The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-12-08
GROWTH OF RAILROAD
UNITED STATES LEADS ALL
OTHER COUNTRIES.
Civilization Follows the Locomotive and
Vast Wildernessss Are transformed
Into Gardens, Villages and Cities
by Its Influence.

George H. Daniels, general passenger
agent of the New York Central and
Hudson River railroad and president
of the American Association of Gen
eral Passenger Agents, delivered
notable address on our railroads and
their relation to commercial, indus
trial and agricultural interests. Among
other things he said:
"One Of our great writer's has said
OF this closing period Of the nineteenth
century, that it is an age of transport
tation Transportation underlies ma
terial prosperity in. every department
OF commerce. Without transportation
commerce would be impossible. Those
states and nations are rich, powerful
and enlightened whose transportation
facilities are best and most extended
The dying nations are those with little
or no transportation facilities.
In this connection it will be inter
esting to note in passing that the sec
ond American locomotive was built at
the West Point foundry, near Cold
Spring, on the Hudson river, and was
called the Best Friend" and from
that day to this the locomotive has
been one of the best friends of this
republic. But it is not alone our loco
motives that have attracted the at
tention of foreigners who have visited
our shores, our railway equipment gen
orally has commanded admiration and
is now receiving the highest compl-
..cnt, namely, imitation by many OF
our sister nations.
prince Michel Hilkoff, imperial
minister Of railways of Russia, has
since his visit to the United States a
few years ago, constructed train on
much the same lines as the Limited
Trains" of the New York Central and
the Pennsylvania.
AT times there have been periods
of legislation in the United States ad-
verse to the great transportation in
terests of the country. almost invari-
ably the result of misunderstanding
of the real situation, and the hasty
legislation of such times has usually
been repealed upon the sober second
thought Of the people, for in the Ian
guage Of our great Lincoln: You can
fool all the people some Of the time,
some of the people all the time, but
you can't fool all the people all the
time
One hundred years ago the gov
ernor of the great state of New York
advised his friends not to invest their
Wv cto
the building of railroads, expressing
the opinion, that while it was possible
That improved methods of construction
and perfected machinery might. in the
remote future, enable the people to
move car upon railroad at the rate
of five or six miles per hour, he did not
believe that they could ever be made
Of material advantage, and that any
attempt to transport passengers and
freight by railroad, from one part of
the country to another must result in
endless confusion and loss The gov
ernor died in the belief that the canal
was the only means of conveyance for
great commerce.
Notwithstanding his prediction, the
railroads have grown to such vast pro-
portions, that today the worlds entire
stock of money, gold, silver and paper,
would not purchase one-third of its
railroads. The building of the Erie
canal, extending from Buffalo to AL
bany, distance of 1863 miles, was
commenced July 4, 1917. 1t was com
pleted in 1925 at cost of S7,G02, 900.
In 1896 the state of New York appro-
priated $9,000,O00 for charging and
improving this canal and few figures
from the state report on canals may be
Of interest in this connection: Re-
liable statistics Of its traffic are not
obtalnable for the earlier years OF its
operation, but in accordance with the
last annual report of the superintepd-
ent Of public works Of the state of New
York, we find that the tonnage OF all
the property carried on all the canals
In both directions, in 1887, was ILL.,
296 tons, valued at s55,SO9,2SS The
tonnage and the value increased until
1877, when 1t amounted to G,G73,37O
tons, valued at $220,913,321. From
1872, the tonnage and the value of the
property carried decreased, until in
1897 there was only 3,Gi7 ,SO4 tons car
rled, with value of $96,063 1888. This.
in face of the fact that the receipts of
grain and flour at Buffalo had in
creased from 1854 ,6S5 bushels in 1887
to ZAP, 140,306 bushels in 1897.
In 1875 the states east of the Mis-
souri, river were sending food and
clothing to the starving people of Kan
SIS. Thanks to the facilities afforded
by the railroads the corn crop of Kan
sas this year is three hundred and
forty million bushels. 1t seems but a
very few years since l made my first
trip to Colorado, and stopped on my
way at the home of Buffalo Bill. at
North Platte. Neb., on the Union Pa
cific. At Ogalalla. fifty-one miles
west Of North Platte, the Sioux In
dams were roaming over the prairies
and making more Or less trouble for
the early settlers who ventured so far
out Of the beaten paths of civilization
The Nebraska corn crop this year COW
ers eight million acres, and the yield
is two hundred and ninety million
bushels. Previous to the construc-
ton Of the Northern Pacific the Great
Northern, Northwestern, st. Paul, Bur-
lington, and other railways that tray
erse that wonderful region known as
the wheat belt there was nothing to
be seen but prairie grass and an occa-
sional band of untamed savages.
Minnesota this year will ship ninety
million bushels of wheat, South Da-
kota forty-five million bushels, North
Dakota sixty-five million bushels and
Montana four million bushels.
''In 1849 there came across the con-
tinent reports of the discovery Of gold
in California hut tho onIv r,o,,, 80