Omaha daily bee., 1883-12-01

OF tnlS RONeInHlelli agTlCul-
tural, mineral, and otherwise. Now,
Just think for one moment what amounts
of gold and silver have been dug out of
these mountains under all the disad-
vantages of having NJ great mode OF com
munication, when men had to drag their
heavy and ponderous instruments for
getting out these minere 5 over thousands
of miles Of untracked territory, and yet,
sir, they have dug out those precious
metals by hundreds of millions. Now,
think of the vast chain of mountains,
extending from the north of Mexico to
the remotest north, running through this
great republic from end to end, and all
full of these precious metals, and think
when this railway shall be accomplished
there, when these great and ponderous
instruments 80 necessary to develop those
minerals, shall be taken there by the
speed of the railway, and that great min
eral region shall be exposed TO the
enterprise of the American peo-
pie everywhere with such ease
and ~facility-where the workmen may
be fed by railway communication
where all their wants can be so easily
supplied-imagine, if you can, the i'm
mense wealth that will be developed al
most instantly when the railway reaches
those regions, and then doubt, if you
can, the ability of this nation to en-
counter any debt whatever. Applause.
And another thing occurs to me hat l
have no doubt will take place the mo-
ment this great t~horoughfare reaches the
Pacific ocean; the whole course of trade
and will be changed by which
all nations, ancient and modern, have
sought the great and rich countries
of the east. China and India
will be reached in one-half, nay
one-third the time we reach them
now, and they will fnd-for self-interest
governs all these things, whatever the
pride of nations may dictate-it will not
divert the course of trade from its east
est channels, and when you have diverted
the course of trade through our republic,
all that Europe uses of the spices, teas,
and silks of the east will come through
this channel, here by you, the people of
Chicago. Applause. l tell you, sir,
end | say to this company, you have a
right to be proud of what you have done,
for you are revolutionizing the commerce
of the world. l do not know that any
can now form a judgment of the
exceeding Importance of this great work;
but am glad, sir, that it has fallen to
my lot to support it before the nation, to
give my voice and influence in its behalf.
Applause. | am glad, sir, that it
stands recorded there that, through good
report and TIN rough evil report, l stood
by this as / stand by all those great thor
oughfares that connect the interests of
this great republic with one another.
The gentleman alluded to that great in
ternational work, the water communica-
ton between here and the east, almost as
important as the other, and worthy the
enterprising people of Chicago to bring
before the public, and l trust they will
have the intelligence and the power to
impress its importance on the whole peo-
pie of the United States, so that the
work shall go hand in hand with the 9TH
er, and finally be accomplished. ZAP
plause. Therefore, again l say to you
that the Importance of this location
transcends probably what most men
think of it. If you are not to be the
first city of this continent, you will never
have but two rivals-San Francisco, on
the Pacific, may contend the palm of
greatness with you, and New York has
got to run fast to get out of your way
Laughter and applause. You may
deem that an ~extravagant expression,
but recollect that New York city had to
struggle for one hundred and fifty years
before she had the population and wealth
that you have to-day. Look at her his.
tory, and then at all this you have made
up since l visited this, then barren spot,
thirty-two years ago, and certainly Meth
er your intelligence nor your enterprise
are slow 20 perceive the great advantages
of your location; and what / have seen
to-day convinces me that you will not be
slow to appropriate all the advantages
you possess. No people of this country
have more intelligence, more of en-
terprise, more of the Ameri-
can Yankee go-aheadativeness than
the people of Chicago. Applause. l
say again, there are but two cities on this
continent that can compete with you and
your posterity for the palm of greatness.
And now, as to the excursion. |
have said before, and L repeat it here,
that it was on the most comprehensive
scale of magnifcence that l have ever
seen. The company have stopped at
nothing that would promote our happi-
ness or bring within our grasp all the in
telligence we could possibly acquire on
this subject. They stopped at nothing,
and there is not a member of that excur-
sion party who would not admit the per-
feet organization that was brought about
by the managers of the excursion. 1t
was thoroughly orsanized-and, travers-
ing this continent more than fifteen hun
dred miles, having to use different modes
OF conveyance, transporting this great
company from one point to another with
out the least confusion or the least de-
lay, was a work hat required brains as
well as generosity. Their arrangements
were all perfect, and the enjoyment of
the excursionists was as great as it was
possible that it could be made by all that
human ingenuity could give, and l be.
feels today, in his heart, gratitude foI
the opportunities it gave him to be ac-
quainted with our great country. Here
l may also say, sir, that we took away
out there, among the Pawnees, and
brought face to face with barbarian,
almost the entire instrumentalities OF
our highest civilization. We had there
a printing press; a morning paper was
printed in the Platte valley, beyond the
hundredth meridian, and while the Paw,
nees were dancing their wild dances, the
printers were working off a description
of the scene. The spectacle was a move,
and a gratifying one, and l doubt if, in
the history of these times. which amaz,
and surprise men, there has been any