
,les wkics, NO Successor could useef- for
snrne time there was no railroad 30 as
s-ast<ru terminus, 1.-THE North western was
not completed 20 Council BIu1s Until
Isg7l and vast quantities OF supp1es
were hauled for Is across western Iowa
The viIderness on its line vas then more
savage than any DOW left IN the United
states. except Alaska. Bat the strong
arm and the great resources Of the
United States we're behind IT; extraordi-
usry Inducements were offered 70 CEN
ulete the road and 70 complete IT Is rap
idly as possible; and 10 was pusbed
through from beginning 70 end with ex-
traordinary vigof and without Interrupt
ton. Since that time We have seen an
other line entirely completed across TO
the Pacific coast, and two others more
than half way across, 10 functions with
the two roads from San Francisco. A
new Pacific railroad ceases 10 interest
more than new road east Of the Missis-
sipp, and may be much less important
in It's effects On traffic.
The Northern Pacific is certainly mach
less important than the first Pacific rail
road, bat IL In much more important,
both for through and local traffic, than
apy Of tbe others that have been built.
Is does what none Of thsm have done,
in that il brings into closer connection
with tbs East an important district on
the Pacific coast. Al this distance We
are apt TO think of that coast as unit
of moderate extent, all reached tolerably
we'll by single railroad. In fact. from
Puget Sound 70 San Diego il as far A
from. New Brunswick 20 Florida: and
from San Francisco 20 the mouth Of the
Columbia n equal 10 the distance from
New York 70 Charleston. We would
hardly think that New York and Sayan.
nah or Charleston could Be served
equally well by . railroad 70 either Of
them, yet this 10 ~ reasonable as to
suppose that railroad to6an Francisco
should serve Portland and Dragon n
veil ~ San Francisco and California
or even more 90, for Oregon and Cali
fernia have no connection by rail, n
have New Pork and the south Atlantic
p3rts, and between the country which
has il outlet at San Francisco and that
which ships from the Columbia rivel
thsre II an immense territory very thinly
inhabited and almost q desert. The two
communities are not only distant bal
distinctly separate.
Nov the Northern Pacific aboiishei
for Oregon the cost of ocean transport
alton between San Francisco and Port
land, about 700 miles, on all transconti
mental shipmeuts, and gives the fusthel
advantage Of . great reduction in thu
time required on the journey. Thus Or
eeon and Washington must at once fee
the advantage Of the railroad TO q
marked extent, and 10 the country cas-
of the Rocky Mountains with whict
they trade or may trade the advantage
will 10 similar, but not proportionally
nearly a. great, as they are great anc
Oregon il little.
This part Of the Pacific district is
however. much less important than Cal
ifornia, though settled longer by Ameri
cana, a. II has besn much longer par
Of the United States. IL never had thu
great dow Of immigration which tia
gold mines brought TO California, and il
has not 30 large an extent of valuable
agricultural laLd. For farming ant
gFaxing, and especially for wheat pro
duCttou, the absence Of q transconti
usutai railroad has not been seriouI
DISADVANTAGES. The California wheat M
les than the Oregon and Washington
wheat still goes TO market by way Of
Cape Horn, and Oregon does not pro
ducs the magnificent fruits which find {
market a. far al the Atlantic coast. Thu
chief obstacle TO its agricultural deyel
opmont has been lack Of local rail
roads, which has been made good o
iats years. II will be interesting, then
70 compare the population and chic
productions of California with those o
Oregon and Warrington, rs shown b,
the late csusua. a. follows:
~.