Evening journal., 1911-08-31
new NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Civil War Leader Who
Was the Father Of Mexi-
can Railway Development
BY Holland.


No soldier who had served with
prominence in the civil war and who
was afterwards elected a member of
Congress ever attracted more attention
from the galleries than did General
William 5. ROsecrans, "Old Rosie" as
his soldiers called him, when he en-
tered the House of Representatives IN
1881. He had as a colleague General
Joseph p. Johnston, with whom he was
on most friendly terms, and in the
Senate were Generals John A. Logan
and Ambrose G. Burnside, and. a little
later. General William Malone. Rose
Grams was the personifcatiOn of sin
cerity, of perfect democracy, and he
had, as so many great soldiers have, A
distinctive quality Of innocence, al
most childlike in its simplicity.
At the time General Rosecrans be-
came a member Of Congress q great
deal of discussion was prevailing as 10
the practicability Of constructing n
ship railroad across the Tehuantepec
isthmus of Mexico, in order to do away
with the long voyage around the Horn.
The plan had been advocated by Cap
tain James b. Eads. who had gained an
partly through the construction Of the
Eads bridge over the Mississippi at ST.
Louis and partly through his success
full building of the ietty system near
the mouth of the Mississippi river,
which resulted in the long desired
deepening Of the rivers channel. Be
fore General Rosecrans entered Con-
gress he had been minister to Mexico.
4 haI 81 hot h, Inf n
ested in Captain Eads' plan for a ship
railway across the 7'ehuantapec is
thmus, and at the first opportunity /
asked the General If he would tell me
whether he Thought Eads' plan was
practicable or not
Il have no doubt about the prac-
ticability of the construction of a snip
railway across the Tehuantepec is
thmus.' he said, with emphasis. Il;
isn't a very diffult scheme from an
engineers point of view. All that
would have to be done would be to
build a railroad of six tracks that
could accommodate platform cars
then the ships could be hauled from
the Atlantic harbor by an incline to
these cars, constructed on the drydock
system, and then the locomotives
would haul them across the isthmus
to the Pacific side. And vice versa. The
only trouble with Eads' plan is that II
would cost great deal of money; and
I believe that the results he seeks
could be obtained at a great deal less
cost through the adoption of a plan
have In mind.
when | was Minister to Mexico in
'6S-that was just after Juarez had
overthrown Macmillan and set up the
republic afrssh-there we're scarcely
any railroads in the country. There
was one that ran from Vera Cruz C
the capital, and there we're two OF
three little ones elsewhere. and thai
about tells the whole story. But haC
not been I'm Mexico six months before
I realized that with ample railwa.
facilities the republic would become
in time, one of the most prosperou
nations in the world, unquestionabl.
Of that part of the world lying to th
south OF the United States. SO I sug
gssted to President Juarez the con
struction Of railway across Tehuan
tepec isthmus, explaining how such
road would shorten by thousands @
miles the transit of freight, by watel
from the Atlantic to the Pacific sid
of the Americas President Juars
agreed with me that such line shoul
be built. / also told him that Mexic
should have not only a central railwa
running TO the Rio Grande river, bu
lines parallel to it that would skirt, o
the east, the Gulf coast and on tn
west the Pacific and the Gulf Of Call
fornia. He asked me if / thought a raj
road could be built across centrs
Mexico through some pass of IN
Sierra Mountains. / told him that
was certain of It; that there never "
existed a mountain chain throug
which somewhere or other passe
could not be found.
For some time after ] ceased bein
Minister to Mexico I stayed in tl
country and agitated the railway dc
velopment Of the republic. / belieS
that | was the first man to suggest {
the proper government officials ad,
quate railway development of the Me-
lean republic, and I have often r.
grettad that before I could get nj
plans we'll under way business ret
sons called me to California. am gla
to see, however, that this developmel
is nov under way. as regards a centr
railway, though I am not to reap an
material benefits from il. And / vel
ture to make the prediction 70 you tn
within the next fifteen or twenty yea
a true transcontinental line will
built across the Tehuantepec isthmu
and, when Il is, Mexico's progress as
commercial nation will be magni
Gently advanced
General Rosecrans did not live loi
enough to see the completion OF Il
Tehuantepec railroad-an event tn
belongs to the twentieth century-b
I'm the last years of his life-he di
in 1S9S-he was greatly gratifed
learn that this important Mcxic;
transcontinental line, which viii cor
pete with the Panama canal for freig
and which thirty years before he HI
advocated, was at last under constru
tion.
Copyright 1911. by F. j. Edwards. 4
Rights Reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr.. EdaWrds will tell
"CheriShed Plan That odd Rough n
Ready Gave Up"