Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-10-05
New England Did II,
from the Portland (Or) Daily oregonian, Sci
TENDER 49,

tFrom the Portland (Or) Daily 0rcgonian, Sep
TENDER 1871
Mr.. Evarts, in his speech at the pavilion,
made humorous allusion to New England
as the source from which the Northern
Pacific railroad came, will most of the other
great public improvements in this country.
But there was truth as well as humor 10 the
allusion. The man who first publicly advo-
Gated Pacific railroad and carefully
estimated its costs and advantages was DR..
s. b. Barlow OF Massachusetts. After the
project of Northern Pacific road had been
abandoned in despair by Asa Whitney, it
was taken up and kept alive before the pub
lie by Edwin F. johnson of Vermont, who
became the first chief engineer of the road.
With him was associated in early days,
Thomas II. Garfield, another Vermonter who
has since taken q prominent part in Northern
Pacific affairs. These two men first placed
the scheme on q practical basis before the
public The first survey of the road was
made by Gov. Stevens of Washington terri
tory, Rhode Island man, who had associated
with him another New Englauder. Lieut..
Rufus Saxon of Massachusetts. A man from
Maine, Josiah Perham, the first president of
the Northern Pacific, played an important
part in connection with the enterprise. The
company was orgauized in Boston, the city
where the road received its first endorsement
since the days of Asa Whitney, from men
of prominence in business affairs, the major
ity of the original corporators being New
England men. Soon after its organization
the franchise passed into new hands, and
another board of directors was chosen, all but
two of them in New England, with Governor
Smith of Vermont us president. One
,l,ar s.E LII arI Do ID
Cheney OF Boston, who has been in the board
from that day to this, aud who with Mr..
Cass put money into the great Cass- Cheney
wheat farm in the Red Rivey valley. and
thus gave the road the most valuable single
advertisement it has ever had priCr to this
excursion. After the collapse Of the enter
prise in 1878, it was saved from extinction
and rcsuscitatcd again by another New
Highlander, Frederick Billings of Vermont,
who as early as 1866 went TO Washington at
the request of the people Of this region to
obtain aid from the government to build the
road. In 1869 Mr.. Billings became director
of the company aud organized the land de-
partment, which has been the backbone of
the enterprise. lie reorGanized the road
after its failure, became president, extended
the road several hundred miles on both ends,
and negotiated load Of money for its conf
pieliOu bSi'iS hS iSoishcu 'uc blNSibShSN'
1t will thus be seen that New England has
contributed very largely of the faith, enter
prise and energy as well as capital which
have entered into the construction Of this
road. And what, as Mr.. Evarts-who is also
New Highlander, having been born in Bos-
ton, and his father having been born IN
Vcrmont-so happily said, did "Mr. Willard
do toward building the Northern Pacific
railroad before he married his New England
wifc?' If closely questioned on the subject
we have no doubt that Mr.. Willard would
admit that the best thing that he ever did
was TO marry that wife.
The Oregonidn only states well-known
facts in its chapter of history. 1t will be
seen, also, it is no new discovery
that in that chapter the men of our Green
Mountain State have place second to nc
others. If "New England did it, Vermont
did n good deal of IL