The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1899-12-14
AN AGE OF RAILWAYS
SUPERIORITY OF THE AMERICAN
SYSTEMS
I'm What Respects They Are Invalu-
able Aids to the Life and Extension
of Commercial Activity - Used as
Models by Other Countries.


Gently. George IL. Daniels, General
Passenger Agent Of the New York Cen
trail and Hudson River Railway and
president of the American Association
of General Passenger Agents, said:
One of our great writers has said of
this closing period of the nineteenth
century, that 1t is an age of transporta
ton. Transportation underlies material
prosperity in every department of COM
merce. Without transportation COM
merce 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.
Mr. Mulhall. the British statistician,
In his work on "The Wealth of Ma
tions," said of the United States in
1898: IF we take a survey of mankind.
in ancient or modern times, as regards
the physical, mechanical and intellec-
tual force of nations. we find nothing to
compare with the United States"
Mr.. Mulhall proved by his statistics
son in the United States was twice that
of German or Frenchman, more than
three times that of an Austrian and
five times that of an Italian. He said
the United States was then the richest
country in the world, its wealth ex-
ceeding that Of Great Britain by 35
per cent, and added that in the history
of the human race no nation ever be-
fore possessed forty-one millions Of
Instructed citizens.
In an address before the New York
Press Association. four years ago, l
referred to the future of our export
trade, as follows: zone of the inevita-
bic results of the war between Japan
and China will be the opening to the
commerce of the world of fields here
tofore unknown. perhaps the richest on
the globe" and urged the members of
the New York Press Association to do
everything in their power to assist In
securing to the United States portion
of the great commerce to be developed
between the western nations and those
two old countries of the world.
AT that time we had no idea that
war between one of the old nations of
the earth and our young republic would
be fought; at that time we had no idea
that American manufacturers would be
furnishing locomotives to the English
railroads as well as to those of nearly
every other country on the globe. No
one thought four years ago that Ameri-
h,-iJ I,,tl
open market and successfully compete
for the building of a great steel bridge
In Egypt; nor that in so brief time
American engineers would be building
railroads into the interior of China
from her most important sea-ports.
At that time no one supposed that
the Trans-Siberian Railway would be
laid with steel rails made In Pennsyl-
vania. upon cross-ties from the forests
of Oregon, and that it's trains would he
hauled by American locomotives; nor
that this great railway which is to
stretch from st. Petersburg to Vladi-
vOstok and Port Arthur, distance of
more than 5000 miles. would be COM
pleted two years in advance of the orig
of American construction tools and
machinery.
In letter from friend in Toxic,
Japan, written only a short time ago,
there was this significant sentence:
"You will be interested in knowing that
| have hanging on the wall of my Of
flee a framed picture of your Empire
State Express and we expect in the
near future to be hauling japanese
Empire Express with an American To-
comotive." They have now in Japan
more than one hundred locomotives
that We're built in the United States.
In Russia they have nearly one thou
sand American locomotives. and prac-
tically every railway in Great Britain
has ordered locomotives from this c6un-
try since the beginning of the war with
Spain.
But II Is not alone our locomotives
that have attracted the attention Of for
eigners who have visited our shores,
our railway equipment generally has
commanded admiration and is now re-
ceiving the highest compliment. name
ly. imitation by many of our sister ma
tons. Prince Michael HilkofY, 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 "Iimited
Trains" of the New York Central and
Pennsylvania.