Omaha daily bee., 1895-11-25

| anu tue HaAleDal fOhu east anu west, Onlo eN
per!enced rapid growth and the valuation o
property insthas state. which was S74. 24S, ,033
rose to S50S ,5Shgi1 by 1852. and the incresst
OF population during that time was about III
per cent. ,1l 41
THE ADVENT OF RAILROADS.
"The advent sof the railway revolutonizet
the entire tyss sem of travel, traffic and colon
lzatlon; The magnificent resources OF The
great MiSsiyapp basin had attracted the at
tent'on of bisiRess men in the Atlantic states
| as promising an immense volume of trade
between the two sections The most exalted
| anticipations Of the great west then indulgei
were exceedingly feeble compared with what
| has since beer realized. They were sufficient
however to excite a keen and powerful com
petition between the cities OF the seaboard fof
the trade OF that region. Boston. New York
and Philadelphia expected to pass the Alle-
ghany mountains in their northern and less
lofty portions by means of canals and thus
| tap the eastern watershed of the Mississippi
basin. Baltimore, though nearer to the west
than any ~ them, was compelled to resign
I this no on the report of the engineer,
Genef4. Bernard, who represented the
natnr5 and financial obstacles to
| canal construction across the mountains
ae practically inyurmountable The
highly wrought expectations were followed
| by despondency. Meanwhile the idea of a
railway was suggested by parties who had
| observed the operation of the infant railroad
| oystSii VI rslkldHu ou lHs ftu VI cuiy
1928, ground was broken for the Baltimore
& Ohio railroad, and the first passenger
! railway In the United States was placed
under construction. New York soon organ
| lied the New York Central and New York
| & Erie railways to draw the western produca
! from the prolific regions bordering ON Lake
| Erie. The construction of these railways
| and the previous lines Of canal across the
! Alleghanies exercised a powerful influence
| on the destinles of the nation. Without the
t,tnr
| the east and the west would have grown up
as comparatively Independent communities
The first line Of separation which threatened
| the unitv OF the republic was that of north
| and south. which divided the east and west
| ern section. The southern Atlantic states
were not Indifferent to this competition. The
South Carolina railroad was commenced in
| 1890, and in 1893 completed to Hamburg,
1876 miles. 1t was then the largest railroad
In the world, and was the first upon which
appeared an engine Of American construc-
tion 1t was also the first railroad upon
which the mails were transported. Virginia
and North Carolina also constructed lines Of
railways connecting with the west and
southwest and these two primary sections
OF our country, east and west, had estab-
lished along their entire lines OF demarca-
ton commercial relations and common in
terests Of incalcuable value, settling per-
manently the question of their political union,
rn. RAILROAD HISTORY
"In 1926 the vsry year that the Erie canal
went into operation, an event hardly to BE-
matched :for'its Importance occurred-the
successful application on the Darlington &
Stockton railway Of steam to purposes OF
locomotion. The railway first undertaken II
the United States was short line of about
three miles for the transportation Of granite
to the Neponset river nsar Boston. The first
locomotive eyer fused in the United Stater
was one imported from England in 1929. Thu
first experimental trip was made in August
1929 but the ,uss Of the locomotive had to be
abandoned because 1t was found too heavy,
The first locomotive built In this country was
placed on the oSouth Carolina railroad in
1880 The useauf locomotives, however, was
not firmly established until 1882. Just sixty
years ago. In 1880 there were twenty-three
States BY 1882 the milssge had increased
to 229. miles and in 1895 the country had
1908 miles of railroad. The first through
railroad fron the east westward was
Albany, connecting at the latter place
with the Erie canal. In the same
year. the last link Of the line from
Albany to Buffalo was opened. At the end OF
184Ssi the toAa> mileage of,fll the rairoads,fr
thenscountry was 6,996 miles, or about 500
miles more than there are now''in the state of
Nebraska. Forty years ago. in 1852. the rail-
way mileagesof the United States was 12.90S
Kansas and Nebraska alone have 141s2 miles
Of railroad at, this time, In the spring of
81 the Erie railroad was completed from New
York to Lake Erie, and In 1852 the Michigan
Central was completed from Lake Erie to
Chicago. In 1858 the first continuous line of
1000 miles or railway was formed between
Boston and Chicago. In 1868 the Pittsbprg &
Fort Wayne. railroad opened its important
lire from Pittsburg to Chicago, completing
the second: great trunk line from New York
to Chicago. g" 49, "a.
I'm the states west of Ohio no railroad of
Importance was constructed previous to 1849.
The first line running east and west through
Indiana was opened in 1858; the next line,
the Ohio & Mississippi, in 1867. The first rail
road in Illinois was undertaken in 1889, but
it was abandoned after a few miles had been
constructed and mule power supplanted the
locomotive as measure of economy. Ths
first railroad to connect Lake Michigan with
the Mississippi river was the Chicago Rock
Island in February, 1854. The Burlington &
Quincy railroad reached the Mississippi river
In 1856 and the Milwaukee & ST. Paul in 1858.
1t was not until 1859 that the Hannibal &
St. Joseph, the pioneer railroad of the
greater west, was completed to the Missouri
river at st. Joseph Six years later, In 1865.
the Chicago & Northwestern railroad, which |
hads dstanced all competitors in the race
toward Omaha, was completed to Council
Bluffs. r.4 81 81 ~ Z,
NEARLY all the pioneers who caught the
California or Pixies Peak fever came west by |
railroad as far as the Missouri river. and |
then from Leayenworth. Atchison and Omaha |
they crossed the plains by stage coach or by |
teams over plains and mountains through |
Utah, Nevada and on to the Pacific slope.
''It is to the credit of the Mormons that |
they opened the path of civilization across the |
continent. 1t is chiefly through the Mormons
that the roads were made more safe than
they otherwise would have been by reason of |
the large number Of Indians many of whom
were very savage and entirely unfriendly to
whites, that roamed from one part of the
continent to the other These Mormons had
been driven out from Nauvoo and Arkansas
and Missouri. They first made a settlement
IN the east bank of the Missouri river at what
Is now known as Council Bluffs but was then
named Kanesville. They crossed the Missouri
river and established the town at Florence
and in the early spring of 1S4S they started
out across the continent on foot, with wheel
oarrows or whatever conveyance they had at
hand. Men and women walked all the way
from the Missouri river more than / 900 miles
through wilderness where not blade of
grass had been grown by the hand Of man.
"The MoEmons were largely instrumental
n the construction Of the Pacific telegraph
Ind Brigham Young constructed great pOr-
ion of this pioneer line between Salt Lake
md Julesbiyre, where the connection was
made on July 4, 1852, which placed the At
anfic and Pacific states in telegraphic COM
ns rs t.
THAT the MoTnons have done a great deal
hat will always be blot upon their name is
Historical fact, but that they
AVE contriAptsdt largely to the civilization
n the ha |