Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1900-01-06
GROWTH OF RAILROAD
UNITED STATES LEADS ALL
OTHER COUNTRIES.
Follows the Locomotive ass
ys.t Mndsrnessss Are Transforms"
Into Gardens, villages snd cities
by Its Influences

At the recent International Com
merelal Congress. held In Philadelphia
George II. Daniels. general passenger
agent OF the New York Central ana
Hudson River railroad and president
of the American Association OF Gen
eral Passenger Agents, delivered
notable address on our railroads ana
their relation to commercial, indus
trial and agricultural interests. Among
other things he said:
Zone OF our great writer's has said
of this closing period OF the nineteenth
century, that II is an age OF transport
tation. Transportation underlles 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.
I'm this connection Il viii be Inter
esting to note In passing that the sec
ond American locomotive vas 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 Il 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 eompli-
ment, namely. imitation by many OF
our sister nations,
Prince Michel HilkoT. imperial
minister OF railways OF Russia. has
since his visit 10 the United States a
few years ago, constructed train on
much the same llnes 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 inyari-
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been repealed upon the sober second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
gusge 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 inyest their
money or waste their time In aiding
the building Of railroads. expressing
the opinion, that while 1t vas possible
that improved methods Of construction
and perfected machinery might, In the
remote future. enable the psopls Ia
move car upon railroad at the rate
OF i've or sir 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 cana
was the only means OF conveyance FOL
a great commerce.
Notwithstanding his prediction tn.
railroads have grown to such vast PRO
/ portions, that today the worlds eutir.
stock OF money. gold. silver and paper
would not purchase one-third Of r.,
railroads. The building Of the Fri.
canal extending from Buffalo to Al
bany. a distance OF 1863 miles. wa,
commenced July 4. 1917. Il was com
pieted In 1926 at cost of 81 s02 00o
In 1886 the state Of New York anpro
priated ss.0oo.000 for charging AM
improving this canal. and few figure,
from the state report on canals NAV b.
OF interest In this connections: Re.
liable statistics of its traffic ara M
obtainable for the earlier yearz Of n,
operation but In accordance with tn
iast annual report Of the supsrIntend
sht OF public works Of the state OF Nav
iork' we md that the tonnage of al
the property carried on all the canal
n both directions, In 1897. was III
zsb tons, valued at s55 500 .2ss Tn,
tonnage and the value Increased u,,i
1877, when 1t amounted to cara al
tons. valued at 220.9f3321 From
1877, the tonnage and the value n, N,
property carried decreased. until {,
1897 there was only 3.g17 500 tons car
ried. with value Of 500. 063 1898 Tbta
In face Of the fact that the reeelpts :
grain and -four at Buffalo had ir
creased from 1884 ,gS5 bushels I'm ts9
to 242,140,30s bushels In 1897
In 1875 the states east of tho Mia
souri, river were sending food an,
clothing to the starving people q, Kan
sas. Thanks to the facilities afrorda,
by the railroads the corn crop Of To-
sas this year ID three hundred an,
forty million bushels. It seema hn,
very few years since / made me a.
trip to Colorado, and stopped on ~,
way at the home OF Buffalo pIu :
North Platte, Neb., on the Union Do
cine. At ogalalla. hfty-one m,to
west Of North Platte, the gloux IT,
dians were roaming over tho nuat-,'