The Washington herald., 1908-03-29
CITY NOW INVITES
MILL AND FACTORY
Continued from Page One.

the erection os-the new terminals and the
betting OF the city in the tunnels beneath
I First street east
That day, in ISS5. depending upon stage
traffic for passenger travel. and upon the
river for the transportation Of freight
( Washington had made a start Il had
5000 people. Alexandra added 1000 and
was fourishing and growing town. Bust
ness had been established in Georgetown
which promised well and was making its
poSSeSscrs rich The people who gathered
/ 10 see the first train and view the antics
or the snorting iron horse were in no
despondelt mood They thought their
city was the pride OF the earth. much as
we do to-day.
Railroad Development Slow.
But railroad development in that city
was painfully slow. The Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad had been chartered more
than seven years. II had been opened
from Baltimore 10 Ellcott City. in 1880
II had been constructed toward the Cap
itoi by piecemeaL at the rate Of about six
miles a year
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.
now part Of the Pennsylvania. went into
operation between Washington and Bal
timore July ,. 1872 Through the perios
Of the civil war. and down 10 that time
the Baltimore and Ohio had been the only
rail line Of communication with the North.
In Virginia some railroad buii ding had
been carried on. which was interTunte5
by the war. and il was not until 1875 that
communication was established across the
Potom2c and the real foundations for
present railroad conditions hal haa,, =
curely laid
FROM lSSe 10 the present day the rail
roads have been the chief carriers ~
the city They have brought hItber from
the States its increasing .populatio, Tbe,-
have brought here many Of the materials
Tor building, the products Of merchandise
and most Of the good things which Wash
lngtonians now enjoy. Speaking within
the limits of truth the railroads have
been one Of the principal agents in the
development Of the city from an over
grown village OF 10000 people to a great
city. one OF the most beautiful in the
world, Of almost 5000 This has been the
history Of the city during a period of
seventy years
New Era Now Coming In.
Now the connecting links between the
systems Of railroads in the South and the
North have been welded together by the
construction Of the new terminals in
Washington. at cost Of over SI7.O00OOO. /
The great passenger station with its
magnificent approaches, the new freight /
depots, one on the north and one on the
south side of the city. with the distribut- |
ing freight yards on the other side of the I
Potomac. give Washington a railroad 4
equipment equal to that Of any city in the /
United States.
Now, as in 1885. 1t is probable that the 4
railroad companies have buiided better
than they expected 10. They have pro
vided the artificial means OF transit and
added them 10 those which nature pro-
vided in the Potomac River Everything
is in readiness now for an expansion in I
Washington OF which that OF the mast l
seventy years is but a dream Facilities I
are better, opportunities are better i'm
measurably than they were then. and to 4
a person looking out confidently upon the
future there is more reason 10 expect to-
day the planting Of myriad industries in .
the Potomac Valley and the building up
here of vast production and trade than +
there was in 1850 for the hope Of such a !
city as the Capital now IS.