Omaha daily bee., 1916-01-09

a Il early as 1919, before mile of railroad
was built in any part of the world. 1t
took practical form when Asa Whitney, in 1S45,
in pettioning congress In behalf of Pacific rail-
road, said: You will that It will change the
whole world Senator Thomas H. Benton in 1S49
pleaded that the great line when built should
be adorned with it's browning honor, the colossal
statue of the great Columbus, whose design 1t &C
complishes hewn from the granate mass of
peak of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking the
road, the mountain itself the pedestal and the
statue part of the mountain, pointing with out
stretched to the western horizon and saying
to the flying passenger There is the east! There
is India? Charles Summer in 1853 said: The
railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific taversng
a whole continent and binding together two oceans,
this mighty thoroughfare when completed will
mark epoch of human progress second only to
that of our Declaration of Independence. May the
day comet! And it did come and all the
prophecies were fulfilled when the first transcon-
tinental line was completed and the tracks joined
at Promontory Point, Utah. on May 10, 1869, just
forty years ago.
This ceremony OF peace and harmony
between the Union Pacific, coming from the east,
and the Central Pacific. coming from the west.
For a year or there had been great con-
tention and rivalry between the two companies the
Union Pacific endeavoring to reach Humboldt
Wells, the west boundary of Utah, and the Cen
<tral Pacific rushing to reach ogden, Utah. to give
them outlet to Salt Lake City, and the two lines
were graded alongside of each other for 225 miles
between ogden and Humboldt Wells. Climbing
Promontory mountain they were not a stones
throw apart
when both companies that neither could
reach its goal they came together, and made
! agreement to join the tracks the summit Of
Fromontory mountain the Union Pacific selling to
he Of hac
within five miles of Ogden, and leasing trackage
over that five miles to enable the Central Pacific
to reach Ogden. These five miles were not only a
part OF the Union Pacific, but used by their line
north to Idaho. This agreement was ratified by
congress. Each road built to the summit of Prom
ontory leaving gap of 90 feet of rail to be laid
when the last spike driven
Arrival of the Official Parties
"On the morning of May TO- 1869, Hon. Leland
Stanford, governor of California and president of
the Central Pacific, accompanied by Messrs. Hunt
ington, Hopkins, Crocker, and trainloads of Cali
fornia's distinguished citizens, arrived from the
west During the forenoon Vice President T. c.
SDurant and Directors John r. Duff and Sidney Dill
Ion and Consulting Engineer Silas A. Seymour of
the Union Pacific, with other prominent men,
including delegation of Mormons from Salt Lake
City, came in on train from the east. The ma
uonal government was represented by a detach-
illSnI OF i0SuidfS from fOrt Douglas, Utah, &C
oompanied by a band and 600 others, including
Chinese, Mexi9ans, Indians, half-breeds negroes
and laborers, suggesting air of cosmopotanism,
all gathered around the open space where the
tracks were to be Joined. The Chinese laid the
rails from the west end and the Irish aborers laid
them from the east end. until they met and Joined
Telegraph wires were SO connected that each
blow of the descending sedge could be reported in
stanty to all parts of the United States Core
spending blows struck the bell of the city
hall in San Francisco, and with the last blow of the
sledge was fired at Fort Point General
Stafford presented spike of gold, silver and iron
as the offering of the territory of Arizona. Gov
ernor futile of Nevada presented spike Of silver
from his state. The connecting tie of Cali
fornia laurel, and California presented the laa
spike of gold in behalf of that state A silver
siedse had also been presented for the occasion.
A prayer was offered; Governor Stanford of Cali
iornis made few appropriate remarks behalf
OF the/Central Pacific, and the chief engineer re-
sponded for the Union Pacific. Then the teIe-