The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1899-11-25
which leaves New. York ts:15, you may

be sure thai your correspondent ID Dan
Francisco will be reading it next Mon
day night-four days from New York.
The trainers of our constitution would
have considered a man entirely beside
himself who would have suggested such
a possibility.
In 1875 the states east of the Missouri
| river were sending food and clothing
TO the starving people of Kansas.
Thanks to the facilities anoraed by the
! railroads the corn crop of Kansas this
year is $40, 100000 bushels.
It seems but a very few years, said
| the speaker, since I made my first trip
to Colorado, and stopped on my way
at the home of Buffalo Bill, at North
| Platte, Neb., on the Union Pacific. At
Ogaialla, 81 miles west of North Platte,
the Sioux Indians were roaming over
| the prairies and making more or less
| trouble for the early settlers who ven-
| tured so far out of the beaten paths OF
civilization. The Nebraska corn crop
| this year covers s,O00,000 acres, and the
| yield is 29O,O 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 conti-
nent reports of the discovery of gold
in California, but the only mea 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
| ciic railroads changed all this, and
| opened new fields for all kinds of enter.
prises. in an unexplored 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 shem
were provided by the railroads. The
wheat crop of California this year is
100000 bushels. The largest crop
ever produced in California was in 1880.
when owing to exceptionally favorable
weather conditions hat state produced
6 100000 bushels. The gold output of
California for the year 1899 is estimated
at SIG, 900 1000. The vineyards and or
ange groves of California would be Of
practically little value were 1t 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.
1t seems but yesterday that the rail-.
roads were completed into Portland,
Ore, Tacoma and Seattle, Wash, and it
is marvellous hat for the year ended
June 80, 1899, there was exported from
the Columbia River valley 16, 900, 900
bushels of wheat and from the Puget
sound region 10,000,O0 bushels. Ore
gon and Washington form the north
west corner of the territory of the
United States south of the line of Brit
ish Columbia and are directly on the
IOulC " Jul IAllCllC " POoSSS-
sion, Alaska. The wheat crop of the
states Of Oregon and Washington for
the year 1899 is As, GOO, 900 bushels. There
was exported during the year ended
June 80, 1899, from the Columbia river
direct to foreign ports 100000 barrels
OF flour, 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.
$4,000, goo; of silver, S14, 200, 900; Of
lead, $4,000 in addition to a mag.
nificent 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 $4,000, 900.
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.
1t is beyond question that American
railroads to-day furnish the best serv-
ice in the world, at the lowest rates Of
fare, at the anne 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 first-class passenger fares
last year averaged EOS 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,
$50 cents per mile.
Our passenger cars excel those of
foreign countriesin al that goes to make
up the comfort and convenience of q
journey. Our sleeping and parlor car
system is vastly superior to theirs; our
baggage system is infinitely better than
theirs and arranged upon a much moro
liberal basis. American railroads car
ry $50 pounds of baggage free, while
the German railroads carry only SIS