Iron County register., 1899-11-23

| trouble for the early settlers who ven-
| tured so far out of the beaten paths of
civilization. The Nebraska corn crop
| this year covers 100000 acres, and the
yield is 200, 900, 900 bushels.
Previous to the construction of the
Northern Pacific, the Great Northern,
Northwestern, st. Paul, Burlington.
and other. railways that traverse that
wonderful region known as the wheat
belt," there was nothing to be seen but
prairie grass and an occasional band of
untamed savages.
| Development of Pacific Coast.
In 1s49 there came across the CONT.
nent reports Of the discovery of gold
in California, but the only means OF
reaching its Golden Gate was by sea
around Cape Horn, or the long and per-
| ilous journey, with OK teams. across the
plains, including what was then styled
in our biographies the American des-
| ert, and through the hazardous noun
| tain passes of the western part of the
| continent. The completion of the Pa
| cifc railroads changed all this, and
| opened new fields for all kinds of enter
| prises, in an unexD1ored territory
| stretching over more than 1000 miles
| to the west, northwest and southwest
of the Mississippi river, the products OF
| which region were practically valueless
| until the means of transporting them
were provided by the railroads. The
wheat crop of California this year is
37,000,000 bushels. The largest crop
ever produced in California was in 1880.
when owing to exceptionally favorable
weather conditions that state produced
| 63,000,000 bushels. The gold output OF
| California for the year 1899 is estimated
| at $16,o00,000. The vineyards and or.
ange groves of California would be OF
practically little value were it not for
| the fact that the railroads, by their
| trains of refrigerator and ventilated
cars, make it possible to transport the
| products of her fertile valleys to all sec.
tions of the country.
II. seems but yesterday that the rail-
| roads were completed into Portland,
Ore, Tacoma and Seattle, Wash, and il
is marvellous that for the year ended
June so, 1899, there was exported from
the Columbia River valley 16,000,00e
bushels of wheat and from the Puget
sound region 100000 bushels. Ore.
gon and Washington form the north,
west csrner of the territory of the
United States south of the line of Brit.
ish Columbia and are directly on the
route to our extreme northwest posses.
sion, Alaska. The wheat crop of the
states of Oregon and Washington for
the year 1899 is is, coo, 900 bushels. There
| was exported during the year ended
June 80, 1890, from the Columbia river
direct to foreign ports 100000 barrels
of -four, and from Puget sound points
100000 barrels.
Colorado which, with its inexhaust-
ible mines of gold, silver, lead, iron and
coal, forms almost an empire in itself,
will produce this year of 1899 of gold,
s24,000,0Go; of silver, $14,2o0,0oo; of
lead, $4,400,o00, in addition to a mag
nifcent crop of wheat, fruit and vege.
tables. Thanks to her railroad facili.
ties, Montana is to-day the richest min
eral region of its size in the world. The
latest published statistics-those OF
1s97-give the mineral output OF Mon
tana as s54,G00,00o.
Without railroads, Kansas, Nebras-
ka, Minnesota, North and South Dako.
ia, Montana, Colorado, California, Ore
gon and Washington would still be the
home of savages.
Service of American Railroads.
It is beyond question that American
railroads to-day furnish the best serv-
ice in the world, at the lowest rates OF
fare, at the same time paying their en-
ployes very much higher wages than
are paid for similar service in any other
country on the globe. In the United
States the frst-elass passenger fares
last year averaged 2.9S cents per mile,
although on some large railways the
average was several mills less than two
cents per mile; in England the first
class fare is four cents per mile; third
class fare, for vastly inferior service, is
two cents per mile, but only on certain
parliamentary trains. In Prussia the
fare is three cents per mile; in Aus
tria, sos cents per mile, and in France,
1856 cents per mile.
Our passenger cars excel those of
foreign countries in all that goes to make
up the comfort and convenience of a
journey. Our sleeping and parlor car
system is vastly superior to theirs; our
baggage system is infinitely better than
theirs and arranged upon much more
liberal basis. American railroads car
ry $50 pounds of baggage free, while
the German railroads carry only SIS
pounds free. The lighting of our trains
is superb, while the lighting of trains
on most foreign lines is wretched.
Some Striking Examples.
Mr.. Daniels then cites two examples |
of the unsurpassed passenger train IA
cilities of American railways.
A single locomotive recently hauled |
a passenger train of 16 cars, nine of |
which were sleeping and parlor cars,
from New York to Albany, distance
OF 143 miles, in three hours and 15 min |
utes, which is A miles per hour, and |
is the regular schedule time of the |
train. The train weighed 1888, 1000 |
pounds and was 1912 fcet-or nearly a |
quarter of mile-long.
The Empire State express has for |
years been making the run from New |
York TO Buffalo, 440 miles, in eight |
hours and Is minutes, an average speed |
of 81 1-3 miles an hour, including four |
stops-two of them for changing en- |
gines-and 2S slow-downs, on account |
of running through Incorporated towns |
and cities. For one stretch of % miles. |
another of II miles, another of 16 miles |
and another of 60 miles, the regular |
hour. For one stretch of IL miles it is |
63.40 miles an hour. For another |
stretch of nearly ten miles it is 64.Se |
miles an hour. The weight of this |
train is 60s,0eo pounds, and it has seat