, 1883-09-22

route, which at nrst was the only one
thought OF, gradually lost prestige and other
routes took prominence. You will see the
quaint figure OF an honest visionary appear
upon the scene. first as the promoter Of an
odd Illusion, and next as the moving spirit
IN the formal birth and christening of our
enterprise through the congressional charter
OF 1864 You will hear that the charter
failed TO give real life 10 the corporation.
owing 10 certain abnormal features engraft-
ed upon II, and that il passed eventually 10
the control Of AiSe, experienced and infu-
eniial men, but who, however. also failed al
hrs; TO attract the needed capital until those
features were eradicated by congressional
amendment.
Then the brilliant episode IL our history
will pass before you, in which an able, bold
and Eesoluie man was the central figure, to
whom, most of all, the company owes Its
practical existence. You will be reminded
how the hopeful brightness of that period
was eclipsed by the black cataclysm of 1873
Our fabric seemed then TO be lost IN q bot
tomless pit. Yet an entire resurrection fol
lowed, owing 10 the inherent vitality Of the
PROSTATE body, and 10 the resolute applica-
ton of the heroic remedies Of foreclosure
and reorganization.
There was no immediate restoration TO
very active life. Years Of slow recuperatiOn
followed, until the advent of the eXtraordi-
nary revival of commerce and industry gen
orally, and of railroad undertakings espe-
cia.ly. in the years 1873 and 1880. The 81
gaciOus men who then directed the com
pany'S affairs saw their patience rewarded
and the time ripe once more for the resump-
ton Of construction work on the road
They began cautiously, seeking what WAS
possible rather than what was desirable All
at once, Fortune smiled with intense radi-
ance upon the company. 4 financial alliance
with great syndicate was formed lis con
clusion meant nothing else than the assur-
ance of all the capital required 10 complete
the road, and thereby the end OF all uncer-
tainty in the prospects of the company
leap. IN short, INTO assured success
With flood tide in the companys treas
ury, there arose not only the possibility. but
the necessity, of pushing the construction of
our transcontinental line with the utmost
energy. hope | may be permitted to say
that we have striven TO do our full duty,
and to obtain the greatest effort Of which
human brain and muscles, stimulated by
unlimited capital, are capable, in 4 given
time and in il stated direction. Work on the
main line WIS first resumed west of the Mis-
sOnn river in the spring of 1879, and al the
confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers
in the fall of the same year The distance
between the two starting points was ,222
miles. The 81. miles from the Missouri
| to the Yellowstone were completed in June,
1881: the 225 miles from the Columbia TO
Lake Pend d'Oreille in November, 1881
| The completion of the $40 miles of the road
in the Yellowstone Valley took seventeen
months The l9f miles up the gOrges of
CLARK Fork to Ahssoula. nineteen months;
! from the head of the Yellowstone Valley TO
I Helena, and thence 10 this junction, nine
months Thus. the first 442 miles of the
total mileage 10 be cOmpleted-that Is, the
Missouri and Pend dOreille divlSlonS-were
| finished IN two years and eight months.
while the other $50 miles were completed in
less than two years. In this time, the great
| structure of the Bismarck bridge was also
| erected The continuation of the main line
down the Columbia for Il length of PIC
| more miles by another company 10 Port
| land, and = thousand additional miles of
| lines Of branch and allied companies were
| finished Now these figures are easily
quoted ond apparently speak very simple
| language But their true meaning goes far
beyond the mere space of time and mileage
of completed road they indicate. They
| form great sum of human patience and
| perseverance, energy and bravery, hardship
and privation. They express long and hard
| tests of the power Of human ingenuity
and endurance IN Il mighty struggle of me.
chanical and manual force against the direct
obstacles Of primitive nature They mean
painful record Of bodily suffering and loss
of life by disease and accident. You have
seen enough Of the work to form an Idea OF
lis difficulty, lis vasineSs, its costlineSs.
You have the testimony Of your own eyes
that this highway had to be carved, as Il
were. out Of a very wilderness where We
found nothing to help us-no labor, no
food, no hatS Sations no material. no means
of transportation. You see the evidences
OF triumph owed very hindrance. But you
perceive only fl Shed results; the dramatic
incidents of Yer achievement are not dis
closed to vE. Rolling along smoothly.
merrilv and iuXuriously over the line, how
can YOU < now that the bridges over which
we pass were built while the subdued rivers
were hidden in ice or swollen to peril0us
depih and turbulence?-that defiance was
hidden 10 the seasons, and the pick ana
shovel kept ilying, though the way had to
be cleared through thick crustS OF spow,
and on frozen ground thawed by fires:
have not said all this in boastful spirit,
but solely in order TO give proper credit
where il belongs for the great deed now
well done, and thus discharge, by this pub
lie acknowledgment, as much rs possible,
the heavy debt of gratitude that weighs
upon me.
Let me then own. on this solemn occa-
sion. that our edifice could never have been
reared but for the liberallty of the people OF
the United States, acting through the Fed
eral Government, IN providing a solld 1oun
daiion in our land grant for the devotion
and sagacitv of the men who steered our
craft in the DAYS OF distress and danger; Tor
the generous forbearaRce OF our stockhGld-
ers the confidence Of the public. the power
ful helm of financial allies; and last, but far
from least for the ability and faIthfuiness
of the officers and employees o. the COM
many and for the myriads of honest tolers
who earned their bread in the sweat OF their
brows for our benefit.
And thus we are permitted today to be-
hold this mighty task as all but finished. IL
was nv proud privilege TO exercise the chiei
direction over its later stages No nght uuiy
il was. but wearisome. and bralnsand nerve
eybaustlng. Still, lis very grandeur inspired
the will and the power 10 perform II, ana
there was comfort and elevation lntthe
,bonGbt that we have built what cannot per
;sb hnt will last TO the end of all earthly