The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-11-11


ENLS% ton and development. 1t
shows how great is the in
tereSt of the American people in their
railroads.
When the farmers boy hears the
whistle of the local freight what does
it do TO him? Why. the chances are
that it sets him dreaming of the day
when he'll be grown up enough to be
brakeman-Or even a conductor or
an engineer.
What do the people of the country
town do at train time? Why, they go
down to the station to see the train ar
rive and depart, of course.
Why does Chicago boast of being
the railroad center of the United
States? Because no city can make a
prOuder boast.
What occupies the attention of con-
gress quite as much as peace treaties,
disarmament and taxes? Why, the
railroad problem.
In short, the railroads are Just as
much a part of the national life as
baseball, the corn crop and the Fourth
of July.
And no wonder! One hundred years
ago the United States did not have a
mile of steam railroad (neither did any
other country, for that matter). Now
the United States has 266,3S1 miles.
while all the rest of the world has only
732,SOO miles. Canada has 3S,6O4 miles :;
France, 31,95S; the British Isles o.
700.
In 1880 there were but % miles Of
railroad in operation in the United
States. By 1910 the mileage had in
creased to 2,S1S and by 1850 to 9.O21.
In the decade between 1850 and 1860
the mileage increased to 3O,626. This
was a time of swift expansion and of
grants of land and money. In fact,
one of the causes of the panic of 1857
was the overcapitalization and over
building of railroads. 1t was in 1857
that line was completed from the At
lantic to the Mississippi, linking Balti-
more and st. Louis.
Another period of great expansion
began in 1867, after the practical
standstill caused by the Civil war.
This expansion period lasted till the
panic of 1873. The mileage increased
at the rate of 400 miles a year: in
1870 no less than COTS miles of new
track were built. 1t was May 10, 1869,
that the first line across the continent
was completed by the meeting of the
Union Pacific and Central Pacific at
Salt Lake City and the driving of the
famous Golden Spike"
But the biggest expansion period of
all was the decade beginning with
1880, in which 10000 miles were built /:
in the years 1SS0-S2 no less than $4,000
miles were built, principally in the
Central and Western states. This was
a time of railroad speculation; rail-
roads were frequently built in advance
of the demand and even preceded the
settlers. Since 1884 railroad building
has been more conservative and much
of the construction has gone into Sec
ond and third tracks and improve
mentS.
Thousands of Americans, still hale
and hearty, have seen the oil lamp re-
placed on the railroads by compressed
gas and by electric lights; the advent
of the Pullman and the dining car the
growth of the mail and express serv-
ice; the building Of palatial terminal
depots, in cities like New York, Chica-
go, Washington and Kansas City. They
well remember the establishment of
the fast trainS"-which called forth
Vanderbilt'S famous, 1.-The public be
d-dw Many of them hope to see the
era of electrification, which is just be-
ginning, well under way.
The truth is that the railroads bulk
large on our national horizon. There
are now about 70 big systems. Some