Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1883-09-13
DRYING THE GOLDEN SPIKE.
Formal Completion OF the Northern
Pacific Railroad.

mel, west of Helena, Montana, at $50
O'Clock Saturday afternoon, in the pre-
sence Of large crowd and amid the
booming Of cannon.
Speeches were made by the President,
Henry Willard, the Hon. William M.
Bvarts and ex-Presiden. Frederick
Billings.
The complete history of the Northern
Pacific railroad dates back to 1916 In
that year Asa Whitney, a New York
merchant, proposed to Congress to build
| a railroad from the head OF Lake Miehi-
gan to the mouth of the Columbia river,
in case II would give him land grant,
60 miles in width, for the whole length
If the line. This plan was embodied in
bill which was before Congress for
nber Of years aud came near passing
in ls47.
IL 1858 the Government made surveys
of five routes to the Pacific, aud Isaac II.
Stephens, Governor Of Washington Terri
tory, who had charge Of the survey of the
northernmost route, male q favorable
report thereon.
When the Union and Central Pacific
company were chartered, in 1862, q strong
effort was made to obtain a charter for
the Northern line but IL failed at the
time.
The man who succeeded in getting the
chsrtev was Josiah Pelham, who had
organized company, under the sanction
of the Legislature of Maine, called The
Peoples Pacific Railroad Company, and
had attempted, in 1862, to obtain the
Union Pacific charter Tor his corporation.
Failing in this he turned his attention
to the Northern route, and by promising
to ask for no subsidy in bonds or money
from the Government, he obtained in
1864 charter, coupled with a land grant
just doublein area that given to the Union
and Central Pacific companies. The
Northern Pacific grant embraces ths
alternate sections of land for 20 mi!es on
each side OF the road in the states, and
for 40 miles in the territories, with au
additional TO miles on each side a. an in
demnity limit, within which lands may
be selected to compensate for those taken
Ivy settlers inside OF tue original grant.
Pelham tried in vain to raise capital to
build his road, and in December, 1866,
turned over his charter to a syndicate oil
New England capitalists for barely
enough TO pay his debts, and died, in
1865, without seeing the first spadeful of
earth turned in the prosecution of his
great enterprise. The New England syn
dictate spent over four years in unsuccsas.
full efforts to induce Congress to make a
grant OF bonds to aid in building the road
or 10 guarantee the interest on the stock.
No progress was made until Jay Cooke
took hold of the enterprise, in 1870. He
obtained legislation authorizing the issue
b of bonds aud changing the route of the
B. main line, 20 as to avoid the Cascade
3 mountain barrier, and he managed the
s financial agency with such SUCCESS thai
during 1870 aud 1871 the company re
b ceived nearly $50 000, 900 from the salt
i of its bonds, aud the money was rapidly
q applied to the building of the road Ii
: this period the road was built from the
East 10 the Missouri river, and on the
/, West between the Columbia river aut
Pugets sound. Never was q brief period
II of prosperity better employed. In III,
= summer Of 1872 the company began TO b,
1. pressed for funds. A change took pac,
= tie presidency. The financial outlool
i.l ;ue enterprise became lass and les
b ""lrsging avd the general panic o
+; 1913 widowed up the banking house O
Jay Cooke Co., and psFslyzed for til
~ thue, ile y them Pacific enterprise.
The ueNt Two years were pent /,
struggling cut of this slough 81 irs,l
% veTry II 1875 The direttcis nut In
y conn. ~ through bankruptcy SQUIRT
~ ast Il Vc'essfully the r4ilroa
n ftgk d. that hugg around, and recon
"i lnelo-d bpHdius Operations in q teebl
~ way in ls79 the company had 50 f.
I covered il credit ss to he able 10 boz
le .oW money Ana make better progr So. |
Ia | 1850 = lDAu of $40 cot. GOO ws5 Iiotrgt: ale